Outline and assess the functionalist approach to the study of education

This assignment will begin with a brief overview of Functionalism. I will then go on to outline the main ideas and the sociologists involved in the functionalist study of education; concentrating primarily on Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917), Talcott Parsons, Kingsley Davis and Wilber Moore and their theories regarding the function of education in modern industrialised societies. Finally I will evaluate the approaches laid down and outlined in the main body of the essay.


Functionalism as a sociological theory argues that societies - rather like the human body - are made up of separate but interdependent parts. Each part has a distinct but important function in maintaining the whole. If something should disturb one part of the system, then all other parts will be affected too; in order to survive they then have to work together to re-establish equilibrium. Functionalists argue that members of a society must hold some common beliefs, perceptions and attitudes - a value consensus - in or...