Talcott parsons theory on education

Last Updated on June 5, 2023 by Karl Thompson

The American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1961) outlined what is commonly accepted as the Functionalist view of education as it relates to modern societies in the late 1950s.

Particularistic and Universalistic Values

Parsons argued that, after primary socialisation within the family, the school takes over as the focal socialising: school acts as a bridge between family and society as a whole, preparing children for their adult roles in society.

Within the family, the child is judged by particularistic standards.

Talcott Parsons’s sociology of education: cognitive ...

Parents treat the child as their own, unique, special child, rather than judging him or her by universal standards that are applied to every individual.

However, in the wider society the individual is treated and judged in terms of universalistic standards, which are applied to all members, regardless of their kinship ties.

Within the family, the child’s status is ascribed: it is fixed by birth.

However, in advanced in Talcott Parsons: The Architect of Modern Sociological Theory ... CIQIM