Conflict Theory in Education

Conflict Theory

by Bernadette G. Bernadas and Nelsa C. Corpin

Lesson Objectives:

1. Define the Conflict Theory.

2. Examine the perspective of conflict theory on education.

3. Cite examples of the conflict theory.

Examples of Applying

Conflict Theory

What is Conflict Theory?

The Concept of Conflict Theory in Education

How does conflict theory of education work?

The Conflict Theory

Richer areas may receive more funding

The Hidden Curriculum

First-generation college students

01

With the exception of some funding from the government, public schools receive their funding from property taxes. This can be an issue because it means that richer neighborhoods may have better schools.

Conflict theorists do not believe that public schools reduce social inequality through providing equal opportunity. Rather, they believe that the educational system reinforces and perpetuates social inequalities that arise from differences in class, gender, race, and ethnicity.

The conflict theory of education is useful for understanding how social structure affects children in the public school system. You can use conflict theory to better understand how experiences in public school may affect a child for the rest of their lives.

Although few modern sociologists call themselves conflict theorists, scholars as notable as Karl Marx (1818–1883), Max Weber (1864–1920), Talcott Parsons (1902–1979), and Ralf Dahrendorf (1929–2009) have formulated theories as to what causes conflict, its normalcy, and the impact it has on societies.

02

These schools can provide higher quality education to their students, and when these students become adults, they can have a better chance at obtaining a high-paying job.

In this case, these families are more familiar with application procedures, the admissions process and applying for student aid.

Due to this, their likelihood of applying for and winning scholarships increases. These things can act as barriers for children who come from families where few or none of the members have attended college.

Children who come from families where many of the family members attended college are far more likely to attend college themselves. Families with many members who have attended college have gained cultural capital, which is is the privilege someone gains from knowing insider information about certain subjects or processes.

　　The cycle of rewarding those who possess cultural capital is found in formal educational curricula as well as in the hidden curriculum, which refers to the type of nonacademic knowledge that students learn through informal learning and cultural transmission. This hidden curriculum reinforces the positions of those with higher cultural capital and serves to bestow status unequally.

Conflict theories assume that all societies have structural power divisions and resource inequalities that lead to groups having conflicting interests (Wells, 1979).

03

As the cycle continues, it becomes more difficult for poorer neighborhoods to provide good schooling and help their students excel.

Where functionalists see education as serving a beneficial role, conflict theorists view it more negatively. To them, educational systems preserve the status quo and push people of lower status into obedience, which keeps them socioeconomically disadvantaged.

The Concept of Conflict Theory

Questions Commonly Ask by Conflict Theorists

Unequal

disciplinary action

Imperfect standardized testing

Conflict theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than by consensus and conformity.

The conflict perspective describes the inequalities that exist in all societies globally, and considers aspects of society as ways for those with power and status to maintain control over scare resources.

When we are analyzing any element of society from this perspective, we need to look at the structures of wealth, power and status, and the ways in which those structures maintain social, economic, political and coercive power of one group at the expense of others.

01

Certain demographics are more likely to be punished for minor offenses and removed from school in the form of expulsion or suspension. These punishments may result in students being labeled as troublemakers by their teachers and peers.

Conflict theorists pose questions that allow them to better understand social situations and the effects of power dynamics.These questions are important in learning about the consequences of conflict, especially as they affect school systems and classrooms.

Conflict theorists may ask what social groups exist in a situation and what forms of social differences lead those groups to form. Once they've identified the groups, they may ask how conflict develops between the groups and what the nature of the conflict is.

They may also ask what the long-term effects of those conflicts are.

02

The absence from school can also result in the loss of learning important subject material, beginning a process in which a child's performance and attendance steadily decline.

Standardized testing can often be more suitable for certain demographics than others, and may not accurately show the abilities and talents of groups other than the majority. This makes it harder for members of minority groups to receive high scores and the benefits associated with them

03

Schools are also more likely to involve authorities when altercations involve minority groups, which introduces them to the justice system at a young age.

Tracking

Low-track classes tend to be primarily composed of low-income students, usually minorities, while upper-track classes are usually dominated by students from socioeconomically successful groups.

01

Students are more likely to form friendships with other students in the same tracks than with students outside of their tracks.

Conflict theorists point to tracking, a formalized sorting system that places students on “tracks” (advanced versus low-achievers) that perpetuate inequalities. While educators may believe that students do better in tracked classes because they are with students of similar ability and may have access to more individual attention from teachers, conflict theorists feel that tracking leads to self-fulfilling prophecies in which students live up (or down) to teacher and societal expectations (Education Week 2004).

02

IQ tests have been attacked for being biased—for testing cultural knowledge rather than actual intelligence.

03

Thinking of your school, what are some ways that a conflict theorist would say that your school perpetuates class differences?

What are the limitations of

conflict theory of education?

References:

Conflict theory, in the broader sense, assumes that society is constantly changing. Therefore, the four fundamental assumptions of conflict theory are competition, revolution, structural inequality and war.

One major limitation of conflict theory of education is that these assumptions are difficult to apply to the educational systems and individual classrooms. Critics of conflict theory also argue that because society has been relatively stable for so long, it is incorrect to believe that conflict is the most important part of social reactions.

• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontosociology/chapter/conflict-theory-on-education/
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conflict-theory.asp
• https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/conflict-theory-of-education

Limitations and Weaknesses

01

There are limitations and weaknesses within the conflict theory. It is based on separating individuals into groups according to their sociological and political powers.

02

　This can be a weakness because it ignores the issues that a group may have, which leads to inequality. When groups are in competition, fighting for power it eliminates others' needs.

03

　Another weakness in the theory is that if a corrupt group in society has more power than the rest, society won't function properly. For example, decades ago women had no say in society because the powering group which were males overruled what women had to say. These are limitations within the conflict theory.