Functionalist Theory

Perhaps the oldest and most dominant theoretical perspective in sociology, functionalist theory, or structural functionalism, focuses on the central idea that society is a whole unit, composed of interconnected parts. These parts both influence the whole of society and are, in turn, influenced by the whole. Accordingly, each part of society—families, schools, the economy, states, and religious organizations and groups, for example—perform certain activities that are either functional (beneficial consequences or outcomes) or dysfunctional (negative consequences).

French sociologist Émile Durkheim, a positivistic organicist and early pioneer in the development of functionalist theory, established sociology as a quantitative and academic social science and gave life to the functionalist paradigm in sociology. In The Division of Labor in Society, his 1893 dissertation, Durkheim saw the division of labor as a cooperative, functional specialization regulated by the normative system of the social configuration in which it occurs. In a functional system, different people, performing different tasks, are rewarded according to the functional importance of their contributions. Durkheim argued that social development is explained by the increased differentiation of functions (the division of labor) and the moral transformation that is necessary to integrate a heterogeneous, differentiated society.

Functionalists also see the social world as being “objectively real” and observable with such techniques as social surveys and interviews. A functionalist might argue, for instance, that every society must have an educational system. Educational institutions have certain functions that contribute to the survival of the social system, just as organs in the human body contribute to its survival. Functional analyses often focus on the individual, showing how broader social forces mold individual behavior.

In 1968, Robert Merton, another prominent functionalist, proposed a number of important distinctions to avoid potential weaknesses and clarify ambiguities in the basic perspective. First, Merton distinguished manifest from latent functions. Manifest functions are recognized and intended by actors in the social system and hence may represent motives for their actions. Latent functions, on the other hand, are unrecognized and thus unintended by the actors. Second, Merton distinguished between consequences that are positively functional to a society, functions that are dysfunctional for the society, and those that are neither. Third, Merton distinguished between levels of society: specific social units for which regularized patterns of behavior are functional or dysfunctional. Finally, he suggested that particular social structures, such as education, that satisfy society's functional needs, may not be indispensable. Rather, structural alternatives may exist that can satisfy the same functional needs.

To understand the educational system, consider how it contributes to the maintenance of a healthy social system. Functionalists argue that a healthy society must have individuals who obey society's norms and seek appropriate values. People are socialized into these “normative” expectations for behavior, which are core to the social structure. Societies engender social solidarity and value consensus, and education plays a vital role in this socialization process.

Two main questions confront functionalists when they analyze education:

• 1.
  What does the educational system contribute to the maintenance of value consensus?
• 2.
  What are the functional relationships between the educational system

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