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Marxist perspective of education Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Marxist view of education?

A

Marxists believe that education maintains capitalism, reinforces social inequality and prevents revolution

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2
Q

Who discussed the ideological state apparatus?

A

Althusser

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3
Q

How is education part of the ISA? + relevant sociologist

A

Althusser
State consists of the RSA (maintains capitalism by force) and the ISA (controls people’s ideas, values and beliefs) - education is part of the ISA
Reproduces class inequality - failing each generation of W/C pupils / private education prepares elite children for power / hidden curriculum assists M/C achievement
Legitimises class inequality - producing ideologies that hide its true cause (persuade workers that inequality is inevitable and they should accept their position)

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4
Q

What is the difference between the RSA and ISA?

A

RSA maintains capitalism through force e.g police
ISA maintains capitalism by controlling ideas, values and beliefs

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5
Q

Althusser’s 2 key functions of education

A

Reproduces and legitimises class inequality

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6
Q

How does education reproduce class inequality?

A

failing each generation of W/C pupils / private education prepares elite children for power / hidden curriculum assists M/C achievement

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7
Q

How does education legitimise class inequality?

A

producing ideologies that hide its true cause (persuade workers that inequality is inevitable and they should accept their position)

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8
Q

Who studied schooling in America?

A

Bowles and Gintis

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9
Q

What is schooling like in capitalist America according to Bowles and Gintis?

A

Capitalism requires a workforce of alienated and exploited workers who are willing to accept a low pay and hard work
Education system needs to reproduce an obedient workforce
237 New York high school students - schools reward precisely for trait which make someone a submissive, compliant worker
- Independence and creativity - low grades
- Obedience and discipline e.g punctuality - high grades
Stunts and distorts development

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10
Q

Bowles and Gintis’ 2 key ideas

A

Correspondence principle + myth of meritocracy

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11
Q

Key marxist sociologists

A

Althusser / Bowles & Gintis

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12
Q

Key neo-marxist sociologist

A

Willis

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13
Q

What is the correspondence principle?

A

Schooling mirrors/parallels work
- Schooling takes place in ‘the long shadow of work’
- Correspondence principle - relationships and structures in educator correspond
- Hierarchy of authority / alienation / extrinsic satisfaction / fragmentation of knowledge+division of labour into small / competition and division / levels of education
CP works through the HC
- Hidden curriculum - all lessons which are learnt without being directly taught / informal learning processes e.g hierarchy, competition, extrinsic rewards
Schooling prepares W/C pupils for their role as exploited workers
Cohen - youth training scheme teaches young workers attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labour force rather than genuine skills / lowers their aspirations

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14
Q

Give examples of schooling mirroring the workplace

A

Hierarchy of authority / alienation / extrinsic satisfaction / fragmentation of knowledge+division of labour into small / competition and division / levels of education

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15
Q

What does the correspondence principle work through?

A

the hidden curriculum

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16
Q

what is the hidden curriculum?

A

Hidden curriculum - all lessons which are learnt without being directly taught / informal learning processes e.g hierarchy, competition, extrinsic rewards

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17
Q

what example does Cohen give of schooling preparing students for their role as exploited workers?

A

youth training scheme teaches young workers attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labour force rather than genuine skills / lowers their aspirations

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18
Q

who discusses how youth training scheme teaches young workers attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labour force rather than genuine skills?

A

Cohen

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19
Q

what is the myth of meritocracy?

A

Education prevents the poor from feeling that their position is undeserved by producing ideologies which justify and explain why inequality is inevitable and natural
The education system is ‘a giant myth-making machine’
Meritocracy - everyone has an equal opportunity and rewards are based on ability and effort
Main factor determining income is family and class, not ability or educational achievement
Justifies privileges of higher classes - seems like they gained them through ability and effort
‘Poor-are-dumb’ theory - justifies poverty by blaming it on the the individual

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20
Q

what do Bowles and Gintis call the education system?

A

a giant myth making machine

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21
Q

what is meritocracy?

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A

everyone has an equal opportunity and rewards are based on ability and effort

22
Q

what is the main factor in determining income according to Marxists

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A

family and class

23
Q

what is the ‘poor-are-dumb’ theory?

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A

a justification of poverty which blames the individual

24
Q

what is Willis’ learning to labour?

