Marxist Perspective Flashcards
marxism - main concern
way of social control
encourages young people to be conformists
accept their social position
reproduces existing social inequalities
marxism - althusser
education as an ideological state apparatus prevents working-class from rebelling against their exploitation; persuades them to accept dominant ideology
marxism - ideological state apparatus
agencies that serve to spread the dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class
marxism - dominant ideology
set of ideas and beliefs of the most powerful groups in society
influences ideas of the rest of society
marxism - education reproduces an efficient/obedient society by:
- the reproduction of the necessary technical skills
- the reproduction of ruling class ideology and socialisation of workers into false consciousness
marxism - the education system:
- passes on ruling class ideology
- selects people for different social class
marxism - bourdieu
the dominant class impose their habits in the education system
marxism - habitus
set of ideas of each social class possesses picked up through socialisation in the family
marxism - effect of habitus
better-off backgrounds have more access
have an in-built advantage compared to working-class; devalued and inferior
marxism - cultural capital
knowlege, lifestyle, values, attitudes, language possessed by upper and upper middle class gives these students in-built advantage in midli-class-controlled education system
marxism - criticism - bourdieu
not constructive
blames victim and family/home for underachievement
marxism - illich
radical
schools - repressive institutions, promote conformity and passive acceptance of inequalities
marxism - why do schools exist? (according to illich)
look after children while parent are working
marxism - who do schools reward and why? (according to illich)
reward students who accept school regime with qualifications and better jobs
those who don’t get excluded and end up in lower-level jobs
marxism - solution to education: (according to illich)
abolish schooling - deschooling
marxism - freire
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
marxism - bowles and gintis
‘long shadow of work’ - work casts a long shadow over education
school mirrors the workplace
marxism - education reproduce a labour power by: (bowles and gintis)
- 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)
marxism - stratification
education locks individuals in existing positions to maintain rich and poor
marxism - willis
researched 12 working-class male pupils with anti-school subculture
marxism - behaviour of boys researched by willis
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
marxism - culture of boys in willis study similar to …
workplace culture of male working-class workers sexism, lack of respect for authority and emphasis on having a gaff to escape oppression
marxism - willis study implies …
working-class do poorly as they have different priorities not due to discrimination
marxism - criticisms
- 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
criticism of marxism and functionalism
- 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
