...functionalist views of the role of education in modern society (20 marks) The consensus functionalist approach is just one of many that attempt to explain the role of education in modern society. Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or value consensus. Each part of society such as the family, economy and education system performs functions that help to maintain society. Functionalists such as Durkheim and Parsons seek to discover what functions that educations performs and what is does to meet society’s needs. Marxists such as Althusser and Bowle & Gintis disagree with functionalists and argues that education in modern society continues to uphold the capitalist system. The French sociologist, Durkheim (1903) argued that education provided two main functions. Firstly, social solidarity; some of the subjects taught as part of the national curriculum such as History and Citizenship helps students to understand the complexity of British culture. This sense of shared culture between children creates a strong sense of unity and commitment to a wider social group. Without social solidarity, society would fall apart as there would be no cooperation as each individual would pursue their own selfish desires making education a vital role for modern society. The second function that education has is that it prepares young people for work. Industrial societies have a specialist division of labour which prepares...
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...functionalist approach to society. A Functionalism is a macro, structuralist theory. This means they see human behaviour being shaped as an influence of social forces. It is also seen consensus theory, as functionalists’ argue that, individuals are socialised into a shared value to ensure conformity and social order. However, this functionalists approach is criticised by action theorists, as they argue that individuals create society through their interactions. Unlike other functionalists, Parsons argues that individuals are integrated through socialisation and social order. He sees some similarities between society and a biological organism i.e. body parts are inter-related, so is society, as different institutions assist in socialisation. However, over socialization, as Durkheim argues, could be a motive to suicide as individual tends to put others before themselves. One of the main objectives of functionalism is to find out, how social order is possible. Parsons identifies that social order is possible only if its members adhere to society’s norms and values. He argues that for this to happen, individuals have to be integrated into the social system. Primarily, the social system has its needs and to ensure that they are met, it requires the different agencies of socialisation i.e. media and family, to teach its individuals the systems norms and values so that it becomes part of their personality structure. Another is the idea of social control; he argues that those who conform...
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...‘Society has now entered a postmodern age and we need new theories to understand it.’ Assess this view. Society has experienced important changes in recent times. Some sociologists argue that these changes are so reflective that they represent an important shift, from the modern society of the past two centuries, to a new, postmodern society from the era of modernity to the era of postmodernity. Other sociologists disagree and argue that although recent changes have been very significant, these are actually part of modernity itself. In addition to this, opinions are also divided on what theory we need to understand these changes in society. Some have adopted the perspective known as postmodernism to describe society today while others have adopted existing modernist theories such as Marxism. Most sociologists agree that modern society emerged during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century in Western Europe. Before understanding whether our current society is modern or postmodern, it is important to define a modern society. Modern societies are nation states; they are a key political unit in a bounded territory ruled by a centralized state and the people usually share the same language and culture. Another aspect of modern societies is capitalism, based in private ownership of means of production, maintaining the conditions under which it operates. Lash and Urry describe this as `organized capitalism. Wealth distribution in modern societies is uneven and Fordist principles...
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...Niebuhr (1929) argues sects are world rejecting organisations that are the result of schism, where there is a split from an established church because of disagreement over doctrine. Niebuhr argues sects are short lived and within a generation they die out, compromise with the world or abandon their extreme ideas and become a denomination. Niebuhr identifies several reasons for this; the second generation lack the fervour of their parents who consciously rejected the world and joined voluntarily. The “protestant ethic” effect meant that sects that practiced ascetism tended to become prosperous. Members will tend to want to compromise with the world with their new found wealth and thus abandon world rejecting beliefs. Sects with a charismatic leader either collapse on a leader’s death or a more formal bureaucratic leadership will take over; thus transforming the organisation into a denomination. Stark and Bainbridge (1985) see religious organisations moving through a cycle. The first stage is schism, where there’s tension between the needs of the deprived and privileged members of the church. Deprived members break away to form a world rejecting sect. The second phase is one of initial fervour with a charismatic leadership and tension between the sect’s beliefs and those of wider society. The third phase is denominationalism, where the fervour disappears because of the coolness of the second generation and protestant ethic effect. The fourth stage is establishment, where the sect...
