Marxism on Education

Question 1

What did Bowles and Gintis suggest was the main function of education?

Answer 1

Casting the “long shadow of work” and reproducing the workforce

Question 2

What theory by Bowles and Gintis says that school mirrors the working world?

Answer 2

Correspondence principle

Question 3

How does the correspondence principle work?

Answer 3

Features of school are the same as the working world (e.g. punctuality, hierarchies of power, rewards and sanctions, prefects as promotions)

Question 4

How does Bowles and Ginitis suggest schools legitimise ineuqality?

Answer 4

• Meritocracy is a myth
• Confirms W/C pupils will end up in W/C jobs
• System gives advantages to M/C children

Question 5

How is Bowles and Gintis’ theory applied to the real world?

Answer 5

• Uniform policies
• Role of acadmies
• Apprenticeships and contemporary education

Question 6

How do functionalists view Bowles and GIntis theory?

Answer 6

They agree skills for employment are presented but they say it is for the benefit of society

Question 7

How do other sociologists criticise Bowles and Gintis’ theory?

Answer 7

They say it is only viable if students are conforming, unthinking “puppets”

Question 8

What does Bordieu’s cultural reproduction model say?

Answer 8

Cultural differences are caused by three factors: Habitus, Field, and Cultural Capital

Question 9

What is Habitus?

Answer 9

An individuals tastes, attributes, and individuality as a result of how they’re socialised and their social class.

Question 10

What is Field in the context of Bourdieu’s theory?

Answer 10

The social context into which the individual’s habitus enters - e.g. law or education where the field’s norms and values are that of the M/C

Question 11

What is Cultural Capital?

Answer 11

The value of one’s cultural knowledge

Question 12

How does Bourdieu say the education system reproduces M/C culture?

Answer 12

Those that make the curriculum and the teachers who deliver it are M/C - M/C students have higher cultural capital in this area and are more likely to succeed and have a career in the space

Question 13

What are language codes?

Answer 13

Two main ways people communicate - elaborate and restricted

Question 14

How does Bernstein suggest language codes effect educational acheivement?

Answer 14

He says that the language of education is in the elaborate code - the code of the M/C

Question 15

How do dress codes effect educational achievement according to Marxists?

Answer 15

Based on M/C norms and values of dress, making the W/C students feel out of place and uncomfortable

Question 16

How does cultural knowledge effect education achievement according to Marxists?

Answer 16

The knowledge learnt is chosen by the M/C - they choose the literature read, the music that is listened to, and the history taught

Question 17

How does Archer support Bourdieu’s ideas?

Answer 17

Idea of Nike identities

Question 18

How does Sullivan support Bourdieu’s ideas?

Answer 18

She found that students with higher cultural capital achieve higher (however no the only factor)

Question 19

How do functionalists criticise Bourdieu’s ideas?

Answer 19

• Suggest education is meritocratic
• Skills learnt are needed to achieve

Question 20

How do other sociologists criticise Bourdieu’s ideas?

Answer 20

They say that cultural capital is acquired throughout education

Question 21

How did Bourdieu improve his theory?

Answer 21

He explained that cultural capital is learnt throughout a child’s education BUT still remains that it is harder to acquire not having been immersed in it at home

Question 22

What was the basis of Willis’ research?

Answer 22

He believed students didn’t just passively accept and were actively aware of the exploitation

Question 23

Who did Willis study?

Answer 23

“the lads” - a group of working class boys who were disruptive and focused on girl’s attention over their education

Question 24

What did Willis conclude after his study?

Answer 24

• Education was an ineffective agent of socialisation
• “The lads” were not socialised into work just socialised into disliking education

Question 25

What theory does Willis’ work contradict?

Answer 25

BOTH functionalists and marxists

Question 26

Why did Sugarman suggest W/C children disliked school and wanted to work?

Answer 26

They wanted instant gratification compared to M/C students understanding the greater rewards of delayed gratification

Question 27

How do people evaluate Willis’ work?

Answer 27

• Close bonds with boys can lead to Hawthorne effect
• Did the boys actually “choose to fail” or did previous educational experiences cause this
• The end results prove that culture and inequality is reproduced either way