Marxism

Question 1

What were the 2 classes in the 2 class system (Karl Marx)

Answer 1

Capitalist class BOURGEOISIE - employers who own the means of production. Make their won profit by exploiting proletariat.
Working class PROLETARIAT - sell products to bourgeoisie as they have no other source of income and they are unaware of their exploitation.
KARL MARX - potential revolution that threatens the capitalist class stability as education justifies and reproduces the inequality within capitalist society.

Question 2

ALTHUSSERs theory (2 functions + RSA, ISA)

Answer 2

Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) - state uses force to repress working class via police, courts and the army.
Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - controls ideas and beliefs through religion, media and the eduction system. 

2 functions performed by education system *reproduce class inequality 
                                                                               *justify class inequality

Question 3

BOWLES and GINTIS theory

Answer 3

Capitalism needs workers with an obedient attitude and submissive personality, willing to accept hard work and low pay.
Education is reproducing obedient workforce and that is acceptive of the social inequality as being inevitable and fair.

Question 4

Correspondence principle

Bowles and Gintis

Answer 4

Close parallels between school and work, refer to the parallels as correspondence principles and that structures in education mirror/correspond those of work.
Operate through hidden curriculum lessons being learnt in schools but not directly taught.

Question 5

Myth of meritocracy

Answer 5

Helps prevent people recognising their exploited position and from rebelling against the system by legitimising class inequalities. 
Functionalists - education is meritocratic as in their view everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve.
Bowles and Gintis - success based on class background, not ability. Persuade working class to accept inequality as legitimate.

Question 6

EVALUATION: Bowles and Gintis

Answer 6

View too deterministic as they assume that pupils have no free will and passively accept the brainwashing ideology.
Fails to explain why some pupils reject and go against schools values.
National curriculum makes pupils aware of the social class divisions.

Question 7

EVALUATION: correspondence principle

Answer 7

Postmodernists criticise by saying principle is outdated and modern workforce is different now to what it was in the 1970s.
Education now reproduced diversity and not equality.
Factory jobs still exist but have changed.

Question 8

WILLIS’ theory

Answer 8

Rejects Bowles and gintis’ views as he found that working class pupils resisted attempts to indoctrinate the schools norms and values as they were able to see through the meritocratic ideology.

Question 9

EVALUATION: Willis’ theory

Answer 9

Romanticises lads portraying them as working class heroes ignores anti social behaviour and sexist attitudes.
Only completed a small scale study, unable to generalise findings.
McROBBIE - study ignores women and wc girls may behave differently.
Feminists claim that schools do not only reproduce capitalism but capitalism too.

Question 10

EVALUATION: Marxism theory

Answer 10

Far too deterministic, wc may be class conscious.
Some wc pupils still achieve, some mc girls don’t achieve.
Functionalists say that Marxists are too negative and ignore positive attitude fostered by education system.