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...that education in modern industrial societies is meritocratic Not all theorists agree that in modern industrial societies education is meritocratic. Although functionalists argue that education is meritocratic and allows person earn what they work for, the Marxists present another argument; that meritocracy is a myth. This essay will show how meritocracy is true to a certain point however it is not always seen. Functionalist argues that modern industrial societies have to perform a range of functions ad as a result a sophisticated mechanism is necessary to select individuals according to their talents and train them for jobs best suited to their talents. Parsons agrees stating that schools are a neutral filtering mechanism allowing the most talented and suited persons to filter through the education system. Through this way only those who are hard working will be able to succeed. Parsons has seen an increase in specialized jobs in modern industrial societies and he argues that this reward system is necessary as it allows only qualified persons to fill those positions. Davis and Moore agree that education is a process by which selection and role allocation takes place. They argue that not everyone is as equally talented and therefore education and society need to offer high rewards for those persons so as to motivate them to work harder and therefore excel. Education is a proving ground for students to prove their worth to society and through this society sifts and sorts the...
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...Assess the view that secularisation has been a feature only in modern European societies-33 marks The idea of secularisation implies that there has been disenchantment in social life, that sacred ideas are no longer of any relevance to people and practical matters are emptied of any spiritual significance. Secularisation according to Wilson is the process whereby ‘religious thinking, practice and institutions social significance,’ that people are more interested in leisurely pursuits and that society and religion has become more pluralistic as a result of globalisation. Exclusivists think that secularisation is definitely happening whilst inclusivists argue that it is not happening, rather that society is experiencing resacralisation, that there are other religions such as NRMS and New Age Spirituality which are equally valid. Woodhead and Heelas suggest that there are two versions of secularisation. Firstly the disappearance thesis states that modernity is bringing about the death of religion. This thesis tends to use Church statistics as evidence. Crockett found that in 1851 40% Church attendance and in 2007 2% attended. In 2002 2/3 attended a religious service such as weddings no more than once a year. However there are problems concerning the use of Church statistics, regarding their reliability and validity. Statistics tell us very little about the social meaning of religion as Davie suggests many people can believe without belonging. Bellah also notes that religion is...
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...‘Society has now entered a new postmodern age and we need new theories to understand to understand it.’ Assess this view. Sociologists all agree there is something called Modernity and Post Modernity-where they differ is which one they think society currently is. Theories such as feminism, Marxism, and functionalism are structural and believe society influences the individual. Whilst theories like post modernism and interactionism are non-structural and believe that the individual influences society. There are major changes that have occurred in society recently such as: the growing impact of new technology and the media, and new social and political movements (based on gender, environmental concerns and so on). What is being questioned is the nature, cause and effect of these changes which have different theories for explanation. The first argument is that the changes are so profound they represent a major shift from the modern century of the last two centuries, to a new post modern society. The second argument is that recent changes have been significant but they are still a part of modern society- just an intensification of the existing features of a modern society. The second argument is seemingly more valid, especially in terms of science and trying to prove post modernism. For post modernism argues that nothing can be proved to be true and take on a relativism method also supporting interpretivism. if this is the case the theory itself cannot be proven to be true hence...
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...xamine Functionalists explanations of the family (24 marks) Functionalists believe that society is based on a set of shared values and norms; this is known as a value consensus. These norms and values socialize its members, which enables them to cooperate with each other so society’s needs are met, this creates social order. It offers a structural and macro view of the family which is top down. Functionalists see society as being similar to a biological organism for example the human body. This is called the organic analogy. The human body is made up of various different parts that function together, each part is necessary for the normal functioning of the whole body. Society is made up of various institutions (for example education or family), Functionalists believe that these institutions rely on each other each other which helps maintain social order. If one institution is quickly modified or fails to work with other institutions, society would be dysfunctional and would end up in anarchy. Functionalists compare this with the human body because if one component is unable to work, this often affects other components in the body, which could result in death. Functionalists believe that a family is a vital institution, which contributes to maintaining social order because it meets the needs of other institutions such as the education system, which enables society to function in a unified manner. Functionalists believes that the nuclear family fits society’s needs, however...
