Consensus Theories of Education

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about consensus theories of education, focusing in particular on: (i) Functionalist approaches to education, such as Talcott Parsons’ ideas regarding the role of schooling in preparing children for a meritocratic, competitive society; (ii) Kingsley Davis and Wilbur Moore’s arguments around the function of education in allocating people into appropriate roles and the benefits of this to society; (iii) the critique that the education system is not meritocratic, and the New Right response that differential educational outcomes are due to differences in culture, ability and effort between individual students, not the system itself.

About the lecturer

Matthew Cole is Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham. He is a historian of modern Britain with a particular interest in twentieth century constitutional and party politics, and local history.