ABSTRACT
The Equilibrium Worldview pole corresponds to a functionalist view of society. As Morrow and Torres (1995) state, a functionalist approach “is especially concerned with the conditions that maintain social order and stability” (p. 20), with “adjusting the fit between education and what are assumed to be societal needs” (p. 36), where society is viewed as based on consensus. Functionalism stresses “manifest and selective latent functions of education and their overall positive influence upon social development” (p. 55, emphases in original). With regard to educational reform, functionalist approaches tend to endorse a “ ‘common sense’ of reform [that] assume[s] that intervention is progress.” A better world is to evolve as the result of new programs, new technologies, and new organizations that increase efficiency, economy, and effectiveness” (Popkewitz, 1991, p. 1).
