Marxism and Functionalism on Education

Access Sociology

Starter• Watch/ listen to the the following cliphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U

• What is the artist trying to convey about the education system? Briefly discuss in small groups and jot some ideas down on the worksheet

• Try and think of relevant Marxist concepts

Ideological state apparatuses

• Agencies of the state which serve to spread dominant ideology and justify the power of the dominant social class.

Althusser (1971)

• Education transmits dominant ideology by:• Passing on ruling class ideology justifying the

capitalist system.• Selects people for the different social classes

as adults, with the right attitudes and behaviours, e.g. workers are persuaded to accept exploitation, and managers to rule.

Bowles and Gintis (1976)

• Bowles and Gintis claim the education system:• Helps to maintain, justify and explain the

system of social inequality in capitalist society• Helps people come to terms with their own

position in it• Reduces discontent and opposition to

inequality

Anti-school or counter school subculture

• A group organized around a set of values, attitudes and behaviour in opposition to the main aims of a school.

Marxist concepts• Infrastructure: The economic base of society.• Superstructure: The rest of society which is

determined by the economic base.• Ruling class ideology: A false picture of society

which justifies the position of the ruling and working classes.

• Correspondence theory: A theory which shows a similarity between two things which suggests they are causally related.

• Social reproduction: the reproduction of new generations of workers with the skills and attitudes required for their role in Capitalist society.

The Education Bridge

FamilyPrimary SocialisationParticularistic Values

SocietySecondary SocialisationUniversalistic Values

Functionalist concepts• Social solidarity: Social integration and unity.• Specialized division of Labour: A labour force with a

large number of specialized occupations.• Value consensus: Agreement about values in society.• Ascribed status: Status that is fixed and

unchangeable.• Achieved status: Involves some degree of choice and

results from individual achievement.• Equality of opportunity: A system in which every

person has an equal chance of success.• Role allocation: The system if allocating people to

roles which suit their aptitudes and capabilities.