Education as a Form of Social Control
Education is one of society's most powerful institutions for maintaining social order and shaping how young people think and behave. Schools don't just teach academic subjects they also teach students the rules, values and behaviours that society expects them to follow.
Key Definitions:
- Social Control: The methods used by society to encourage conformity to norms, values and laws.
- Formal Social Control: Official rules, policies and sanctions that regulate behaviour.
- Informal Social Control: Unofficial ways of encouraging conformity through peer pressure, praise, or disapproval.
- Hidden Curriculum: The unwritten, unofficial lessons, values and perspectives that students learn in school.
📚 Formal Control in Schools
Schools use many official methods to control student behaviour:
- Rules and policies: School uniforms, attendance requirements, behaviour codes
- Rewards: Merits, certificates, prizes for good behaviour
- Sanctions: Detentions, exclusions, reports for breaking rules
- Surveillance: CCTV, teacher monitoring, registration systems
🤝 Informal Control in Schools
Schools also shape behaviour in less obvious ways:
- Peer pressure: Students influence each other's behaviour
- Teacher approval: Praise or disapproval from respected adults
- School ethos: The general atmosphere and values promoted
- Role modelling: Teachers demonstrating expected behaviours
The Hidden Curriculum
While schools officially teach subjects like maths and English, they also teach unspoken lessons about how to behave in society. This 'hidden curriculum' is a powerful form of social control that prepares students for their future roles.
What the Hidden Curriculum Teaches
The hidden curriculum teaches students important social lessons that aren't in the official syllabus:
⌚ Time Management
School timetables, deadlines and punctuality requirements teach students to manage time effectively preparing them for the workplace.
🔗 Authority & Hierarchy
Students learn to respect authority figures, follow instructions and understand their place in hierarchical structures.
👌 Social Values
Schools promote values like hard work, competition, achievement and conformity to prepare students for adult life.
Case Study Focus: School Uniforms
School uniforms are a clear example of education as social control. By requiring all students to dress identically, schools:
- Reduce visible social class differences
- Create a sense of belonging and school identity
- Teach conformity and respect for rules
- Prepare students for workplace dress codes
Research shows that many schools believe uniforms improve behaviour and create a more focused learning environment, though evidence for academic improvement is mixed.
Sociological Perspectives on Education and Social Control
Different sociological theories view education's role in social control in different ways:
📈 Functionalist Perspective
Functionalists see education's social control function as positive and necessary:
- Schools teach shared values that hold society together
- Rules prepare young people for adult responsibilities
- Social control creates order needed for learning
- Schools help maintain social stability
Key thinker: Durkheim believed education transmits society's norms and values to create social solidarity.
⚖ Marxist Perspective
Marxists view education's social control function more critically:
- Schools reproduce inequality by teaching working-class children to accept their position
- Education creates a docile workforce for capitalism
- Rules and hierarchy prepare students for exploitation in work
- Social control maintains the status quo and class divisions
Key thinker: Bowles and Gintis argued schools mirror workplace relationships to create compliant workers.
Mechanisms of Control in Education
Schools use various methods to control student behaviour and shape their attitudes:
Reward and Punishment Systems
Schools use sophisticated systems of rewards and sanctions to encourage conformity:
- Merit systems: Points, badges, or certificates for good behaviour
- House points: Creating competition between groups to encourage good behaviour
- Detention: Keeping students after school as punishment
- Exclusion: Temporary or permanent removal from school
These systems teach students that following rules brings rewards, while breaking them leads to negative consequences mirroring wider society's legal and social systems.
Streaming and Setting
Grouping students by ability is another form of social control that:
- Labels students as more or less academically capable
- Creates different expectations for different groups
- Can reinforce social class divisions
- Teaches students to accept their assigned 'level' in the hierarchy
Case Study Focus: Digital Surveillance in Schools
Modern schools increasingly use technology to monitor and control students:
- Electronic registration systems track attendance and punctuality
- CCTV cameras monitor behaviour in corridors and playgrounds
- Online learning platforms record student activity and work completion
- Some schools monitor students' social media for bullying or inappropriate content
This surveillance teaches students that they are constantly being monitored preparing them for similar surveillance in adult workplaces and public spaces.
The Effectiveness of Education as Social Control
How well does education actually control students' behaviour and attitudes? The evidence is mixed:
Successes of Educational Social Control
Education successfully socialises most students to:
- Accept basic social rules and norms
- Develop work habits like punctuality and meeting deadlines
- Respect authority figures
- Accept the legitimacy of social hierarchies
Limitations and Resistance
However, education's control isn't total. Students often resist through:
- Anti-school subcultures: Groups that reject school values
- Minor rule-breaking: Uniform violations, lateness, talking in class
- Truancy: Avoiding school altogether
- Challenging authority: Questioning rules or teacher decisions
Paul Willis's study "Learning to Labour" showed how working-class boys created their own counter-culture that rejected school values but ironically prepared them for working-class jobs.
Contemporary Issues in Education and Social Control
Today's educational control systems face new challenges:
- Social media: Schools struggle to control online behaviour outside school hours
- Cultural diversity: Rules may conflict with different cultural practices
- Mental health awareness: Strict control systems may increase student anxiety
- Rights awareness: Students are more aware of their rights to challenge unfair rules
Exam Tip
When writing about education and social control in your exam:
- Use specific examples of formal and informal control mechanisms
- Compare different sociological perspectives (Functionalist vs Marxist)
- Consider both positive and negative aspects of educational control
- Link to wider themes of socialisation and social order
Summary
Education is a powerful form of social control that shapes young people's behaviour through both formal rules and informal influences. The hidden curriculum teaches students the unspoken rules of society, preparing them for adult roles. Different sociological perspectives view this control function differently functionalists see it as necessary for social order, while Marxists view it as a tool for maintaining inequality. While education successfully socialises most students, there are always forms of resistance and challenges to control.