Marxist Perspective (brief) Flashcards
What are the four elements of the correspondence principle?
- relationships of authority and control
- relationships of domination and subordination
- fragmentation of knowledge
- motivation by external rewards eg. merits, stickers
How does school prepare working class pupils for their role as workers?
- emphasising obedience, conformity and dependability which fits them into the relationships of subordination and hierarchy (it becomes normalised)
- not encouraging job satisfaction
How does the education system perpetuate class inequality from generation to generation?
- promoting the ‘myth of meritocracy’ (ideological justification) which serves to justify the privileges that the higher classes have
- attempts to demonstrate that they’ve been playing on a fair field of open competition which spread to each year group and throughout the school system
- produces false hope because everyone’s told they can win
- if we fail we are encouraged to blame ourselves because the system is meritocratic
How does the education system prevent proletariat rebellion?
- through perpetuating the myth of meritocracy
- persuades the wc to accept inequality as legitimate
In Althusser’s view, what are the 2 functions of the education system?
- reproduce class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation - failing each successive generation of wc pupils
- legitimates class inequality - produces ideologies to persuade workers to accept inequality is inevitable and deserve their subordinate position
What is a study that suggests education is not always a straightforward process of indoctrinating myth of meritocracy and wc pupils can resist such attempts?
- Neomarxist Paul Willis’ study ‘learning to labour’
What does Willis’ study help to explain?
- why pupils reject school values and rules
- takes a less deterministic approach
What did Willis’ study find?
- 12 lads formed an anti-school subculture
- opposed values of school
- lads demonstrated fierce opposition to authority
- rejected educational success
- amused by conformist behaviour
In Willis’ study, what did having a ‘laff’ provide?
- distraction from boredom of school
- flouting school rules
- gain status school denied them
Why do the lads in the anti-school subculture believe themselves superior to girls and those who aspire to non-manual jobs?
- identify strongly with male manual work
How did Willis identify a correspondence with occupation in his study? However, what did Willis conclude?
- sense of superiority echoed attitudes of male manual workers
- that they actively created and shaped correspondence
What was ultimately ironic about Willis’ study?
- rejection of school meant they were destined for the low level jobs that capitalism required of them
- anti-school subculture prepared them for low wage and conditions of capitalist labour force, as well as making them good at finding ways to cope with tedium of work
What does Willis’ underline his study with though?
- the observation that the lads made an important hidden criticism
- they saw through the ‘con-trick’ of education and ‘myth’ of meritocracy
Summarise the postfordist ie. postmodernist critique of the Marxist perspective
- outdated
- economy is now based on flexible specialisation - postfordist system requires skilled, adaptable workforce
- education must encourage self-motivation, self-supervision and creativity
- education reproduces diversity, not inequality
How does Hickox critique Marxist perspective?
- questions close correspondence
- compulsory education came before industrialisation but workforce was managed without education shaping values
