Parsons on Education
Summary
TLDRThis video explores Talcott Parsons' functionalist view on education, expanding on Durkheim's ideas. Parsons argues that education serves as a bridge between home and wider society, transforming particularistic family values into universal societal ones. He emphasizes that education promotes meritocracy, individualism, and prepares students for a mobile workforce. Schools reinforce these concepts through the hidden curriculum, shaping behaviors, hierarchies, and competition. The video also touches on criticisms from Marxists, who argue that education promotes capitalist values, and postmodernists, who believe that in fragmented societies, universal values are less relevant.
Takeaways
- 📚 Talcott Parsons expanded on Durkheim's functionalist view of education, suggesting that education serves as a bridge between home and wider society.
- 🏠 Parsons emphasized that primary socialization at home is not enough to prepare individuals for societal norms; education transforms home-based particularistic values into universal societal values.
- 🔄 Particularistic values are specific to individuals or groups, while universal values apply to everyone in society, helping individuals adapt to broader societal expectations.
- ⏳ Education promotes punctuality and adherence to rules, with examples like buses or employers not waiting for individuals, unlike in family settings.
- 🎓 Parsons argued that education shifts an individual's status from ascribed (based on family roles) to achieved (based on personal performance and merit).
- 🏅 Meritocracy is a key concept in education, where individuals earn their status through ability, rather than through birth or familial ties.
- 👤 Education fosters individualism over collectivism, preparing students for a socially and geographically mobile workforce by emphasizing personal achievement.
- 📖 Schools achieve these goals through the hidden curriculum, where informal lessons such as respect for hierarchy, punctuality, and conformity are implicitly taught.
- 🏆 Competition in schools, especially through assessments and qualifications, prepares students for a merit-based society where performance is judged individually.
- 💡 Marxists critique this view, suggesting that the hidden curriculum supports capitalism by promoting ruling class values and neglecting the values of the lower classes.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Talcott Parsons' ideas on education?
-Talcott Parsons focused on the role of education in secondary socialization, acting as a bridge between home and wider society, and transforming particularistic values of home into universal values.
How did Parsons expand on Émile Durkheim's ideas about education?
-Parsons expanded Durkheim's ideas by introducing the concept of secondary socialization, suggesting that education serves as a bridge between home and society by transforming particularistic family values into universal societal values.
What are particularistic and universal values according to Parsons?
-Particularistic values are specific to a group or individual, such as those learned at home, while universal values apply to everyone in society, such as punctuality and meritocracy.
How does education help transform ascribed status into achieved status?
-Education helps transform ascribed status (e.g., being someone's child or sibling) into achieved status by evaluating individuals based on their performance and achievements, rather than their family background.
What is the role of meritocracy in Parsons' view of education?
-Meritocracy in education, according to Parsons, allows individuals to earn their status through ability and performance, rather than being born into a particular status, promoting fairness and individual achievement.
How does education promote individualism over collectivism, according to Parsons?
-Education promotes individualism by encouraging competition among students for grades and accomplishments, preparing them for a work environment where they will be judged on their individual performance.
What is the hidden or informal curriculum in education?
-The hidden curriculum refers to the implicit lessons taught in schools, such as acceptance of hierarchies, punctuality, conformity, and competition, which prepare students for societal roles.
How do schools use sanctions and rewards to shape behavior according to Parsons?
-Schools use sanctions, such as detentions, and rewards, such as praise or recognition, to reinforce positive behavior and discourage non-conformity, promoting universal standards of behavior.
What criticisms do Marxists have of Parsons' views on education?
-Marxists argue that the hidden curriculum promotes capitalist and ruling class values rather than societal consensus. They believe it encourages individualism to prevent collective resistance and neglects the values of lower social classes.
How do postmodernists critique the idea of universal values in education?
-Postmodernists argue that society is too fragmented for universal values to be meaningful, as individuals now choose their own values in a multicultural and media-saturated world. They also suggest that conflicts between ruling class values and other groups can lead to underachievement.
