new right & some marxist education Flashcards
Chubb & Moe believe education system controlled by state and local councils is not best for achieving these aims of new right
-argue ____ ______ in education
-want to be fun like _____ ______
-______
-free market
-private businesses
-competition
functionalism supports policies like new right
-new right structures conservatives
what is the new right?
-consensus theory-see people in society as having shared interests & society functioning on basis of there being broad consensus on its norms and values
functionalism shapes new rights
_______ of education
marketisation
not interest in ______
equality
new right more of a _______ ______ than a sociological perspective
political philosophy
reduced spending by _____
state
new rights belive in parentocracy and what is parentocracy?
parents free to send child re where they want
_____ _____ , _____ ____ between individuals and companies
free market
free competition
stress on importance of _______ _______ & ______
eg traditional family life
led to like parent families being attacked by new right
traditional institutions
values
new right have similarities to functionalists, believing that the role of education is to _________ young people into ______ ____, building _____ ____ & therefore having unified society
= consensus theory
socialise
collective values
social cohesion
new right are not concerned with promoting ______ or an ______ __ _______ but with reading a work force
new right want most able to have most important jobs while preparing others for low level employment
equality
equality of opportunity
what did chubb and moe feel about education ?
1) schools weren’t creating equal opportunity
2) not giving children skills for economy
3) private schools produce better results as they were accountable for paying customers
what do chubb & moe believe are the two roles for the state?
-state must provide a framework within which educational institutions operate
eg
publish results, be open to gov inspection, publish a prospectus, work within national curriculum
-secondly the institution must transmit a shared brights culture eg PSHE, history etc
education more ethnocentric
Ethnocentric refers to the belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture over others.
Marketisation:
EDUCATION REFORM ACT 1988
-free market
-range of independent schools & colleges
-competition & funding lead to more efficient education system = better value for tax payers
-schools should supply better, cheaper education
-marketisation benefits taxpayers & consumer as education standards increase, creating more skilled workforce
social democrat ideology
in UK new right is associated most with the conservative government from ____-____
& resurfacing from ____-____
1979-1997
2010-2015
what are similarities of the new right & functionalism?
-natural ability
-structural theory
-education is meritocratic
-education should promote a value consensus
-school should meet needs of industry with advanced division of labour
what are differences between new right & functionalism?
-education system is failing
-schools should be independent
-parents should be treated as consumers
-schools should be in competition with each other
-businesses should have an active voice in policy making
-individuals have agency & make rational decisions
what is agency?
free to do what want
what did the new right believe ?
-developed functionalist ideas of social solidarity and the teaching of specialist skills
-said parents should be given choice in child’s education (parentocracy)
-local education authorities are inefficient
-prefer market free approach (Chubb & Moe)
-schools competing with each other for results
-increased choice for parents (open enrolment)
-increased involvement of private enterprise in education
-marketisation of education
what did the neo marxist ALTHUSSER believe?
-believes education acts as an ideological state apparatus that firstly reproduces the values of a capitalist state & controls peoples viewed and ideas without using force (force is seen as wrong)
-done through the HIDDEN CURRICULUM, students taught to be obedient & show respect to those higher up in hierarchy
-true thought is discouraged
-education justifies inequalities
what is symbolic violence?
a way that societies maintain inequality and power imbalances through subtle and often unconscious means like stereotypes, language, and culture, rather than physical force. It’s about how society can perpetuate inequality without people realizing it.
-Bourdieu
what is the correspondence theory and who proposed it?
-Bowles and Gintis
-role of education is that school mirrors workplace, prepares children to fit easily into future exploitation as part of proletariat
-education controlled by capitalists & serves their interests
-capitalism requires hard working, obedient workforce that will not challenge authority
-education corresponds to employment through hidden curriculum
-myth of meritocracy
-marxists legitimise inequality
what is the hidden curriculum?
