Functionalist and New Right Perspectives on the Role of Education
The functionalist and New Right view of education's role asks what education is for and whose interests it serves. Durkheim argues education creates social solidarity by transmitting a shared culture and value consensus, and teaches the specialist skills a complex, industrial division of labour needs. Parsons argues school is a bridge from the particularistic values of the family to the universalistic, meritocratic standards of wider society, judging every pupil by the same rules. Davis and Moore argue education performs role allocation, sifting and sorting pupils by ability so the most talented reach the most functionally important jobs, rewarded accordingly. The New Right, including Charles Murray, shares the functionalist belief that education should serve society and the economy, but argues state education fails to do so efficiently because it is a monopoly insulated from competition, and instead promotes an underclass culture of welfare dependency; New Right policy prescriptions such as marketisation follow directly from this diagnosis.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Sort every point into AO1 (accurate knowledge of the theory), AO2 (application to the item or question context) and AO3 (analysis and evaluation, usually by setting one perspective against another) - the mark scheme rewards all three, and an answer that only lists perspectives without evaluating them is capped in the lower levels.
- Name the specific theorist attached to each point rather than writing 'functionalists believe'; Durkheim, Parsons, and Davis and Moore make different, separable claims and examiners credit the distinction.
- Define key concepts precisely before using them: social solidarity, meritocracy, role allocation, value consensus, and (for the New Right) marketisation and parentocracy.
- If the question gives an item, use it: identify the specific claim or example in the item, name the concept it illustrates, and build your first paragraph directly from it rather than writing a generic answer that could apply to any question on the topic - items-blind answers are capped.
- Build the functionalist case first (Durkheim on solidarity and skills, Parsons on meritocratic bridging, Davis and Moore on role allocation), each with one line of supporting reasoning.
- Bring in the New Right as a distinct, comparable perspective: it shares functionalism's belief that education should serve society, but argues state provision fails because it lacks competition and accountability, and Murray's underclass thesis blames welfare dependency rather than the school system itself.
- Evaluate by setting perspectives against each other rather than listing separate criticisms: use a Marxist counter-point (education reproduces class inequality rather than allocating roles fairly) to challenge the functionalist claim of meritocracy, and use evidence of persistent class-based attainment gaps to challenge the New Right's assumption that competition alone raises standards for everyone.
- Close with a judgement that answers the actual question set, not a restatement of both sides.
Worked example
Item A: Some sociologists argue that the education system operates in the interests of society as a whole, teaching shared values and matching people to the jobs they are best suited for. Others argue that state education has failed because it is a monopoly protected from the competitive pressures that improve quality in other areas of life. Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate functionalist and New Right views of the role of education. (20 marks)
- Underline the two claims in the item: 'shared values and matching people to jobs' points to Durkheim and Davis and Moore; 'a monopoly protected from competitive pressures' points to the New Right critique of state provision.
- Plan paragraph one from the item's first claim: Durkheim's social solidarity and specialist skills, then Davis and Moore's role allocation, each explained with the reasoning behind the claim, not just the label.
- Plan paragraph two from the item's second claim: the New Right argument that a state monopoly is inefficient and unaccountable, linking to Murray's underclass thesis on how welfare dependency undermines the values education is meant to instil.
- Plan the evaluation paragraph: use Marxist evidence that role allocation is not meritocratic (class background predicts attainment more strongly than ability) to challenge Davis and Moore, and note that the New Right's own preferred solution, marketisation, has itself been criticised for widening rather than closing inequality.
- Write a conclusion that takes a position, for example that both perspectives correctly identify education as serving society's needs but overstate how fairly or efficiently it currently does so, since neither fully explains persistent class-based inequality of outcome.
- Check the answer used the item explicitly in its opening lines, named every theorist, and evaluated by comparison rather than by listing unconnected criticisms.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What does Durkheim mean by 'social solidarity' and how does he argue education creates it?Show answer
Answer: Social solidarity is the sense of belonging to a single community bound by shared norms and values. Durkheim argues education creates it by transmitting a shared culture, so members of a diverse society still feel part of one social whole.
Q2Explain the difference Parsons draws between particularistic and universalistic values, and why it matters for education.Show answer
Answer: Particularistic values judge a person by standards specific to them, as a parent does; universalistic values judge everyone by the same fixed standards, as a school does through exams and rules. Parsons argues school is the pupil's first experience of being judged universalistically, preparing them for the wider meritocratic society.
Q3What do Davis and Moore argue education allocates pupils to, and on what basis?Show answer
Answer: The job roles that best match their ability and effort, on the basis that education tests and grades pupils so the most talented can be sifted into the most functionally important positions in society.
Q4State one criticism of the functionalist claim that education is meritocratic.Show answer
Answer: Marxists point out that educational success correlates strongly with class background rather than ability alone, so the system legitimates existing inequality rather than removing it.
Q5According to the New Right, why does state education fail to raise standards?Show answer
Answer: Because it operates as a monopoly with no competitive pressure, so schools have little incentive to improve and are not accountable to the parents and pupils who use them.
Q6What is Murray's underclass thesis and how does it connect to education?Show answer
Answer: Murray argues a growing underclass has developed a culture of welfare dependency and rejects mainstream values including the value of education, so children from this culture are less likely to be motivated to achieve.
Q7Give one similarity and one difference between the functionalist and New Right views of education's role.Show answer
Answer: Similarity: both believe education should serve the needs of society and the economy. Difference: functionalists broadly believe state education already achieves this, while the New Right believes it fails to because it lacks market competition.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Outline two functions of the education system according to functionalists.
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Item B: Critics of state schooling argue that because parents cannot take their custom elsewhere, schools have little reason to improve, unlike businesses that must compete for customers. Applying material from Item B, analyse two reasons why the New Right favour introducing market competition into education. (10 marks)
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Item C: Some sociologists argue that the true purpose of education is to serve society by producing well-integrated citizens and matching people fairly to jobs. Others argue that without market pressure, state schools become inefficient and fail to prepare pupils properly for a competitive economy. Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that education serves the interests of society as a whole. (20 marks)
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See real A Level Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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