education and marxism Flashcards
Criticisms of the Marxist view
Purpose of education is to reproduce inequalities - some WC do very well which goes against this
Education isn’t fair for everyone - school is free and there’s a national curriculum to make it meritocratic
Why will working class kids get working class jobs (social reproductionp)
Lack of high paid jobs in the area Bills / living expenses are high Experience of material/ cultural deprivation Follow in parents footsteps Low aspirations due to low self belief
What is the Myth of equality? (Bowles and Gintis)
They argue that meritocracy is false and that students don’t have equal opportunities
How does the education system reproduce class inequalities
Cultural capital - shares the same language as the teachers, have contacts within the ES, able to pay for transport/tutors
Language codes - MC speak an elborayed code which more complex,longer sentences while the WC speak with shortened words
what is the correspondent principle?
Refers to how school life mirrors the workplace in order to prepare them for working life
How does school life mirror the workplace?
Dress code
Respecting authority
rewards for good behaviour
Early starting times
What is the hidden curriculum?
The things we are taught at school but isnt on the national curriculum eg manners
What is social reproduction?
When working class kids will get working class jobs
What is ascribed status ?
When individuals remain in the same social class they were born into
What is achieved status?
the status you work towards
What is the learning to labour study by Paul Willis?
He looked at secondary school, working class boys and their attitudes towards school
What is the Ideological state apparatus (ISA)
Althusser argues that the main
function of education is to maintain,
legitimate and reproduce class
inequalities