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...ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS IN SOCIETY TODAY. (33 marks.) Since the 1960s there has been massive growth in the number of sects and cults and the number of people belonging to them. For example there is an estimated to be over 800 new religious movements and half a million individuals belonging to these and other non-mainstream Christian churches in the UK. Sociologists have offered three key explanations for this trend; marginality, relative deprivation and social change. Troeltsch had noted sects tended to draw members from the poor and the oppressed. Similarly, Max Weber argues sects arise in groups who are marginal in society. Such groups feel they’re disprivileged. They don’t believing they’re receiving their economic rewards or social status. Weber argues that sects offer a solution to this problem by offering members a theodicy of disprivilege – a religious explanation and justification for their suffering and disadvantage. This can explain their misfortune as a test of faith, for example while holding out the promise of rewards in the future for keeping the faith. Historically many sects as well as millenarian movements have recruited from the marginalised poor. For example in the 20th century the Nation of Islam recruited among disadvantaged oppressed blacks in the USA. However since the 1960s the sect world rejecting new religious movement the Moonies have recruited from more affluent groups of young, well-educated middle class whites. However Wallis argues this doesn’t contradict...
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...Asses the contribution of postmodernism to sociologists understanding of crime and deviance in todays society. Some sociologists believe that we now live in a post-modern society that has a distinct set of characteristics in comparison to modern society; Postmodernists reject the views of the modernist theorists as they claim that they are metanarratives (big stories). They believe that sociology needs to develop new theories so we can fully understand postmodern society, as society is constantly changing it is marked with uncertainty and therefore society is split into a variety of groups. This essay will discuss the changes that have taken place in postmodern society and how this impacts upon our understanding of crime and deviance. Postmodernity has brought changes from modernity these changes include independence and choice. There is less focus on science, postmodernists reject scientific research methods in their research therefore postmodernists are criticised for being subjective. Lyotard argues that society is expanding due to the economic and scientific growth, knowledge is no longer a tool of the authorities, and we now have choice and freedom to believe what we want. Whereas Baudrillard argued that we are isolated and knowledge is filtered through businesses such as the media. We pursue the images attached to products; we now live in hyper-realities in which appearances are everything. This has lead to ‘death of the social’ which is a breakdown in social solidarity;...
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...there are major differences in how childhood is defined, both historically, and culturally, similarly, Stephen Wagg says of childhood; “childhood is socially constructed. It is in other words, what members of particular societies, at particular times, and in particular places, say it is. There is no single universal childhood experienced by all. So childhood isn't 'natural' and should be distinguished from mere biological immaturity” This argues that it is not a natural state, but is socially defined. This however is not a universally accepted definition, for example modern law states that a 'child' is any person under the age of eighteen, so this means the period of childhood is 0-18 years, but the theory that childhood is socially constructed is one which is backed up by several sociologists, such as Phillipe Aries, who in “centuries of childhood” argues that in medieval society, childhood did not exist, but in fact it did not begin to appear until the fifteenth century. He argues that straight after the dependant stage of infancy, children were entered into the world of work immediately. His evidence for this argument lay in medieval paintings, as very frequently children were not portrayed as visibly different to adults. However many sociologists would argue that that has greatly changed over time, mainly due to the theory that the idea of childhood changes depending on three things; time, place, culture. This argument of time, place and culture being vital in the determination...