-conformist pupils awarded higher grade than those who challenge authority
-acceptance of hierarchy, teachers give orders & students obey
-pupils motivated by external rewards (exams) & not intrinsic rewards (enjoyment)
—> mirrors workplace
-work & education are fragmented so students or workers have little understanding of overall production (keeps them divided)
-education transmits myth of meritocracy, illusion of fairness, social mobility
what is hegemony?
refers to the dominance in society of the ruling class’ set of ideas over others & acceptance of and consent to them by the rest of society
what is hegemonic control?
where control of the working class is mainly achieved through the hegemony & acceptance of ruling class ideas
what is the superstructure?
consists of social institutions
eg education and the family
what is the base?
economic base, the production forces, materials & resources
what is the proletariat?
working class
what is the bourgeoisie?
the ruling class, small but powerful
what is the ideological state apparatus?
agencies which serve to spread dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class
what is habitus?
the cultural framework & set of ideas possessed by each social class, into which people are socialised & which influences their tastes eg music
what is cultural capital?
the knowledge, language, attitudes, values, network of social contacts & lifestyle possessed by the upper & upper middle class, gives students in upper class an advantage
what is the hidden curriculum?
attitudes and behaviour which are taught though the schools organisation & teachers attitudes, not taught though formal timetable
what is the myth of meritocracy?
meritocracy through one’s own merits regardless of one’s social position is not widely attainable in capitalist societies due to cultural capital & material capital
what is the correspondence principle?
school mirrors workplace, teaches to be obedient, links to hidden curriculum
what is cultural reproduction?
takes place via socialisation of the young
what do marxist believe about capitalists- the bourgeoisie?
-the bourgeoisie or capitalists marx saw as owning class, small but powerful group
-ruling class because they owned means of production
-Govs need to think of the power of the bourgeoisie otherwise there could be unemployment or social unrest without bourgeoisie investment
eg Qatar world cup, banks ignore offshore accounts
surplus value & exploitation?
-in capitalist society, means of production are privately owned & most people depended on owners for their employment
-Marx argues workers produce more than is needed for employers to pay them their wages, the extra is the surplus value & provides profit for employer
what is dominant ideology?
marx believed the dominant ideas in any society were those of ruling class major institutions in society reflect those ideas
what is false consciousness?
thought exploited workers didn’t realise they were being exploited & therefore didn’t rebel & accepted this way, didn’t recognise real interests
proletariat or working class
much bigger WC, exploited by bourgeoisie as they only have labour power to sell
-capitalists exploit WC by making profits from them & keeping wages low
marxists & education
marxists & feminists argue that education operates as an ideological tool manipulating people into thinking in certain ways that then legitimise exploitation by the ruling class & this promotes inequality
for Marx education performs 2 main functions in a capitalist society, what are they?
-it reproduces inequalities & social relations of production of capitalist society, those from higher social classes = access to better jobs ( produces inequalities)
-serves to justify inequalities through myth of meritocracy through exam systems
—> legitimating inequality
what are comparisons of marxists & functionalist perspectives on education?
-both see schools as a role in legitimising social inequality
-both are macro theories concerned with structural relationship between education & other parts of the social system
-both see education as serving the needs of industrial &/ or capitalist society
-both see education system as essential for instilling attitudes, norms, belief of students
-both place too much emphasis on role of education in forming students identity & pay too little attention to influences of other agencies such as family, media, war
-don’t fully understand the way students react to schooling i way that are not necessary functional for social system or capitalism
-both see education as too closely tied to economy & exaggerate the extent to which schools do actually provide a ready willing & qualified labour force
what are the key points to marxist approach on education?
-important part of superstructure of society
-reproduces inequalities through myth of meritocracy
-Althusser (1971) says main role is to transmit ISA values (ruling class or capitalist) disguised as common values
-Ramsay (1983) claimed that knowledge is being used as a form of social control and there is a hidden curriculum to keep WC and ethnic minorities in place
-Bourdieu (1977) symbolic violence where the WC are effectively duped into accepting their failure & limited social mobility, their cultural attributes are rejected, because the system is denied & is for MC who succeed by default
-Illich a radical marxist wants to get rid of school completely
-Bowles & Gintis (1976) argue that education serves to reproduce directly the capitalist relations of production, the hierarchy of workers from the boss down
-Bowles and Gintis correspondence theory suggest that what goes on in school corresponds directly to workplace, they express success is not entirely related to intellectual ability but the ability to conform and rise above those who challenge the system
what did pierre bourdieu say?
