marxists view of education Flashcards
what is one view that Marxists have about the education system?
Marxists believe that the education system:
- REPRODUCES CLASS INEQUALITIES
- class inequalities are carried from one generation to the next
- middle class children use their material (tutors) + cultural capital to ensure their children get the best schools + top sets
THE LEGITIMATION OF CLASS INEQUALITY
- they argue that in reality money determines how good of an education you get, but people do not realise this because school spread the ‘myth of meritocracy’
- this has an effect of controlling the working class as if children grow up believing they have had a fair chance they are less likely to rebel.
TEACHES THE SKILLS FUTURE CAPITALIST EMPLOYERS NEED
- Bowles and Gintis suggested that there was a correspondence between values learnt at school and the way in which the workplace operates.
- they said they were taught through the hidden curriculum
eg. passsive subservience (pupils to teachers) corresponds to passive subservience to boss/managers - motivation by external rewards
what is a second Marxist view of education?
THE LEGITIMATION OF CLASS INEQUALITY
- they argue that in reality money determines how good of an education you get, but people do not realise this because school spread the ‘myth of meritocracy’
- this has an effect of controlling the working class as if children grow up believing they have had a fair chance they are less likely to rebel.
what is third Marxist view of education?
TEACHES THE SKILLS FUTURE CAPITALIST EMPLOYERS NEED
- Bowles and Gintis suggested that there was a correspondence between values learnt at school and the way in which the workplace operates.
- they said they were taught through the hidden curriculum
eg. passsive subservience (pupils to teachers) corresponds to passive subservience to boss/managers - motivation by external rewards
what is one positive of the Marxist view of education?
1- lots of evidence that schools do reproduce class inequalities, as the middle class children overall do better than working class children (working class children are more likely to suffer from material + cultural deprivation) (middle classes have more cultural capital, 1988 education act benefited them)
what is a second positive of the Marxist view of education?
2- the existence of private schools is strong supporting evidence for Marxism
the wealthiest 7% of families are able to buy their children a better education, which in turn gives them a better chance of getting into the top universities
what is a third positive of the Marxist view of education?
3- strong evidence for the reproduction of class inequality if we look at elite jobs, such as medicine, the law and journalism. A disproportionately high number of people in these professions were privately educated
what is one negative of the Marxist view of education?
Henry Giroux, says the theory is too deterministic. He argues that working class pupils are not entirely molded by the capitalist system, and do to accept everything they are taught. - Paul Willis 'the lads' study also shows this.
What is a second negative of the Marxist view of education?
The correspondence principle may not be as applicable in todays complex labour market where employers increasingly require workers to be able to think rather than to just be passive robots
What is a third negative of the Marxist view of education?
Education can actually harm the bourgeoisie- many left wing, Marxist activists are university educated for example
What do Marxist sociologist’s Bowles + Gintis argue?
Bowles + Gintis (1976)
- argue that the main function of education in capitalist societies is the reproduction of labour power..
- they see the education system as being subservient to and performing functions for the bourgeoisie.
What is the correspondence principle theory?
It’s the idea that the norms and values pupils leery in school correspond to the norms and values which will make it easy for future capitalist employers to exploit them at work = benefits the bourgeoise
- proposed by Bowles + Gintis
list 3 Marxist views of education…
- reproduces class inequalities
- legitimises class inequality
- teaches the skills future capitalist employers need
