The Marxist Perspective On Education
- Created by: Jakeyboy13579
- Created on: 24-10-20 16:24
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- Marxist Perspective on Education
- Karl Marx (1867) described capitalism as a two class system
- The capitalist class or bourgeoisie are the minority class
- They are the employers who own the means of production and make profits by exploiting the labour of the majority working class or the proletariet
- The working class are forced to sell their own labour power to the capitalists since they own no means of production of their own
- As a result, work under capitalism is poor paid, alienating, unsatisfying and something which workers have no real control over
- The capitalist class or bourgeoisie are the minority class
- Marxists argue that the education has 4 roles overall
- 1.) It reproduces class inequality
- 2.) It legitimises class inequality
- 3.) It works in the interests of capitalist employers
- 4.) It creates a passive and subservient workforce
- Louis Althusser (1971) Transmission of Capitalist Values
- Claims that the education system transmits capitalist values through two ways
- Education reproduces class inequality
- Education reproduces class inequality by favouring middle class values and suiting the needs of the middle class children more
- Education legitimises class inequalities
- Education legitimises class inequalities by teaching capitalist values and convincing pupils that capitalism is fair
- Education reproduces class inequality
- How does Paulo Freire (1995) support Althusser's views
- Sees schools as repressive institutions where learners are conditioned to accept oppressive relations of domination and subordination and to listen to their betters
- Claims that the education system transmits capitalist values through two ways
- Bowles & Gentis (1976): Preparation For The Workplace
- Argued that capitalism requires a workforce with the kind of attitudes, behaviour and personality type suited to their role as alienated and exploited workers
- According to their reproduction theory, the role of education is to prepare and reproduce an obedient workforce that will accept inequality and inevitable
- Did a study on 237 New York high school students and found that schools reward submissive and compliant personality traits that make for a submissive and compliant worker
- Based on this they concluded that schools help to produce obedient workers
- Bowles & Gentis argue that there are close parallels between school and work in capitalit society which they refer to as the 'correspondence principle'
- Based on this they concluded that schools help to produce obedient workers
- Describe the education system as a 'giant myth making machine' and they don't believe meritocracy exists
- This myth of meritocracy makes it seem like the higher class have earned their wealth
- According to Bowles & Gentis both the correspondence principle and the myth of meritocracy are promoted through the 'hidden curriculum'
- Weaknesses
- Functionalists would say they are too negative
- Paul Willis (1977): Learning To Labour
- All Marxists agree that capitalism cannot function without a workforce that is willing to accept exploitation and therefore Marxists view education as reproducing and legitimating class inequality
- However, Paul Willis' (1977) research shows that WC pupils can resist such attempt to indoctrinate them
- All Marxists agree that capitalism cannot function without a workforce that is willing to accept exploitation and therefore Marxists view education as reproducing and legitimating class inequality
- Karl Marx (1867) described capitalism as a two class system
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