Marxism and Education

Marxists challenge the functionalist approach
Althusser (1972): disagrees that the main function of education is the transmission of common values.
He argues education is an ideological tool and its main function is to maintain, justify and reproduce, generation by generation, class inequalities in wealth and power.
This is done through transmitting ruling class or capitalist views disguised as common values.
He argues this is done through the hidden curriculum (those things learnt in schools that are not on the formal curriculum such as punctuality, competitiveness and obedience).

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Marxism and Education: Bowles and Gintis

Bowles and Gintis (1976): what goes on in schools directly corresponds to the world of work.
Teachers are like the bosses and pupils are the workers, who work for rewards. This is called the correspondence principle and it provides the key to understanding the education system.
Eduction's function is to provide capitalists with a workforce.
For capitalism to succeed it needs a hardworking, docile, obedient and highly motivated workforce that won't challenge authority.
Education helps to achieve these goals through the hidden curriculum.

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The hidden curriculum works in the following ways:
it helps to produce a subservient workforce of uncritical, passive and docile workers.
it encourages an acceptance of hierarchy as schools are organised on a hierarchy principle of authority and control.
pupils learn to be motivated by external rewards just as the workforce are.
fragmentation of subjects relates to the fragmentation of the workforce where specific tasks are carried out by seperate individuals.

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Bowles and Gintis reject the idea that society is meritocratic.
They believe class background is the most important factor influencing levels of attainment.
Children of the wealthy and powerful tend to obtain high qualifications and highly rewarded jobs, irrespective of their abilities.
Those who are denied success blame themselves not the system.
Those who conform rise above those who challenge the system.

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Cultural capital is the process whereby a dominant culture penetrates educational institutions.
Middle class children have an advantage because they have been socialised into the dominant culture.
Middle class pupils have the codes to unlock the mysteries of education.
Middle class parents have the knowledge of how to play the system in their favour.
Reproduction takes place via the socialisation of the young.
In effect, middle class kids grow up to have middle class jobs and so on.

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