How do functionalist and Marxist views differ in their approaches to the function of education?
First it is important to understand the difference between the two theories. In general, functionalists believe society is the way it is because it benefits society. Since they don’t really question how society should be, they instead focus on finding out how society works or functions. The Marxists (conflict theory), on the other hand, believe that society only benefits the few. They are more interested in looking at how society changes due to conflict, and they do ask how society should be. Functionalists see education as serving an important role in maintaining and continuing society. They see education as important because it socializes the students, helps them develop new knowledge, and finds out what skills each student has in order to help them end up in an appropriate job for their abilities. Marxists, on the other hand, view education as an institution that perpetuates our current exploitative system. They see faults in education because it prepares students to be compliant wo
