File

1. The role and purpose of education, including vocational education and training, in contemporary society. Marxist and other conflict views of the role and purpose of education: social control, ideology, hegemony; ‘deschoolers’ (Illich, Friere): socialisation into conformity by coercion.

By the time you’ve worked through this area of the specification, you’ll be expert on: Ruling class ideology; Legitimation of inequality; Correspondence principle / theory; Social reproduction; Counter(anti)-school culture; Hidden curriculum; Fragmentation; Myth of meritocracy; Shop-floor culture; Penetrations; Ideological state apparatus; Subservient workforce; Acceptance of hierarchy; ‘Jug and mug’ principle; Motivation by external rewards.

Transmits ruling class ideology;

Rewards conformity and obedience;

Prepares pupils for their role in the workplace;

Legitimises inequality and disguises exploitation;

Reproduces new generations of workers, schooled to accept their place in capitalist society.

He wrote for marx. 1969.

A structuralist, macro approach to the role of education in a capitalist society.

KEY CONCEPTS: ideological state apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THEORY: * In modern society the education system has largely replaced the church as the main agency for ideological control. They won’t listen to the Church anymore, so they only way to control them is become…

A TEACHER!

* The ruling class cannot hold power for long simply by the use of force. Ideological control through influencing the way people think, is the most effective way for the ruling class to maintain power over the subject class. You are feeling very sleepy; give yourself up to those in power; strive to obey; don’t question or challenge…

* Schools transmit an ideology which states that capitalism is just and reasonable. That’ll be $2.50, please. Cost price was 15 cents which gives me a net daylight robbery figure of $1.35.

Uh-uh, OK.

We’ll just pretend we’re American for a minute…

* Schools prepare pupils to accept their future exploitation. Why do I have to sit in the cooler for three hours because I’m not wearing the school tie?

It’s actually got nothing to do with the tie. We’re just getting you trained up to do as your future boss says. We’re breaking your spirit. Having gutless workers & consumers is the only way capitalism will survive…

* Pupils who become managers and decision makers through their qualifications which legitimate their power over others. If you work really hard, Maxwell, you could become a deputy head teacher, just like me. Then you get to shout at people and drive around in a Vauxhall people carrier.

I can’t be bothered to work hard, Sir. I’ll just settle for working in Farmfoods for the rest of my life instead and being treated like a lowlife by the terminally superior, such as yourself.

RESEARCH METHOD: this was what we call ‘Armchair theorising’ because Althusser didn’t actually carry out empirical research, he was simply expressing his opinion based on his Marxist beliefs. WEAKNESSES: his work lacks empirical support.

They wrote Schooling in capitalist america. 1976.

A structuralist, macro approach to the role of education in a capitalist society. KEY CONCEPTS: Correspondence principle; hidden curriculum; subservient workforce; acceptance of hierarchy; ‘jug and mug’ principle; fragmentation; myth of meritocracy; motivation by external rewards.

SUMMARY OF THEORY: * There is close correspondence between the ways in which people and children are treated in the workplace and the school. This is to get children used to their future exploitation. It achieves this through the hidden curriculum. We teach you to submit to an authority figure and to behave quietly and politely, surpressing your impulses….

…so that by the time you’ve got a job, you’re a natural!

* By maintaining power over children, teachers are training children to become a subservient and docile workforce who will not challenge the power of capitalism. How do teachers make children into puppets?

* The fragmentation of the school day and subjects corresponds to the fragmentation of the workforce. By keeping workers unaware of the overall running of a business, they cannot use this knowledge to set up in competition.

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and you ruin a great business opportunity.

RESEARCH METHOD: they conducted a study based on 237 members of the senior year in a New York high school. WEAKNESSES: Trunacy rates and behavioural issues show children are not docile and unquestionning. Also, can we apply findings of the American education system to the British one?

He wrote learning to labour. 1979.

A structuralist, macro approach to the role of education in a capitalist society. However, Willis used a micro approach to examine experiences of school.

KEY CONCEPTS: counter-school culture; shopfloor culture; penetrations.

SUMMARY OF THEORY: * There isn’t a simple relationship between the economy and the education system; students are active participants – some of whom choose to fail. Do I look like I’d become part of a subservient and docile workforce?

* ‘The lads’ formed their own friendship group which had a counterschool culture which was against the values of the school and doing well. I’ve gone for the last half term without picking up a pen. I’m well proud! Teachers are *******s.

Kids who work hard in school need kicking.

Flooding the bogs was a particularly proud moment for me.

