Marxist Perspective

Question 1

marxism - main concern

Answer 1

way of social control
encourages young people to be conformists
accept their social position
reproduces existing social inequalities

Question 2

marxism - althusser

Answer 2

education as an ideological state apparatus
prevents working-class from rebelling against their exploitation; persuades them to accept dominant ideology

Question 3

marxism - ideological state apparatus

Answer 3

agencies that serve to spread the dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class

Question 4

marxism - dominant ideology

Answer 4

set of ideas and beliefs of the most powerful groups in society
influences ideas of the rest of society

Question 5

marxism - education reproduces an efficient/obedient society by:

Answer 5

• the reproduction of the necessary technical skills

- the reproduction of ruling class ideology and socialisation of workers into false consciousness

Question 6

marxism - the education system:

Answer 6

• passes on ruling class ideology

- selects people for different social class

Question 7

marxism - bourdieu

Answer 7

the dominant class impose their habits in the education system

Question 8

marxism - habitus

Answer 8

set of ideas of each social class possesses picked up through socialisation in the family

Question 9

marxism - effect of habitus

Answer 9

better-off backgrounds have more access

have an in-built advantage compared to working-class; devalued and inferior

Question 10

marxism - cultural capital

Answer 10

knowlege, lifestyle, values, attitudes, language possessed by upper and upper middle class
gives these students in-built advantage in midli-class-controlled education system

Question 11

marxism - criticism - bourdieu

Answer 11

not constructive

blames victim and family/home for underachievement

Question 12

marxism - illich

Answer 12

radical

schools - repressive institutions, promote conformity and passive acceptance of inequalities

Question 13

marxism - why do schools exist? (according to illich)

Answer 13

look after children while parent are working

Question 14

marxism - who do schools reward and why? (according to illich)

Answer 14

reward students who accept school regime with qualifications and better jobs
those who don’t get excluded and end up in lower-level jobs

Question 15

marxism - solution to education: (according to illich)

Answer 15

abolish schooling - deschooling

Question 16

marxism - freire

Answer 16

students conditioned to accept domination/subordination by obeying teachers
education produces hegemonic control of ruling class:
convinces society to accept superiority of ruling class ideas

Question 17

marxism - bowles and gintis

Answer 17

‘long shadow of work’ - work casts a long shadow over education
school mirrors the workplace

Question 18

marxism - education reproduce a labour power by: (bowles and gintis)

Answer 18

• hidden curriculum similar to features of the workplace; correlation between school
• legitimising inequality and class structure; people from high-class backgrounds obtain high qualification/better jobs than working-class children of the same ability (meritocracy myth)

Question 19

marxism - stratification

Answer 19

education locks individuals in existing positions to maintain rich and poor

Question 20

marxism - willis

Answer 20

researched 12 working-class male pupils with anti-school subculture

Question 21

marxism - behaviour of boys researched by willis

Answer 21

rejected and wanted to leave school to start work to earn money to impress friends and girls
school is stopping them from going into the real world of male manual work

Question 22

marxism - culture of boys in willis study similar to …

Answer 22

workplace culture of male working-class workers
sexism, lack of respect for authority and emphasis on having a gaff to escape oppression

Question 23

marxism - willis study implies …

Answer 23

working-class do poorly as they have different priorities not due to discrimination

Question 24

marxism - criticisms

Answer 24

• lack of detailed research into schools
• not all pupils passive recipients of education
• humanities subjects produce critical thinkers
• employers complain education doesn’t produce well-educated/conformist workers
• deterministic; assume people can’t choose or control what happens to them (many successful working-class children)
• many students rebel, education system doesn’t suppress children

Question 25

criticism of marxism and functionalism

Answer 25

• role of education in forming students identity exaggerated, ignores other agencies of socialisation
• link between education & economy tight, exaggerates extent school provides qualified labour force