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...Many sociologists argue that the family has lost a number of its functions in modern industrial society. Institutions such as business, political parties, schools, and welfare organizations now specialize in functions formerly performed by the family. Talcott Parsons argues that the family has become 'on the "macroscopic" levels, almost completely functionless. It does not itself, except here and there, engage in much economic production; it is not a significant unit in the political power system; it is not a major direct agency of integration of the larger society. Its individual members participate in all these functions, but they do so as "individuals", not in their roles as family members'. However, this does not mean that the family is declining in importance. It has simply become more specialized. Parsons maintains that its role is still vital. By structuring the personalities of the young and stabilizing the personalities of adults, the family provides its members with the psychological training and support necessary to meet the requirements of the social system. This view is supported by N. Dennis who argues that impersonal bureaucratic agencies have taken over many of the family's functions. As a result the warmth and close supportive relationships which existed when the family performed a large range of functions have largely disappeared. Dennis argues that in the impersonal setting of modern industrial society, the family provides the only opportunity 'to participate...
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...The classical liberal ideology emerged as a result of the Enlightenment period, which brought about new philosophies, challenging the existing assumptions about the nature of humankind and society. Modern liberalism developed around 1870 as a result of both philosophical and practical changes, including mass industrialisation. Classical liberals argue that modern liberalism has broken the principles of doctrines central to liberal thought whilst modern liberals claim that they are simply adapting and building on classical liberalist ideas. This essay will discuss the extent to which modern liberalism departs from classical liberalisms by analysing approaches to the size of the state, democracy and the concept of freedom and aims to justify the argument that modern liberalism departs considerably from classical liberalism. Modern liberalism departs from the ideas of classical liberalism with regards to the concept of freedom, although the extent of difference is limited. Isiah Berlin first discussed the concept of freedom in an essay published in 1958. Berlin proposed two concepts of liberty; positive, which is supported by modern liberalists, and negative, which is supported by classical liberals. The classical conception of negative liberty suggests that society is best when there is an absence of external restrictions or constraints on the individual. Therefore, classical liberals strongly supported full individual freedom. John Stuart Mill, a political philosopher known...
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...of modern European societies (33 marks) There is no agreed definition of the word secularisation- depending on how you define it will determine whether or not it is happening/exists. Some will argue that; secularisation is happening, it never happened, it did happen, or it’s a western issue. The exclusivist definition sees religion as involving beliefs in some supernatural, supra-human being or forces of some kind, which would indicate that secularisation is apparent in modern society as church attendance has declined in the UK from 11.1% of the population in the 1980s, to 6.6% in 2005. The inclusivist definition takes a less traditional approach, and includes beliefs and activities that most wouldn’t define as religious e.g. New Age Movements that look at spiritual therapies; this suggests secularisation isn’t happening and that religion is never likely to decline as alternative activities replace traditional roles of religion. If secularisation is defined as the exclusivist definition, then the UK can be classes as experiencing secularisation. Different sociologists have different theories contributing to our understanding of secularisation, for example Webers rationalisation theory. However, opponents of the secularisation debate argue that secularisation is only apparent in modern European societies, as church attendance and religious participation is in the increase in countries like America. Firstly evidence supporting the view of secularisation is only in modern European...
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...Society has now entered a new postmodern age and we need new theories to understand it, assess this view (33 marks) Most meta-narrative theories such as Functionalism and Marxism can be described as 'modernist' theories in that they explain the workings of 'modern society'. Modern society first emerged in Western Europe from about the late 18th century following the industrial revolution and the mass industrialisation of the western world. Modern can be distinguished from previous traditional societies in a number of ways. Firstly, the nation-state is the key political unit in modern society, we tend to think of the modern world as made up of a series of separate societies, each with its own state. In contrast to the small traditional feudal society where one had to look after themselves, modern nation states have created large administrative bureaucracies and educational, welfare and legal institutions to regulate their citizens lives. The nation state is also an important source of identity for citizens, who identify with its symbols such as the flag. Modern societies run off a capitalist economy. Capitalism brought about the industrialisation of modern society and with it the massive wealth modern nation-states now possess. However the wealth distribution within modern societies is unequal, resulting in class conflict according to the Marxist theology. The nation-state is important in regulating capitalism resulting in something Lash and Urry call 'organised...
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