Education- Marxism Flashcards
Althusseur
Althusser argues that
Ideological State Apparatus
Althusser argues that capitalism is maintained through both the repressive and ideological state apparatus
Repressive state apparatus- institutions that force the proletariat to conform and keeps them in their place (e.g. police and army)
Ideological state apparatus- institutions that encourage conformity by transmitting ruling class ideology (e.g. family and education)
Key point- education serves the needs of capitalism by passing on ruling class norms and values, therefore legitimising capitalism and creating a submissive workforce.
Althusser and Education
According the Marx, education is part of the superstructure, and is therefore shaped by (and serves the needs of) capitalism
Capitalism requires the reproduction of the labour force in order to survive
There are two elements to this:
Passing on the knowledge and skills required for an effective and efficient workforce
Passing on ruling class ideology (capitalist norms and values)
The result of this is a skilled, submissive, and obedient workforce
Evaluation of Marxism
Functionalist would argue that the education system passes on the skills and the ideas (value consensus) required for an effective workforce. This benefits everyone, because society will continue to function effectively.
However, for Marxists, it’s not about enabling the proletariat to reach their full potential but rather to equip them with just enough to do the job that the ruling class need you to do to maximise their profits.
However, Althusser could be criticised for over-simplyifying here. Schools do more than simply brainwash and oppress children. School could be seen as a means of social mobility.
Correspondence theory
Bowles and Gintis “Schooling in Capitalist America” (1976)
This is the theory that there is a very close similarity (or ‘correspondence’), between the social relationships at school and at work. School prepares young people for work in capitalist society teaching the majority to be passive unquestioning workers of the future.
Students are taught to submit to authority, with little control over their time and work and get little satisfaction from it. This prepares them for alienating and unfulfilling work in the capitalist system.
They are motivated by the external rewards of qualifications in school, and in work motivated by money.
The Hidden Curriculum
the role of education in a capitalist society is the reproduction of labour power. Schools create a passive, unquestioning, and disciplined workforce.
This is done through what Marxists such as Bowles and Gintis call the hidden curriculum- a curriculum apart from the subjects taught that is hidden from teachers and students
Examples- punctuality, attendance, attitudes to authority, school uniform, discipline procedures
Myth of Meritocracy
The education system legitimates inequality promoting the pretence that it offers equality of opportunity and creates the myth of meritocracy
Schools teach that the education system is meritocratic and if you work hard you will be rewarded with good grades.
This leads us to believe that the capitalist system is fair and simply rewards hard work rather than privilege.
Meritocracy is a powerful myth, yet it is essential that members of society believe it.
Paul Willis “learning to labour”
Ethnographic qualitative study
Uses mixed methods, including non-participant observations and group interviews, and unstructured interviews
The sample was 12 working-class boys, from a school situated in a housing estate in Wolverhampton
The “lads” were from a friendship group, and were known to be disruptive and poorly behaved at school
Counter- school culture
Willis agreed that one function of education was the reproduction of labour power, and that this maintains social class inequality
However, he did not believe (as Bowles and Gintis did) that schools just produced docile and conformist workers, who were in a state of false class consciousness
Instead, Willis argued that working-class boys resist the dominant values of school and create their own counter-school subculture
This continues in their working life, where they develop “shop floor culture”
Willis concludes that the “lads” are not socialised to act the way they do by the school, nor are they forced to seek manual labour jobs.
They create their own subculture, that leads them to seek out this kind of work when they leave school (note how this is different to the previous structural approaches we have looked
This reinforces social reproduction by channelling working-class students into working-class roles.
Working class boys recognise that the possibility of social mobility is very remote, so school is not worth the effort (they do not buy in to the “myth of meritocracy”)
This is a criticism of the education system for failing to engage working-class students and perpetuating social inequalities.
Evaluation of learning the labour
Some critics argue that society has significantly changed since Willis conducted this research in the 1970s. We are experiencing deindustrialisation and manual jobs are rapidly disappearing.
However, others have argued that this makes it more relevant because of the growing uncertainty about their futures in the workplace. This might make working class resistance in schools even more prominent today.
Evaluating the Marxist perspective
Marxism gives an explanation for how inequalities are reproduced through the education system
This is supported by official statistics which show that there is a correlation between class and attainment
The work of interpretivist sociologists on “in-school” processes (e.g. labelling theory, setting and streaming) overwhelmingly supports the arguments put forward by Marxist and Neo Marxists.
Economic determinism- individuals are passive recipients of capitalist ideology. They exaggerate the extent to which institutions can be shaped by the bourgeoisie.
Classical Marxists assume that pupils are passive recipients of education whereas others argue that pupils can influence their own fate.
Marxism overlooks non-economic functions of education, such as socialization, cultural transmission, and personal development.