-saw role of education as justifying class inequalities and reproducing class structures
-each social class has its own cultural framework which he calls habitus, dominant class has power to impose its own habitus on education system
-culture capital, UC have more advantage
what is culture capital?
-Bourdieu (1977), the process by a dominant culture penetrates educational institutions
-MC advantage as they have been socialised better
eg elaborate codes
what is cultural reproduction?
-reproduction takes place via socialisation of the young
-in effect MC kids have MC jobs when they grow up and have MC kids
Illich & Freire, repression & control
Illich (1995) argues schools are repressive institutions which promote conformity & encourage passive acceptance of existing inequalities, schools should encourage students to be critical & think for themselves
Freire (1996) sees schools as oppressive institutions where students are conditioned to accept dominion & subordination
eg students obey teachers
-our ruling elite are always coming from the same cultural pool
-1/2 of boris’ cabinet are oxbridge graduates & just over 2/3 of his cabinet attended independent school
hegemony & hegemonic control
-Althusser, Freire & Illich suggest that schools contribute the dominance of the ruling class and their ideas (the hegemony)
-the ruling classes have hegemonic control by convincing the rest of society that their ideas are superior & truth
what was the willis learning to labour study?
-most influential neo marxist study of education is ethnographic (1 culture) study of group of boys in midlands comprehensive school in 1970s, used interviews, observations & participant observation
-lads saw themselves superior to staff & other pupils
-not interested in academic qualifications
-aimed to do little work as possible while entertaining themselves through bad behaviour
-unhappy with being treated as children
-formed a counter culture which was sexist & racist, valued tradition working class masculinity
shop floor culture & counter school culture
-Willis followed lads into 1st jobs, often in factories, shop floor culture present similar to school counter culture which was racist & sexist, little respect for authority workers, did very little & tried to enjoy themselves by doing little as possible
-developed way of coping with boring work
Willis argues to some extent they saw through the capitalist stem believing they had little change of success and gaining well paid jobs also said they did go into jobs where exploited by ruling class
criticisms:
-too small of a sample to make generalisations
-historically dated
-cannot be used to explain why bits underachieved
key criticisms
-failure to recognise correspondence between schools and the needs of economy in terms of formal curriculum
-Beynolds (1984) claims curriculum does not seem designed to teach the skills needed by employers
-employers are highly critical of low level of employability skills possessed by graduates & school leavers
-Willis (1977) learned to behave in a way that didn’t fit in with capitalism heed for a docile workforce, willis however supported principle that schools reproduce relations of production by showing the boys in anti school subculture shaped a similar outlook to the workers in factories they were likely to end up in
criticisms of marxist views on education from postmodernism?
-correspondence principle, capitalism requires low skilled workers willing to put up with alienating work on mass production lines
—> system called POST FORDISM because the ford motor company was 1st to introduce it, Bowles & Gintis believe that education prepares pupils for this type of work, Fragmented & Diverse
-argue marxists views are outdated, class divisions no longer important
—> society more diverse & fragmented & economy based on flexible specialisation where production is customised for small scale specialist markets
—> post fording system requires a skilled adaptable workforce able to use advanced technology
-post fordism calls for different type of education and education responded by becoming more diverse, encourages self motivation & creativity, provides life long learning because new technologies makes some skills obsolete
-post modernists argue education is more diverse & responsive to need of different individuals as the correspondence principle no longer operates
unlike marxist, post modernists argue education reproduces diversity not inequality
marxist view
education corresponds to work in terms of instilling capitalist values of obedience and competition
what is a criticism of this?
-brown (1997) discredits belief as now much requires teamwork rather than obedience
-exam system set up whereby one individual competes with another, discourages development of skills