* They focused on ‘having a laff’ to cope with the boredom they felt at school & in work. But they clearly just try to cope with tedium and oppression instead of actively challenging it.

RESEARCH METHOD: As well as drawing upon Marxist sociology, Willis used some of the research techniques of interactionism and micro theory. His ethnographic method used observation in class, recorded discussions, informal interviews and diaries. He focused on 12 working class lads in their last 18 months at school and their first few months at work. WEAKNESSES: unrepresentative sample size which focuses only on male experiences.

Why didn’t Willis look at people like me?

What is an ideological state apparatus?

An institution, influenced by the State, that transmits ruling-class ideas in the guise of mainstream ideas in order to reproduce, legitimise and hide existing patterns of class inequality.

What is the main function of education as an ideological state apparatus?

To ensure that ruling class dominance of economic, social & political power continues undisturbed, by convincing working class pupils that their educational failure is their fault.

What is the hidden curriculum, and how does it differ from the academic curriculum?

The curriculum is concerned with transmitting knowledge and skills, whereas the hidden curriculum (embodied in the organisation, rules & routines of schools) is concerned with transmitting conforming attitudes..

According to Althusser, what is the function of classroom knowledge such as history?

Why are city academies criticised by Marxist sociologists?

History teaching has focused traditionally on powerful figures such as Kings and Queens. This passes on the idea that heredity, hierarchy & obedience to authority are worthy values and norms.

The content of their lessons emphasise capitalist values such as free enterprise. This is not surprising, as city academies are financed partly by private capital.

According to Althusser, what does most classroom knowledge either neglect or ignore altogether?

Subjects that contain knowledge that might be used to criticise the capitalist system, e.g. republicanism, socialism, feminism.

According to Marxist sociologists, what happens to those pupils who question the legitimacy of teachers and education?

They are often defined as problematic, anti-authority etc. and relegated to lower sets and streams, in which they are subjected to further social controls. This leads to their eventual failure.

What message does the hidden curriculum mainly transmit, especially to working class pupils?

That failure is the result of individual deficiency, rather than a consequence of capitalism’s need for a manual labour force.

How do Bowles & Gintis view the concept of meritocracy?

As an ideological myth. A few working class pupils are allowed access to further and higher education to give the impression of equality of opportunity, which is false.

Critics argue the Marxist sociologists of education have a simple view of decision-making and power in education. Why is this?

They say education benefits a capitalist elite, but the large number of influential groups in the education system suggests Marxists are being too simplistic.

How might truancy and exclusion be used to criticise the Marxist theory of education?

It suggests the hidden curriculum doesn’t always succeed in producing conformist pupils.

Why is it difficult to test Marxist concepts such as the hidden curriculum & ideology?

They are highly abstract ideas that are difficult to operationalise (turn into variables that can be observed & measured easily).

Why did Paul Willis’s ‘lads’ see education as irrelevant?

Because they were happy to move into manual work in factories, for which qualifications were generally not required.

What was the effect of the hidden curriculum on Willis’s ‘lads’?

There was no effect. The value system of the school was ignored – the ‘lads’ substituted their own value system based on ‘having a laff’.

Why is Willis’s research an interpretivist critique of Marxism?

Unlike traditional Marxists, Willis was interested in how the ‘lads’ in his study saw and interpreted the world around them. He noted that they actively sought out working class jobs and chose to ‘fail’ at school – they were not forced.

Who are the two most important functionalist thinkers with regard to the role of education?

Durkheim and Parsons.

According to functionalism, what two elements underpin social order?

Value consensus (general agreement on norms & values) and an integrated division of labour (the way jobs and skills are organised).

Identify two ways in which the education system serves as a secondary agent of socialisation.

It socialises each generation into society’s values, norms, attitudes etc, particularly the belief that work is a highly valued activity. It encourages social conformity by stressing adherence to formal rules.

According to Durkheim, what is the function of the knowledge taught in schools?

To bind individuals to society, e.g. by making them aware of the past achievements of their society, so encouraging cultural pride.

Apart from transmitting knowledge, how do schools convey the idea that the social group is more important than the individual?

Through mechanisms such as school uniforms, assemblies and sports days.

KEY MARXIST CONCEPTS

1. Ruling class ideology 2. Legitimation of inequality 3. Correspondence principle / theory 4. Social reproduction 5. Counter(anti)-school culture 6. Hidden curriculum 7. Fragmentation 8. Myth of meritocracy 9. Shop-floor culture 10. Penetrations 11. Ideological state apparatus 12. Subservient workforce 13. Acceptance of hierarchy 14. ‘Jug and mug’ principle 15. Motivation by external rewards