EDUCATION: Marxism and Education

Question 1

What is the main idea of Marxism

Answer 1

Social class inequalities

i.e. keeping the rich, rich/richer and the poor, poor

Question 2

What are some weaknesses of Marxism

• Determinism
• Modern society

Answer 2

DETERMINISM:

• Doesn’t take into account other factors that cause inequalities
• Doesn’t explain gender or racial inequalities - and even if there are reasons, there are not enough
• The bourgeoisie can easily fall down to the proletariat platform
• Marx may have placed too much importance the economic side without referring to the important impact culture has as well

MODERN SOCIETY:

• The class structure today is more complex than Bourgeois-Proletariat.
• There is much less Alienation in modern companies. Workers aren’t gathered together in factories engaging in a false class consciousness and have a lot more say
  • Bowles and Gintis fail to explain why many pupils reject the schools attitudes

Question 3

What does deterministic mean

Answer 3

Forces and factors that guarantee things to happen in a way that can’t be changed

Question 4

What type of theory is marxism

Answer 4

A conflict structuralism (macro) theory

Question 5

What is Marxism main argument for the reason of social class inequalities

Answer 5

Capitalism - The economic and political system is controlled by private owners for profit rather than by the state

Marxists say that because of Capitalism, there is a difference in power in social groups - the Bourgeoisie own means of production and exploit the proletariat who earn less than them but do more labour.

Question 6

What does instruments of ruling class mean

Answer 6

Ways in which the bourgeoisie control their power

Question 7

What does dominant ideology mean

Answer 7

Most important set of ideas a society follows

Question 8

What does the reproduction of class inequalities mean

Answer 8

Your family situation will never change - you are educated to be a reproduction of your parents’ class

eg. working class parents will send their children to lower schools, and therefore they can’t attain high positions like PM

Question 9

What is the economic base and superstructure in marxism

Answer 9

Economic base: Those that control the wealth of society have the power to shape the superstructure

Superstructure: the ideologies that dominate a particular era

Question 10

What does false class consciousness mean and how does it link to Marxism

Answer 10

Denotes peoples ability to recognise exploitation and control over themselves

The proletariat are taught they are poor because they don’t work hard enough - use of ideologies by the bourgeoisie to implement ideas into the proletariats heads.

Question 11

What did Louis Althusser say were the ways in which the bourgeoisie maintain their power in the state?

Answer 11

IDEOLOGICAL STATE APPARATUS

RSA (Repressive state apparatus) - uses physical coercion to repress the working class with authorities like the police, court.

ISA (Ideological state apparatus) - Controls peoples ideas, values and beliefs through things like religion, media and the education system

Question 12

Althusser: What are the two functions education performs

Answer 12

1 - Education REPRODUCES class inequalities by TRANSMITTING it generation to generation

It does this by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn

2 - Education JUSTIFIES class inequalities by producing IDEOLOGIES that disguise its true cause

An example of a false ideology would be the MYTH OF MERITOCRACY; The working class accept their place because they are taught to believe they are poor and in low jobs because they dont work hard enough

Question 13

What is Bowles and Gintis’ main idea

Answer 13

WORKFORCE + CORRESPONDENCE PRINCIPLE

Argue that capitalism needs a workforce who are obedient, alienated and exploited to accept hard work, and low pay with orders from above.

Question 14

What does Bowles and Gintis say is the main purpose of education

Answer 14

To reproduce an obedient workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable

Question 15

What term does Bowles and Gintis link their idea to, and how does it explain it

• How does this key term operate

Answer 15

The correspondence principle
- Explains that whatever happens in the education system will be mirrored in the workplace

Relationships and structures in education mirror the workplace - headteachers and bosses
- the correspondence principle operates through he HIDDEN CURRICULUM - pupils become accustomed to accepting the hierarchy and comply to it.

Question 16

Why do Marxists say Meritocracy is a myth

Answer 16

Because the myth of meritocracy and everyone gaining equal opportunities only justifies the advantages of the higher class

This makes it seem as though there is in fact fair competition in school.
Education also justifies poor people because ‘poor are dumb’ which reconciles works to their exploited position, making them less likely to rebel.

Question 17

How do Bowles and Gintis say a hard-working workforce is made

Answer 17

• The hidden curriculum

- The role of the education system justifying the class structure

Question 18

What similarities are there in the education system and workforce

Answer 18

• Hierarchy
• Rewards
• Alienation
• Fragmentation (knowledge is fragmented into smaller pieces)
• Conformity (obedience and hardworking personalities)

Question 19

What study did Paul Willis instigate and what conclusions did he draw from it

Answer 19

The study of ‘The Lads’

Concluded that these working class pupils ultimately ended up in low paying, working class jobs that fed Capitalism

Question 20

What was Paul Willis’s main idea about education and working class pupils.

• What type of theory is this

Answer 20

LEARNING TO LABOUR

Working class pupils could resist indoctrination within education - taking an interactive approach - yet still end up in working class jobs

• Is a Neo-marxist theory

Question 21

What criticisms are there about Willis’ theory

Answer 21

• It doesn’t include females
• It only uses 12 boys, which is too small of a number to draw an accurate conclusion from
• The study romanticises them and doesn’t take int account their anti-social behaviour and sexist attitudes

Question 22

What sociological criticisms are there for Marxists view on education

• Willis
• Post modernists
• Modernists

Answer 22

• Willis criticises traditional Marxism because he says pupils can resist indoctrination
• Post-modernists - a different type of labour is needed and so education encourages diversity according to POST - FORDISTS
• Modernists - There are factors other than class that affect attainment

Question 23

What other ways does Bourdieu state inequality is reproduced

Answer 23

• Education is not the only factor that produces inequalities
• 3 factors:
  
  • # Habitus: attributes of an individual made up by the way they have been socialised
  • # Field: Cultural framework of a specific context - E.g. education
  • Cultural capital: The value of a persons cultural knowledge they have within a specific field

Question 24

How does Bourdieus theory of…

• Bernsteins elaborated codes
• Dress codes
• Cultural knowledge

… link to education

Answer 24

• Bernstains elaborated codes: More of an upper class capital is expressed with technical language, putting wc pupils at a disadvantage
• Dress codes: Uniforms are formal and also based on mc habits. Can be seen as COVERT SELECTION because uniforms prices may put wc pupils off from attending the school
• Cultural knowledge: Literary studies would be more familiar with uc pupil habituses, again putting wc pupils at a disadvantage

Question 25

What was the case of exploitation of Indian workers in the garment industry and how does it link to marxism

Answer 25

• Women working at a Ralph Lauren supplier said they had been forced to stay overnight to complete orders
• More than 40% of workers surveyed by Action Aid India reported that their average monthly income was in the range of (£20-£50).
• Links to marxism because Ralph Lauren, a huge garment industry with immense capital still exploits their workers with fragmentation and continuous labour and little pay, favouring the needs of the rich only.