Neo-Marxism

Who does Giroux disagree with?

Bowles & Gintis

What does Giroux argue?

working class pupils do not passively accept everything they are taught, and actively resist discpline and ideologies pushed on them in school (social action theory)

What study did Willis conduct?

The Learning to Labour Theory

What did he do in his study?

interviewed and observed a group of 12 working class 'lads'

Lads

values manual labour

saw very little point in trying hard in education

viewed middle calss jobs as pointless and 'pen-pushing'

bulied middle class who tried hard - labelled them as 'try hards', 'ear-holes', 'effeminate men'

Pro School Subculture

middle class background

education was a priviledge

see education as necessary for career/goals

Anti-School Subculture

working class background

education a waste of time

reject educational values - authority/uniform

consistently miss school

What did the boys think they were doing?

beating the education system by not engaging

What were the boys actually doing?

what education wanted - failing out of education, they limited themselves to working class jobs

What did this allow education to do?

reproduce social class inequalities

Positives

explains how other factors, like subcultures, can impact working class experiences in education

Willis' study is beneficial as observation allows for valid, in-depth data

social action theorists would apprive of Girouxs view that individuals shape their own reality

Negatives

Willis' study is not very representative due to having such a small sample (12 boys)

Feminists would argue that it ignores gender inequalities

Functionalists would say it ignores the beneficial functions of education

very black and white thinking - either fully pro or anti school