Marxism & Education Flashcards
What is the Marxist view of education?
The education system plays a negative role as it serves, maintains and justifies capitalism.
Marxists take a conflict view of education.
What does Althusser argue about the education system?
He disagrees with Functionalists that the main function of education is the transmission of common value.
He argues that education is an ideological state apparatus (ISA) which keeps the bourgeoisie in power.
How does the ISA keep the bourgeoisie in power? (2)
The education system reproduces inequalities by training people from w/c backgrounds to do w/c jobs while providing education for children of the wealthy preparing them for positions of power in society.
The education system legitimises inequalities through the ideology that meritocracy is real. This creates false class consciousness as it ensures that w/c pupils blame themselves for their failure in school rather than seeing it as a result of their disadvantaged class background.
What do Bowles and Gintis argue is the function of education? (1)
They argue that the function of the education system is the reproduction of labour power, to create a hardworking, submissive workforce. This means that pupils will go to school to get disciplined and then go to work in a factory.
What did Bowles and Gintis find out from their study?
They found that there was a close relationship between schooling and the world of work. They referred to it as the correspondence principle where school mirrors the world of work. This operates through the hidden curriculum - things that are learn but not directly taught.
What is a strength of the Marxist view?
There are statistics and sociological research which supports the claim that meritocracy is a myth. For example, in 2019 24.7% of disadvantaged pupils achieved English and Maths GCSE at a grade 5 or above. This suggests that pupils from a w/c background achieve less at GCSE.
What are criticisms of the Marxist view? (2)
Feminists would say that the education system produces patriarchy and boys get treated differently than girls.
Postmodernists would argue that people now have a choice and they are individual so they can make their own decisions.
