Marxism and Education Cartes | Quizlet

AO1 Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - Althusser

An ISA is a part of society which keeps the bourgoise in power by reproducing and justifying inequalities (e.g. education).

AO3 Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - Althussar

The UK govt has made it illegal for teachers to promote anti-capitalist views, proving that education is a tool used by the bourgeoisie to protect capitalism (2020).

AO1 Specialised Skills

Marxists believe that education teaches us the 'specialised skills' we need to fulfil the futures of our social class.

- Our talents are almost predetermined based on social class labelling and therefore the opportunity for upwards social mobility is limited for the w/c.

AO2 Meritocracy

E.g. w/c students are disadvantaged since 90% of OFSTED failing schools are in deprived areas.

- Poor OFSTED ratings may lead to problems like recruiting the best teachers, so even if the students work hard in lesson, not having a specialist teacher may have a negative impact on their grades (e.g. a PE teacher teaching Maths!).

AO1 Indoctrination - Althusser, Bowles and Ginitis

Pupils are 'brainwashed' by the ruling classes to be the ideal workers.

AO2 Indoctrination - Althusser, Bowles and Ginitis

1. Obedience - Intervention sessions 'exploit' the time of students, presented as helping students, when it's helping the education industry meet its targets.

2. Passive- Unquestioning inherent weakness, problems with decision-making in schools.

3. Students don't see this exploitative nature as they are socialised to respect authority.

- False consciousness: told it's to benefit you, when it benefits the system.

AO3 Indoctrination - Althusser, Bowles and Ginitis

Chomsky argues that 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 in 'dead end jobs'.

AO3 Part 2 Indoctrination using 'Learning to Labour' study 1977 - Paul Willis

A whole range of academic subjects actively encourage students to think critically about society and the role of the elite;

1. Society,

2. History,

3. English,

4. Media,

5. Critical thinking.

- Students are explicitly taught about features of the hidden curriculum including enterprise days and employability skills, etc.

- Bowles and Ginitis' research is not representative of all Western schools as it was carried out in a few American high schools in the 1970s.

Criticisms of Marxist Perspective

- Marxists don't agree on the way in which class inequality is achieved;

1. Bowles and Ginitis take a top-down determinist view that pupils passively accept indoctrination.

2. Willis takes a bottom-up social action view that some students rebel against the education system although still end up in w/c jobs. Girls were absent from the research.

- Marxism takes a class-first approach to education ignoring other forms of inequality based on gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

AO2 Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - Althusser

Education produces inequalities through;

1. 1. Unequal access to resources,

2. A curriculum that may not reflect diverse backgrounds (ethnocentric),

3. The 'hidden curriculum' that transmits social norms and expectations.

AO3 Specialised Skills

Too critical- overlooks those who can overcome their labelling due to class backgrounds.

- Feminists would argue that Marxism overlooks gender inequality in social mobility (e.g. glass ceiling).

AO1 Meritocracy

Marxists believe that not everyone has an equal chance! The higher a person's social class the more likely they are to get better jobs and grades.

- Myth of meritocracy.

AO1 Correspondence Principle - Bowles and Ginitis

The way we learn things in school correspond/ mirror the way we are expected to behave in work.

- This is achieved through the hidden curriculum. These are the lessons which are taught to us but are not specifically referred to on the curriculum.

AO2 Correspondence Principle - Bowles and Ginitis

E.g. hierarchy of authority among teachers (head - deputy - classroom teacher) and between teachers and students reflects hierarchy of authority in the workplace (e.g. managers - supervisors - workers).

Students are passive and obedient they don't rebel as they are unaware of their exploitation.

AO3 Indoctrination using 'Learning to Labour' study 1977 - Paul Willis

However, Neo-Marxist Paul Willis criticises this concept of brainwashing because many students rebel from education as a secondary agent of socialisation.

Strengths of the Marxist Perspective

1. It exposes the myth of meritocracy and the use of the concept to brainwash the exploited w/c into accepting their status because of their own efforts and not the capitalist system.

2. Education is an ISA legitimising capitalism through the formal and hidden curriculum.

3. Wilis' L2L has inspired follow-up research examining the link between gender, ethnicity and class inequality in schools.