Title: Exploring the Role of Schools in Cultural Assimilation: A Deep Dive into the Social Functions of Education

Question: Assimilation, political socialisation and modernisation Functionalists view the school as society 's primary instrument for meeting the demands of our modern political, social and economic life. Schools must teach students to act according to democratic principles, to tolerate diversity and to work in a specialised, highly technical economy. In addition to these three political , social and economic goals, it is expected that a person should be rewarded according to merit. These are the basic elements required for developing and maintaining a modern, functional These elements are related to the social function of the school and the school 's direct role in cultural assimilation, political socialisation and modernisation (Feinberg & Soltis, 2004: 24-25). . The first two processes, assimilation and political socialisation, are closely aligned with the functionalist 's views on social integration and solidarity. The third process, modernisation, is aligned with the functionalist 's view on role differentiation and development theory (Sadovnik, 2007: 206-207; Brint, 2006: 203-204; Feinberg & Soltis, 2004: 23-26) . The three processes or concepts are defined below. • Assimilation is a cultural concept and refers to the process whereby one group, usually the subordinate group, becomes indistinguishable from another group, usually a dominant one. For example, as one group takes on the attitudes, speech patterns and economic status of the dominant group, the process of assimilation occurs . • Political socialisation is primarily a political concept where a person's political loyalty is widened beyond the local group. As a psychological concept, it refers to the widening of a person's political loyalty beyond the local group to tne nation as a whole. For example, the person accepts the decision-making process ·of a modern democratic form of government. • Modernisation is both an economic and a social concept, and refers to the development of the meritocratic, bureaucratic and individualistic form of life that is associated with modern society . It is a prerequisite for technological and economic development. These three processes can overlap. For example, assimilation involves a change in the wants and needs of the members of the more recently established groups, modernisation pre-supposes just such a change and political socialisation may be seen as a more specific case of assimilation . Nevertheless, while these processes tend to overlap, they ca,n also be treated separately. 1.1 read the text above and in 5 sentences discuss assimilation in relation to the social function of a school (use the text for answers)