Marxist View on Education
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the view that the education system exists mainly to select and prepare young people for their future work roles. (20 marks)
As stated in Item A sociologists see the education system as performing a vital role in modern societies. Item A also highlights that the education system can equip individuals with the specialised knowledge and skills they will need when they join the workforce. Therefore, the education system helps select and allocate individuals into their future work roles. Although many sociologists agree this is the main role of education, they argue whether this is a positive thing or a negative thing. Whereas Functionalists believe this role of education benefits society and the individuals, Marxists believe this is simply not the case it benefits society but not the individuals especially the working class within society.
The Marxist view on the education system is mostly quite negative. There overall believe of education is that it is designed to prepare pupils for their role in the workplace and to reproduce new generations of workers schooled to accept their place in capitalist society. They believe the education system carries this out successfully by using school to legitimise inequality, disguise exploitation, reward conformity and obedience and finally transmit the ruling class ideology through many different ways within school i.e. teachers are often middle class and the only language accepted and used in school through text books and exam papers is always middle class. Also the lack of non-academic subjects in schools promotes that exam success is the only success. This is just some ways in which school promotes the ruling class ideology and prepares students for their future work roles.
Firstly I will look at Marxists, Bowles and Gintis view on education. Bowles and Gintis believe there is an extremely close correspondence between the ways in which people and children are treated in the
As stated in Item A sociologists see the education system as performing a vital role in modern societies. Item A also highlights that the education system can equip individuals with the specialised knowledge and skills they will need when they join the workforce. Therefore, the education system helps select and allocate individuals into their future work roles. Although many sociologists agree this is the main role of education, they argue whether this is a positive thing or a negative thing. Whereas Functionalists believe this role of education benefits society and the individuals, Marxists believe this is simply not the case it benefits society but not the individuals especially the working class within society.
The Marxist view on the education system is mostly quite negative. There overall believe of education is that it is designed to prepare pupils for their role in the workplace and to reproduce new generations of workers schooled to accept their place in capitalist society. They believe the education system carries this out successfully by using school to legitimise inequality, disguise exploitation, reward conformity and obedience and finally transmit the ruling class ideology through many different ways within school i.e. teachers are often middle class and the only language accepted and used in school through text books and exam papers is always middle class. Also the lack of non-academic subjects in schools promotes that exam success is the only success. This is just some ways in which school promotes the ruling class ideology and prepares students for their future work roles.
Firstly I will look at Marxists, Bowles and Gintis view on education. Bowles and Gintis believe there is an extremely close correspondence between the ways in which people and children are treated in the