Learning Functionalism Is Now a Widely Criticized Term Paper

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Functionalism is now a widely criticized social theory and the large percentage of this criticism is directed against its inability to explain social change. Emile Durkheim and other functionalists were of the view that society works as a whole and each part of this whole contributes towards keeping the entire system as it is. They felt that each part of society such as the media, family, government and schools work in such a manner as to keep the society in its present shape. Kuper and Kuper have defined functionalism as a "doctrine which asserts that the principal task of sociology and social anthropology is to examine the contribution which social items make to the social and cultural life of human collectivities; it may additionally assert that to examine social phenomena in this way is to explain why those items occur at all, and/or why they have persisted." This is an interesting social theory and would have remained unchallenged had it not been for social change that led to the development of various other viewpoints to counter functionalism. When functional theory is applied to learning, the problems with this viewpoint become even more pronounced. Functionalists believe that education policy is not exactly importantly and neither are the reforms. They feel that the system works in such a way that schools automatically develop a learning strategy that helps in keeping the society that way it is. For example if society has certain character and psyche, it would automatically become the character of educational system as well thus creating a harmonious whole.

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However such a theory cannot explain social change. We know that educational reforms are often needed and sometimes aggressively demanded. If we allowed this theory to be applied to learning, it would mean that no education policy or reforms are ever needed or useful. The system would remain static and passively follow the external social forces. This theory would thus hamper the growth of learning.

The theories that challenge or oppose the premise of functionalism include Liberal/Enlightenment theory and conflict theories. Liberal theory assumes that education or learning is an evolutionary process which is meant to provide individuals with necessary skills and tools to accomplish their goals and fulfill their dreams. Conflict theory maintains that all parts of society are in conflict with each other i.e. they have opposing interests. "Whereas liberal and conservative political theories assume that the best educational policies must be implemented, functionalist theories assume that they cannot be, regardless of the results of democratic deliberations."

Whereas Liberal and conflict theories are based on a sounder….....

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