Marxist and feminists approach to education Flashcards
Who argues that education is part of the ISA?
What do schools spread? Why? How?
Who does the values that education teach only benefit?
-Althusser.
-He argues it spreads bourgeois ideology to ensure the workers are in a state of false class consciousness.
-This prevents revolution.
-It does this through both the formal and hidden curriculum i.e. both through the content of what’s taught(and what is not) and through the rules, structures, discipline, etc.
-The values of education for this reason only benefit the bourgeoisie.
Who created the correspondence theory?
What is it? What are the five aspects of education that correspond with the workplace?
-Bowles and Gintis.
-The idea there is a deliberate correspondence between school and work; aspects of school mirror aspects of work in order to prepare people for exploitation under capitalism.
-Hierarchy, Rewards and sanctions, passive and docile attitudes, Motivation, Fragmentation.
What are the criticisms of the correspondence theory?
What would Marxists argue about the pupils voice?
-Outdated. Conducted in 1976-workplaces have changed a lot. Less likely to have assembly lines now.
-Schools have also changed a lot: pupils are encouraged to participate in school democracry, ‘pupil voice’ etc and there is more interdisciplinary and collaborative work.
-Marxists would argue that ‘pupil voice’ just gives an illusion of democracy, and the workplace continues to correspond with 360 degree appraisals etc.
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According to Willis who did the ‘lads’ in his case study view school as being for?
What did they do whilst in school?
What did school teach them to do?
How does this illustrate how education reproduces class inequality?
Who’s subculture did Willis compare the laddish subculture with?
-Middle class children(‘the ear-oles’).
-In school they ‘mucked about’, mocked their peers etc.
-How to cope with exploitation in the workplace: ‘having a laff’.
-It shows how the children of working class parents tend to leave school and go into working class jobs.
-The shopfloor subculture.
Who’s created the concept of cultural capital?
What do cultural assets provide people with? How does this help middle class pupils?
What is cultural capital perceived as? What can this lead to?
What is a habitus?
How this provide further advantage for middle class pupils? Disadvantge working class pupils?
-Pierre Bourdieu.
-Cultural assets provide people with power.
-Middle class and wealthy pupils have cultural assets that help them succeed in education and society.
-Cultural capital is sometimes perceived as intelligence; this can lead to a positive label.
-A habitus is the culture or worldview associated with a particular social class rules, structures, discipline.
-Middle class teachesr find it easier to relate to middle class pupils. Some aspects of working class pupils habitus may be perceived negatively.
Who reviewed the language codes in schools?
What language code is used in mainstream education?
What language code is used by working class pupils?
How does this put middle class students at an advantage?
-Bernstein.
-Teachers, textbooks and middle class pupils use the elaborate language code.(complex sentence structure, sub-clauses, unexpected words, words with multiple meanings).
-Working class pupils are more likely to use a restricted code(simple sentences with more colloquial phrases and words).
-Middle class students are put at an advantage as they are more likely to understand lessons, textbooks and examination questions.
-This is not because they are more intelligent but simply they are used to speaking that language code.
Why are Marxist approaches to education criticised?
Is there more evidence of people being socially mobile or not socially mobile due to meritocratic opportunities in education?
-Lots of people who work in education are on the left and so would not spread capitalist ideology.
-An increasing number of teachers are working class(as more working class people go to university) so would understand more about the habitus and language codes of working class pupils.
-There is plenty of evidence of people being socially mobile because of the meritocratic opportunities from education.
-There is more evidence of people not being socially mobile from the meritocratic opportunities from education.
What values do feminsts argue the education system transmits?
What did Heaton and Lawson argue about the curriculum? Despite this what do they recognise?
What did Stanworth find (1983)
-Patriarchal values.
-Heaton and Lawson argue that education teaches patriarchal values through the formal curriculum(e.g. traditional family structures in textbooks) and the hidden curriculum(gender stereotypes, including the division of labour in schools female teachers and male managers.)
-Despite this they do also recognise significant advances have been made, in part thanks to feminism. Girls now outperform boys in school and there is much more equality in schools(all subjects open to all pupils).
-Stanworth found that teachers had higher expectations of boys and are more likely to recommend boys for higher education than girls who are performing at the same academic level.
What do radical feminists argue about the education system? What does it continue to do?
What did Banyard find (2011)?
-That the education system is still fundamentally patriarchal.
-It continues to marginalise and oppress women by imposing gender norms on children, reinforcing patriarchal messages and normalising women’s subjugation in society. By the time girls leave school they see sexism and patriarchy as normal and natural not something to resist or fight against.
-Banyard discovered that sexual harrassment is a major problem in schools and is treated less seriously than other forms of bullying.
What does the difference feminist approach explain?
What might teachers assume about muslim girls?
What difference feminst studied black girls? What did she find?
-Not all girls have the same experience of education.
-Black and minority ethnic girls are victims of specific stereotypes and assumptions.
-Teachers might assume that Muslim girls have different aspirations(i.e. family over career).
-Heidi Safia Mirza.
-She found that black girls were aware of teacher labelling and low expectations. They were determined to prove teachers wrong. Also had high self esteem and proud of their identity.
Why are feminist approaches to education criticised? Michelle Stanworth’s study?
-Education is an increasingly female-dominated sector. Most teachers are women and increasing number of managers too(as they are drawn from among the teachers).
-The education system is increasingly producing results where girls succeed and boys underperform. If the aim of the system is to marginalise women and empower men(as radical feminists argue) then it is failing.
-Michelle Stanworth’s study is out of date: more girls are going into higher education than boys.
Despite recent developments why is the feminist approaches still useful?
-Despite this, there is still a significant gender pay gap and a glass ceiling.
-Women are more likely to take time off for childcare, work part time, do more of the housework.
-The education system still manages to socialise even highly educated girls and boys into thinking this is normal or inevitable.
