Learning Functionalism Is Now a Widely Criticized

¶ … Learning

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.

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 premise than the functionalism theory, still they lack the essential attributes needed to create a better learning system. For this reason, democratic theory of education appears to be the only viewpoint that satisfies educational critics and makes the learning environment favorable for reforms. Democratic theory subscribes to the principle that unless we discuss the problems inherent in our education system openly, we cannot hope to bring about a desired change. "The most distinctive feature of a democratic theory of education is that it makes a democratic virtue out of our inevitable disagreement over educational problems. The democratic virtue, too simply stated, is that we can publicly debate educational problems in a way much more likely to increase our understanding of education and each other than if we were to leave the management of schools, as Kant suggests, "to depend entirely upon the judgment of the most enlightened experts." .. The policies that result from our democratic deliberations will not always be the right ones, but they will be more enlightened -- by the values and concerns of the many communities that constitute a democracy -- than those that would be made by unaccountable educational experts." (Gutmann: 11)

The education system in the country and everywhere around that world has its fair share of flaws. The system is plagued with problems that most recognize but few know how to resolve. Democratic theory opines that if we bring the problems out in the open, we have a better chance of improving our system as the best heads in the country are assigned the job of formulating reforms. The democratic theory of democratic however doesn't offer any solutions to the problems in the education system. However it helps in recognizing key defective areas and invites the best people in the field to offer possible solutions.