marxist perspective on education

Question 1

what is the hidden curriculum?

Answer 1

• things children learn through the experience of going to school
• feminists also concerned about the hidden curriculum - that produces patriarchy
• functionalists argue this is a vital part of education and not hidden

Question 2

BOWLES & GINTIS - correspondence principle

Answer 2

• correspondence principle and the hidden curriculum
• there is a close correspondence between school and work
• correspondence principle operates through the hidden curriculum

Question 3

examples of the correspondence principle

Answer 3

hierarchy of headteachers - hierarchy of management

accept authority of teachers - accept authority of boss

no control over organisation of school/topics - lack of power/control at work

punctual for lessons - on time for work

working hard for rewards (grades, merits etc) - working hard for pay

accept dull subjects and do work because you’re told to - carry out boring and repetitive tasks

Question 4

BOWLES & GINTIS - myth of meritocracy

Answer 4

• education is a myth-making machine
• everybody doesn’t have a fair chance
• myth of meritocracy justifies higher class privilege
• people blame themselves for their low paid work so proletariat dont gith back

Question 5

BOWLES & GINTIS - creativity

Answer 5

• interviewed students in NYC, noticed different grades
• schools tend to ignore creativity and independence (low grades)
• schools reward the qualities that create obedient workers (high grades)

Question 5

LOUIS ALTHUSSER (neo marxist) - state apparatus

Answer 5

• repressive state apparatus - police, courts, army etc
• ideological state apparatus - religion, media, education
• its better to control ideas, beliefs and values
• education is an important ideological state apparatus - fails successive generations of WC children
• legitimises class inequality by producing ideology - a false set of ideas to make children believe they deserve their low position in society and are less likely to challenge capitalism

Question 5

PAUL WILLIS - ‘learning to labour’

Answer 5

• argues WC pupils can resist attempts to control them
• ‘lads’ studied in their last year of school and first year of work
• boys had a counter culture - rude, sexist and homophobic. hated well behaved boys
• found school meaningless and boring
• focused on truanting and bad behaviour

Question 6

working class male subculture

Answer 6

• anti school subculture similar to male culture in manual work
• sees intellectual work as inferior/effeminate
• preparing themselves for their future roles
• coping with the boredom in school and the boredom of unskilled labour

Question 7

evaluation of marxism

Answer 7

• focus too much on class and not on gender, ethnicity
• BOWLES AND GINTIS have a determistic view - pupils have no free will
• WILLIS shows pupils do not passively accept authority - pupils reject school which fails them
• WILLIS study included 12 people so not representative