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A

W/C pupils can resist indoctrination
Focuses on meanings pupils give
‘The lads’ counter-school culture
- Scornful of conformist students who they call ‘ear’oles’
- Find school meaningless and boring
- Reject rules and values by drinking, playing truant and being disruptive
- Reject the school’s meritocratic ideology
- Similar to shopfloor culture of male manual workers - both see manual work as superior
- This helps them to slot into the jobs which capitalism needs them to perform - don’t expect satisfaction at work as they are accustomed to boredom and fining ways of amusing themselves / acts of rebellion will guarantee them these jobs as they fail to gain worthwhile qualifications

25
how big was Willis' sample size?
12
26
what was the group of boys called in Willis' study?
the lads
27
what were the characteristics of the 'lads' subculture?
Scornful of conformist students who they call ‘ear’oles’ Find school meaningless and boring Reject rules and values by drinking, playing truant and being disruptive Reject the school’s meritocratic ideology Similar to shopfloor culture of male manual workers - both see manual work as superior
28
How is 'the lads' subculture similar to the shopfloor culture of male manual workers?
both see manual work as superior
29
What was ironic about 'the lads' subculture?
Their resistance to school and belief that manual labour was superior actually enabled them to slot into the jobs which capitalism needs them to perform
30
2 reasons why 'the lads' were able to slot into the jobs which capitalism needs them to fulfil?
don’t expect satisfaction at work as they are accustomed to boredom and fining ways of amusing themselves acts of rebellion will guarantee them these jobs as they fail to gain worthwhile qualifications
31
strengths of the Marxist approach?
- useful in exposing the 'myth of meritocracy' - supporting evidence - Willis' study shows pupil resistance can benefit capitalism and has stimulated other research into inequality
32
give some supporting evidence for the Marxist approach
35% of students on FSM who were identified as highly able at age of 11 got three A-Levels vs 60% of other students 3 years after graduation those from advantaged socio-economic backgrounds and those who attended private schools are more likely to be in the ‘top jobs’
33
what % of students on FSM who were identified as highly able at age of 11 got three A-Levels? compare with other students
35% FSM 60% other
34
What did Willis' study stimulate? Give examples
Research into how education reproduces and legitimates other inequalities - Connolly - education reproduces ethnic and gender inequalities - Inter-relationships between different forms of inequality - Sewell, Evans and Mac an Ghaill
35
weaknesses and criticisms of Marxists?
Neo-Marxism - Giroux -W/C do not passively accept their position / existence of anti-school subcultures suggest the HC and CP have failed / marxists don’t acknowledge how ethnicity and gender affect achievement Marxists disagree with one another - Bowles and Gintis vs Willis Willis’ account of ‘the lads’ romanticises them and portrays them as W/C heroes despite thor anti-social behaviour and misogyny. It was also a small scale study of 12 boys and therefore unlikely to be representative and easy to generalise Postmodernists - today’s post-Fordist economy needs a different kind of labour and education now produces diversity Ignores other forms of inequality - Morrow and Carlos (postmodernists) - gender, ethnicity and sexuality is also important and sociologists must explain how education produces all forms of inequality and how they are interrelated - MacDonald - Bowles and Gintis ignore that schools reproduce patriarchy - McRobbie - females are largely absent from Willis’ study Social democrats - Halsey, Floud and Martin - Marxists exaggerate the effect that education has on achievement / gov policies have improved W/C chances Neo-Liberals - Saunders - M/C educational success is due to biological differences New Right - Chubb and Moe - education fails all social groups / education has failed to equip students with the skills needed to be successful in the marketplace
36
Who is the neo-Marxist that criticises the Marxist approach?
Giroux
37
how do neo-marxists criticise the marxist approach? relevant sociologist
Giroux -W/C do not passively accept their position / existence of anti-school subcultures suggest the HC and CP have failed / Marxists don’t acknowledge how ethnicity and gender affect achievement
38
Criticisms of Willis + relevant sociologists
- The account of ‘the lads’ romanticises them and portrays them as W/C heroes despite their anti-social behaviour and misogyny - It was also a small scale study of 12 boys and therefore unlikely to be representative and easy to generalise - McRobbie - females are largely absent from Willis' study
39
How do postmodernists criticise marxism? + relevant sociologists
today’s post-Fordist economy needs a different kind of labour and education now produces diversity Morrow and Carlos - different forms of diversity
40
how do Morrow and Carlos criticise Marxism?
gender, ethnicity and sexuality is also important and sociologists must explain how education produces all forms of inequality and how they are interrelated
41
How does MacDonald criticise Marxism?
The education system also produces patriarchy
42
who said that the education system also produces patriarchy
MacDonald
43
how does McRobbie criticise marxism?
outlined how females are largely absent from Willis' study
44
who said that females are largely absent from Willis' study
McRobbie
45
how do social democrats criticise Marxism? + relevant sociologists
Halsey, Floud and Martin - Marxists exaggerate the effect that education has on achievement / gov policies have improved W/C chances
46
social democrats (3)
Halsey, Floud and Martin
47
who says that Marxism exaggerates the effect that education has on achievement and that policies have improved chances of the WC
social democrats / Halsey, Floud and Martin
48
how do neo-liberals criticise marxism? + sociologist
Saunders - M/C educational success is due to biological differences
49
who says that M/C educational success is due to biological differences?
Neo-Liberals / Saunders
50
who says that education has failed all social groups by failing to equip students with skills?
New Right / Chubb and Moe
51
NR criticism + relevant sociologists
Chubb and Moe - education fails all social groups / education has failed to equip students with the skills needed to be successful in the marketplace

Sociology - Education (6 decks)

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