Outlines
🎓 Understanding Talcott Parsons' Views on Education
This paragraph introduces the video on Talcott Parsons' perspective on education, following up on the previous video about Émile Durkheim's views. It explains that while Durkheim emphasized social solidarity and teaching specialist skills, Parsons expanded on these ideas, particularly focusing on the function of secondary socialization. Parsons believed education acts as a bridge between home life and the broader society by transforming the particularistic values of home into the universal values of society. For instance, where families may wait for someone running late, broader societal systems, such as public transportation or workplaces, won't. The paragraph emphasizes that education helps shift individuals from family-based ascribed status to achieved status, supporting the concept of meritocracy.
🏫 Schools Promoting Individualism Over Collectivism
Parsons also suggested that education promotes individualism, which is crucial for a geographically and socially mobile workforce. Schools prepare students for the competitive nature of the workforce by prioritizing individual achievement over collective bonds. This is achieved through the hidden curriculum, where students are taught to accept hierarchies, work hard, and conform to rules such as wearing uniforms and being punctual. Success in education, measured by assessments and qualifications, contributes to the students' achieved status. In systems like the U.S., where individuals are ranked or awarded valedictorian status, competition between students is encouraged, further shifting them from collectivism to individualism.
👔 Education's Role in Preparing Students for Wider Society
This section explains how education enforces societal standards, such as uniform policies and discipline, to control students’ behavior. For example, schools may enforce strict dress codes, and students are often sanctioned for non-compliance or tardiness. Recently, schools have been instructed to teach cultural capital and literacy to help students succeed in society, aligning with wider societal values. Schools also ensure that students receive social, moral, spiritual, and cultural education, forming part of the hidden curriculum. The aim is to foster a shared understanding of norms and values, preparing students for life in broader society.
⚖️ Criticisms from Marxists and Postmodernists
The paragraph introduces critiques of Parsons' functionalist view, particularly from Marxists and postmodernists. Marxists argue that the hidden curriculum promotes the values of capitalism and the ruling class rather than a societal value consensus, as Parsons suggested. They believe education perpetuates individualism to prevent collective worker revolts and neglects the values of the lower classes. Postmodernists, on the other hand, argue that society is too fragmented for universal values to exist. They believe that individuals now choose their own values, especially in a multicultural, media-saturated world, weakening the impact of transmitting norms through education.
🧠 Impacts of Clashing Values and the Role of Habitus
This final paragraph discusses how clashes between the values promoted by the education system and those of other social groups, particularly the working class, can lead to underachievement. The influence of habitus, a concept introduced by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, will be examined in later videos, especially regarding its role in shaping educational outcomes for working-class students. The paragraph concludes the video, encouraging viewers to reflect on these ideas and stay tuned for more discussions on habitus and education.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Functionalism
💡Secondary Socialization
💡Particularistic Values
💡Universal Values
💡Meritocracy
💡Achieved Status
💡Ascribed Status
💡Individualism
💡Hidden Curriculum
💡Cultural Capital
Highlights
Talcott Parsons builds on Durkheim's ideas of education serving functional roles in society.
Education acts as a bridge between the particularistic values of home and the universal values of society.
Parsons emphasizes secondary socialization through education, where children transition from family-specific values to broader societal norms.
Education prepares individuals to move from ascribed status (son, daughter) to achieved status, judged by merit and ability.
Parsons introduces the concept of meritocracy, where individuals earn their status through ability rather than inherited positions.
Individualism is promoted over collectivism to create a geographically and socially mobile workforce.
The hidden curriculum teaches students implicit societal values, such as acceptance of hierarchies, punctuality, and hard work.
Sanctions and rewards in schools reinforce conformity to societal norms, like wearing uniforms and adhering to punctuality.
Assessments and qualifications are essential to gaining achieved status in society, with university entrance and jobs relying on individual performance.
Competition among students, such as ranking in the class or being a valedictorian, encourages individualism over collectivism.
School disciplinary policies, such as uniforms and punctuality rules, enforce universal societal standards.
The hidden curriculum includes teaching cultural capital and cultural literacy, helping students succeed in wider society.
Marxists critique Parsons' view, arguing that the hidden curriculum serves capitalist and ruling-class interests, promoting individualism to suppress collective action.
Postmodernists challenge the idea of universal values, stating that society is fragmented, and individuals adopt their own values, reducing the impact of shared norms.
Conflicts between ruling-class values and other social groups can lead to underachievement in education.
