What is a meritocracy?

a system where success depends on ability and effort. Merit decides, not background.

What is setting by ability?

grouping pupils with others at the same level in a subject. It is one way schools sort pupils.

Which is the economic function of education?

teaching the skills needed for work. Schools prepare the workforce.

What is standardised testing?

all pupils sitting the same exams marked in the same way. It is meant to make comparison fair.

Which evidence most weakens the functionalist view of education?

pupils' results are strongly linked to their parents' income. If background predicts results, the race is not fair.

The functionalist view of education · Cambridge IGCSE Sociology

In plain words

Functionalists see school as a fair race. Everyone starts on the same line, the fastest win the best jobs, and society gets the right people in the right places. It is a hopeful view, and one that the other theories set out to demolish.

8 things to know

Functionalists believe that education performs positive functions for the individual and for society. They describe four roles.
Socialisation: schools carry on from the family, passing on society's shared norms and values. This builds value consensus.
Social control: schools teach pupils to obey rules and respect authority, through rewards, punishments and the hidden curriculum.
Economic: schools teach the skills that the economy needs, from reading and arithmetic to specialist training. Vocationalism is the idea that education should prepare people for work.
Selective: schools sift and sort pupils by ability, so that the most able go on to the most important jobs. This is called role allocation.
The sorting is done by standardised testing, in which all pupils sit the same exams marked in the same way, and by setting by ability, in which pupils are grouped with others at the same level.
Education is seen as a meritocracy: results depend on ability and effort, and everyone has equal opportunities. It allows social mobility, because able children from poor families can rise.
Criticism. Achievement is strongly linked to class, gender and ethnicity, so the race is not fair. Marxists say that the values taught are those of the ruling class. Not all pupils accept the school's values.

Worked example

A bright girl from a poor family gets top grades, wins a place at university and becomes an engineer. Explain how functionalists would use her case.

The school tested her ability by the same exams as everyone else: standardised testing.
Her results, not her background, decided her future. This is meritocracy.
She was sorted into a skilled job that needs her talents: role allocation.
She has moved up from her parents' position: social mobility.

Tips and tricks

The four roles in the syllabus are socialisation, social control, economic and selective. Learn them in those words.
To evaluate, ask whether everyone really starts on the same line. Evidence on class and achievement is the standard reply to meritocracy.

5 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

The functionalist view of education: 5 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

What is a meritocracy?
- a system where the rich always win
- a system where success depends on ability and effort (the answer)
- a system with no examinations
- a system where position is fixed at birth
Merit decides, not background.
What is setting by ability?
- letting pupils choose their own teachers
- putting all pupils in one class
- grouping pupils with others at the same level in a subject (the answer)
- sending pupils home early
It is one way schools sort pupils.
Which is the economic function of education?
- teaching the skills needed for work (the answer)
- teaching pupils to obey rules
- passing on shared values
- providing school meals
Schools prepare the workforce.
What is standardised testing?
- a different exam for every school
- tests marked by the pupils
- tests with no marks
- all pupils sitting the same exams marked in the same way (the answer)
It is meant to make comparison fair.
Which evidence most weakens the functionalist view of education?Stretch
- some pupils from poor families succeed
- schools teach reading and arithmetic
- pupils' results are strongly linked to their parents' income (the answer)
- pupils sit the same exams
If background predicts results, the race is not fair.

5 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

The functionalist view of education

Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

What is meant by the term "role allocation"?[2]
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The way the education system sorts people into the jobs that suit their abilities.
I got this one
Describe two functions of education, according to functionalists.[4]
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Any two, each described: socialisation, passing on shared norms and values; social control, teaching obedience to rules; economic, teaching the skills the economy needs; selective, sorting pupils by ability into suitable jobs.
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Explain why functionalists see education as meritocratic.[4]
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They believe that all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed. Everyone sits the same standardised tests. Results therefore depend on a pupil's ability and effort, not on their social background, and the most able gain the best positions.
I got this one

Answers: The functionalist view of education

1. The way the education system sorts people into the jobs that suit their abilities.
2. Any two, each described: socialisation, passing on shared norms and values; social control, teaching obedience to rules; economic, teaching the skills the economy needs; selective, sorting pupils by ability into suitable jobs.
3. They believe that all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed. Everyone sits the same standardised tests. Results therefore depend on a pupil's ability and effort, not on their social background, and the most able gain the best positions.