Marxism and education Flashcards
what is the minority class / the capital class known as?
The Bourgeoisie
what is the working class known as ?
the proletariat
definition of a bourgeoisie ?
someone who owns the means of production (eg, factories)
definition of a proletariat?
someone who is forces to sell there labor
what is the Marxist view of education?
education functions to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism.
what are the two things louis Althusser distinguished between.?
repressive state apparatus and ideological state apparatus.
what does the repressive state apparatus do?
RSAs maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie
through force, or the threat of force i.e.
the army and police.
what does the ideological state apparatus do?
ISAs maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie
by controlling the ideas, norms and
values of the proletariat – through the
media and education system.
according to Althusser why is education an important ideological state apparatus?
It reproduces class inequality and Legitimates class inquality
according to Althusser how does the ideological state apparatus reproduce class inequality?
By transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working-class pupils in turn
according to Althusser how does ideological state apparatus legitimize class inequality?
By producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. It persuades workers to accept that inequality is inevitable
name 3 sociologists and there criticisms of Althusser?
😓 Feminists - Marxism ignores the possibility of manipulating and shaping the ideas of females through patriarchal ideologies which exist in education
😓 Davis and Moore - Inequality is necessary
😓 Parsons - Education is meritocratic, not unfair
how many participants were in bowls and gintis study?
237 new york high school students.
what did bowl and gintis conclude from there study?
schools reward the kind of behaviors that make a compliant submissive worker.
Schooling helps produce obedient workers that capitalism needs
Education doesn’t help personal development.
according to bowls and gintis what is the correspondence principal?
the idea that there are close parallels between school and the workplace.
what does the correspondence principal operate through?
the hidden curriculum
according to Bowles and Gintis what is the hidden curriculum?
all lessons which are learnt in school which are not directly taught
name an example of the correspondence principal ?
the Hierarchy of authority
what is bowels and gintis idea on the myth of meritocracy?
Meritocracy doesn’t exist - success determined by family income and class background, not their ability or achievements
myth of meritocracy - what is the capitalist society based on?
Capitalist society is based on inequality and there is always a danger that the poor will feel that this inequality is unfair, and that they will rebel
against the system responsible for it
why was Paul Willis: learning to labor critical of Bowles and gintis ?
He argued that they presented
people as being passive and accepting their indoctrination.
Instead, he argued that working class pupils resist attempts to indoctrinate them – they are not passive.
what were the two arguments Willis combined?
Marxists and interactionist
what does post-Fordism argue?
school mirrors the workplace. - capitalism requires compliant workers to supply mass production.
what do post modernists argue?
the Marxist view is outdated. Society has entered a post modern phase where class division is no longer important. society is much more diverse now.
😓 Marxists disagree with one another about how class is legitimated and reproduced in education. Bowles and Gintis are very deterministic, whereas Willis is more voluntaristic
😓 Willis’ account of the working-class boys is romanticized - they showed misogynistic and deviant behavior, but were painted to be heroic for resisting capitalist ideologies of education
😓 Morrow and Carlos - Marxism focuses too much on class inequalities, and ignores ethnic and gender inequalities that are maintained in education
20 mark essay question.
Many sociologists argue that today’s technologically complex economy needs to recruit young people with
talent, and to give them the skills and motivation to perform the most important and difficult jobs.
However, other sociologists argue that what the economy requires is large numbers of workers who are
prepared to work for low pay and to obey the orders of their superiors in the production process.
Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the view that the main role of the education
system is to serve the needs of the economy.
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