Transcripts
welcome to this tutor to you sociology
topic video in this video we will be
looking at telcot parsons ideas on
education
in our last video der cameron education
we looked at the functionalist view that
education serves a range of beneficial
functions for wireless society and
examine two functions proposed by emil
durkheim social solidarity and teaching
a specialist skills
talk up parsons developed durkheim's
ideas further in the post-war era in the
united states and suggested a further
function secondary socialization or what
some refer to as being the bridge
between home and the value consensus of
wider society
parsons suggested that the primary
socialization of home is not adequate
for members when they move from home
into wider society
he believed that education was essential
in acting as a bridge between home and
wider society
transforming the particularistic values
of home into more universal values in
society
particularistic values are those that
are specific to a group or individual
whereas universal values apply to
everybody in society for example if you
were going on a family outing and you
were running late your family would
hopefully wait for you
however in wider society if you're late
buses won't wait for you your class
won't wait and your employer may even
discipline you school prepares you for
this
additionally education transforms your
ascribed status as somebody's son
daughter brother sister into an achieved
one
one that means you will be judged based
upon your performances rather than your
place as a son or daughter
this can be linked to the promotion of
meritocracy in schools as individuals
earn their status through ability in
wider society rather than being born
into it as in the family
finally parsons suggested that education
should promote individualism rather than
collectivism in schools there are links
here to parsons work on the needs of
society to have a geographically and
socially mobile workforce by promoting
individualism over collectivism
the education system can prepare
students to sacrifice the collective
bonds of their communities for career
progression
so how does education achieve this
mainly through the hidden or informal
curriculum that is the knowledge skills
and attributes that are implicit in the
education system
acceptance of hierarchies hard work
being rewarded being punctual wearing
uniforms conforming schools achieve this
through sanctions and rewards with
positive behavior rewarded and
non-conformity sanctioned
assessments and qualifications are a
method used by the school to enable
students to achieve
to gain achieve status
in wider society university entrance and
employment are both decided upon by the
qualifications on individual possesses
while ideas of meritocracy are
transmitted through teachers lecturers
and employers
finally competition between students for
grades or in sports is encouraged to
move students from collectivism to
individualism
this is evident particularly in the u.s
education system with individuals being
ranked in their university class or
being awarded valedictorian status as
the top student of their graduate year
this prepares students for working life
where they'll be judged on their
performance usually against their
colleagues
so how do we apply this to our
contemporary society well many schools
use uniform and disciplinary policies in
order to control this process
while at home you may be encouraged to
dress individually at school there are
sanctions for not conforming to uniform
regulations
each september we hear through the media
of students being sent home or placed in
isolation for not wearing the right
shoes not having the right length skirt
or having an inappropriate hairstyle for
learning
furthermore students who are late or
disruptive in class may be sanctioned
such as detentions and isolation and
this is designed to enforce universal
standards behavior on pupils
recently
educational policies have seen ofsted
announcing that schools should be
teaching students cultural capital and
cultural literacy implicitly in the
curriculum to enable students to succeed
in wider society
there'll be more in this when we look at
borgio and cultural capital
schools also have a responsibility to
ensure that students receive social
moral spiritual and cultural education
while this is not done explicitly in
lessons it forms part of the hidden
curriculum to enable students to
understand the shared norms and values
of wider society
once again as with durkheim when it
comes to evaluation of functionist ideas
marxists spring to mind
marxist agree that there is a hidden
curriculum but argue that its purpose is
not as benign as functionalists would
suggest
they think that it is not society's
value consensus that students learn but
the values of capitalism and the ruling
class
individualism is a key factor in keeping
workers from revolting while promoting
ruling class values the values of the
lower classes are neglected
further criticism comes from
post-modernism
they are they disagree with universal
values arguing that society is so
fragmented and that individuals choose
their own values
in a multicultural and media saturated
society the impacts of passing on norms
and values through education is greatly
diluted
and furthermore clashes between the
values of the ruling class and other
groups often lead to under achievement
now this is an important concept we'll
look at in later videos the role of the
habit is in education and particularly
how it might influence working class
experience
i hope you found this video useful in
explaining parsons views on education
and thank you for watching
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