What can you recall about Marxism?

What can you recall about Marxism? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U Try and write down at least three things. If you get stuck, share ideas with a partner

Writers in the Marxist tradition of sociology claim that the education system is a conspiracy which exists to deny the children of the working class access to an understanding of their true class position.Your current task is to assess that claim and to support your arguments with evidence What can Marxists tell us about education and differences in attainment?

Sociological Targets • To understand Marxist views of education. • To evaluate those views. • To use sociological evidence and research to support your judgements.

Personal targets • To write an essay length answer • To contribute to whole class discussion in an orderly fashion • To think critically about sociology explanations of inequality in education

What is Marxism? • Marxists see capitalist society as being ruled by the economy. • The minority, the ruling class or bourgeoisie rule the majority, namely the workers or proletariat. • The bourgeoisie have the wealth and the power to rule. • The proletariat are exploited because they are not treated fairly. This is the basis of class inequality.

Marxism summarised • Education reproduces the inequalities and social relations of production of Capitalist Society. • Education serves to legitimate these inequalities under the guise of Meritocracy.

Louis Althusser • Althusser believed that education socialises working class children into accepting their subordinate status to the middle class. • Education conveys the ideology of the ruling class. • Education prepares individuals for the world of work, in order to accept their position in a capitalist society.

What do you think of these ideas? Have a minute of discussion with your study partners

Bowles and Gintis • Bowles and Gintis(1976), say the main function of education in capitalist countries is to create workers. • Correspondence theory suggests that educational inequality mirrors the inequality of wider society. • If capitalism is to succeed it must have an industrious and obedient workforce that is too divided to challenge the authority of the rulers. • The education system succeeds in fulfilling this aim by means of the hidden curriculum

Ivan Illich (1973) • Schools kill creativity, insist on conformity, and offer indoctrination into capitalistic society. • Children learn to accept authority in an unthinking fashion and this leads them to accept government dictats in the same way.

Resistance is futile Paul Willis (1977) • Did an ethnography of twelve anti-school boys ‘the lads’ • These boys rejected school and other children within it, presenting themselves as superior • Willis claims that working class children choose to fail in school as a rejection of capitalism • Their rejection of school is an act of resistance

Two Marxist viewpoints • Traditional Marxist Louis Althusser Schools pass on messages that people accept without question. They are socialised into accepting capitalism • Neo- Marxism Paul Willis Children can see through the ideology, but it doesn’t matter. The reality is low pay work, poverty and oppression regardless.

What is evaluation? • Evaluation is the process of judging the value of a research project, an idea or a concept, using further concepts, studies and theories to support the judgement that is made. • Strengths and weaknesses are identified in an evaluation

What are the strengths of Marxism? • It points out how ideology is transmitted within schools via the hidden curriculum. • It recognises conflict of interest in schools; not everyone shares values. • It points out the inequalities of both opportunity and outcome in the system

And the weaknesses? • It assumes teachers are unaware of class dynamics and are all middle class agents • Many working class children do succeed in the education system • It overemphasises class and ignores other structural inequalities: ethnicity and gender

Outline and assess Marxist views of education. • Criteria for success • Outline Marxism • Outline what the theorists say • Assess the strengths of Marxist thinking • Assess the weakness of Marxist thinking. • Refer to AO1 knowledge about the educational system of the UK • Use the concepts of sociology • Refer to studies, writers or theory in your answer. • Use evaluative language in your answer

Design a poster comparing and contrasting functionalist and Marxist views of education Criteria for success: There will be a simple explanation of each theory Two broad similarities between the theories will be identified Two major differences between the two theories will be identified. Images and colour will be used effectively to highlight key points.

Independent study • Develop your notes on this topic by looking at the e-book on the NGfL-Cymru website. • Add notes from books and downloads on Marxism to your folders.

Introduction - Outline what Marxism is in general Briefly explain Marxist views on education Contrast this to Functionalism To conclude – Sum up, weigh up and contrast to Functionalism and meritocracy. One Marxist view is that education is an important agent of socialisation which prepares children for subordinate positions and exploitation within capitalist system. Louis Althusser called this Ideological State Apparatus. However not all working class children fail in school and end up in low-paid jobs. One weakness is that Feminists might argue that it focuses too heavily on class inequalities and so is race and gender blind. However traditional marxism did state that women and ethnic minorities are more disadvantaged by capitalism. Another weakness is that the labour govt have put in place many policies to ensure education is meritocratic such as encouraging uni’s to accept more W/C students. Although only 1 in 5 HE students are W/C and Reay et al (2005) found M/C students more confident to apply for prestigious uni’s Another Marxist view is that Ed is to reproduce an obedient workforce to meet the needs of capitalism. Evidence is from Bowles and Gintis, correspondence theory and hidden curriculum. Are children in school really that obedient and unquestioning? Are all teachers in favour of ruling-class ideology? Outlineand assess Marxist views of education Marxists also believe that material deprivation caused by capitalism disadvs W/C children, recent govt turnaround on EMA supports this argument. Although Pierre Bourdieu argues that it is cultural capital (middle-class ways of behaving and speaking in school that advs M/C children. One strength of the Marxist view. It points out the existence of the hidden curriculum (Bowles and Gintis) However Reynolds notes that it would be impossible for schools to be completely controlled by the ruling class and that teachers are not unaware of class issues in school, The Marxist view also recognises class inequalities and how there is conflict s of interests(in contrast to the Functionalist consensus view that school teaches shared norms and values. A Neo-Marxist view is that young people resist capitalism by rejecting the school system. (Henry Giroux) Evidence is ethnographic study by Paul Willis – 12 ‘lads’ . Resistance only lead them to low-paid insecure jobs. This shows that the ed system reproduces class inequality. However Willis’’ study used participant observation of only 12 pps and is therefore not very reliable or generalisable

What can you recall about Marxism?