Marxist Theories on education Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is Althusser’s ISA theory?
Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)
An ISA is a part of society that keeps the bourgeoisie in power by reproducing and justifying class inequalities - e.g: Education.
How can ISA be found in education?
Education reproduces inequalities through:
- Unequal access to resources.
- A curriculum that may not reflect diverse backgrounds.
- ‘Hidden curriculum’ that transmits social norms and expectations.
What is an evaluation of the ISA theory?
The UK Government has made it illegal for teachers to promote anti-capitalist views.
Therefore proving that education is a tool used by the bourgeoisie to protect capitalism.
What is the Marxist theory on Specialised Skills?
Marxists believe that education teaches us the ‘specialised skills’ to fulfil the futures of our class.
Our talent is predetermined based on social class labelling - therefore upwards social mobility is limited for working class.
What is the evaluation of the Specialised Skills theory?
- Too critical - overlooks those who can overcome their label due to class background
- Feminists would argue Marxism overlooks gender inequality in social mobility (glass ceiling).
What is the Marxist theory on Meritocracy?
Marxist believe not everyone has an equal chance.
The higher the social class, the more likely they are to get better jobs and grades.
Meritocracy is a myth.
How does their theory on Meritocracy work within school?
Working class students are disadvantaged since 90% of failing schools are in deprived areas.
-Poor OFSTED rating may lead to recruitment problems for getting the best teacher may lead to work getting marked incorrectly leading to a negative impact on grades
What is Bowles and Gintis theory?
Correspondence Principle.
The things we learn in school corresponds to the way we are expected to behave in work.
-This is achieved through the hidden curriculum. Lessons taught that are not specifically on the curriculum.
How does the correspondence theory work in School?
- Hierarchy of teacher reflects boss at work.
- Alienation of control at schools, reflects to work - Managers telling them what to do, and how to do it.
What is the collective theory of both Althussers, and Bowles and Gintis?
That school indoctrinates us.
Pupils are ‘brainwashed’ by ruling class to be ideal workers.
How does Indoctrination work within school?
- Obedience - Intervention sessions ‘exploit’ time of students, presented as help but really helps education industry meet targets.
- Passive - unquestioning inherent weakness, problems with decision-making in schools.
- Students do not see this exploitation as they are socialised to respect authority - False consciousness: told to benefit you, when it benefits the system.
What is the evaluation of the indoctrination theory?
Chomsky argues school is a filtering system.
The most compliant reach the top of politics, business and media, and help protect the bourgeoisie.
The less compliant are made to internalise failure and often end up in ‘dead end jobs’.
What is Paul Willis’s study?
‘Learning to Labour’ - 1977
About working class kids and how they end up finishing in working class jobs after education.
What is Willis’s evaluation on ‘brainwashing’
- Criticises the concept of brainwashing because many students rebel from education as a secondary agent of socialisation.
- Academic subjects actively encourage students to think critically about society.
- Students are explicitly taught about features of the hidden curriculum.
- Research is not representative of all Western Schools.
What are the strengths of the Marxist theories?
- Exposes the myth of meritocracy, and the use of the concept to brainwash working class students into accepting their status because of their own effort and not the capitalist system.
- Education is an ISA legitimising capitalism through formal and hidden curriculum.
- Willis’s L2L has inspired follow up researching exploring link between gender, ethnicity and class inequality in school.
What are the weaknesses of the Marxist theories?
Marxists don’t agree on the way in which class inequality is achieved:
- Bowles and Gintis take top-down deterministic view that students passively accept indoctrination.
- Willis takes a bottom-up social action view that students rebel against system and still end up in W/C jobs - girls were absent from research.
- Marxism takes a class-first approach to education ignoring other forms of inequality: gender, sexuality and ethnicity.
