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Answer
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Hint
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Ideological State Apparatus
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This term, coined by Althusser, refers to social institutions such as family, media, education, religion, and culture that reinforce the dominant ideology of the ruling class and maintain its hegemony over the working class. It works through persuasion (for example, rewarding students for working hard) and socialisation (education system) to promote the dominant ideology, reproduce and legitimise inequality and produce compliant subjects (controlling people's ideas, values and beliefs).
In the education system, it teaches students the necessary skills for employment.
Schools achieve the aims mentioned above by: -Having a fragmented curriculum (National Curriculum split into distinct subjects) - a curriculum broken down into individual subjects (English Language, English Literature, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, etc.). -Teaching of basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. -Having a curriculum based on ruling class values - history, literature, music. -Teaching the myth of meritocracy - growth mindset, resilience, hard-work. -The changes to the curriculum under the Coalition Government - less coursework in subjects, greater focus on core subjects, more demanding curriculum, increased flexibility of schools, more emphasis on computer science. -Students having to now study for a passing GCSE grade in English Language and Maths, until the age of 18. |
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Habitus
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This is a concept developed by Bourdieu. This refers to the norms, values, attitudes and behaviours of a particular social group (or social class). This is often associated with the term of cultural capital.
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Paul Willis (1977)
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This Marxist sociologist did a study ('Learning to Labour') in 1977 to show that working class pupils can resist attempts by the education system to indoctrinate them (students were not 'passive puppets'). In this case, it was 'The Lads counter-culture': -He used qualitative research methods (participant observation, unstructured interviews) to study 'the lads' - a group of 12 working class boys, as they made the transition from school to work. -These boys formed a counter-culture which was opposed to school (disruptive, misbehaved, very negative attitude to education), where they hated conformist boys (ear'oles) who listened to their teachers. They had a brand of intimidating humour, by 'taking the piss' out of the ear'oles and girls. -They found school boring and meaningless, and committed acts of defiance by flouting the school rules and values (drinking, disrupting classes, etc.). -They rejected as a 'con' the school's meritocratic ideology. -They saw manual work as superior. -Although this showed education was ineffective as an agent of socialisation, the irony to Willis was that their acts of rebellion lead to a lack of worthwhile qualifications, and so they only got unskilled low paid jobs with inferior conditions, which is exactly what capitalism needs someone to perform. |
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Cultural Capital
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This term, coined by Bourdieu, refers to the knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities that the middle class possess, which give them social status and help them navigate within their society (and within a field - cultural framework of specific interest).
Bourdieu argued that this is not only acquired through formal education but also through socialisation, where middle class children acquire the ability to grasp, analyse and express abstract ideas, meaning they are more likely to develop intellectual interests and an understanding of what the education system requires for success (symbolic capital).
Those who possess more of this have an advantage in society, such as middle class children in school (for abilities and interests), so they are better placed to take advantage of the choices offered in the education system. |
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Pierre Bourdieu (1979)
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This Marxist sociologist wrote about cultural capital and habitus (defined in this quiz).
He argues the education system is not neutral, it favours and transmits the dominant middle class culture, through cultural reproduction (teachers and headteachers, as well as those who dictate the curriculum and policies = middle class). This leads working class children to find that school devalues their culture as 'rough' and inferior - they are subject to symbolic violence. Their lack of cultural capital leads them to exam failure. Many 'get the message' that education is not meant for them - they respond by truanting, early leaving, or not trying.
How education acts as cultural reproduction: -The language used within it. -The dress sense typically used in education. -The cultural knowledge taught and learned. This is all chosen by the middle class.
Contemporary applications: -Ofsted - Cultural Capital. -School uniform policies. -Curriculum being based on middle class knowledge. -Teachers' judgements (form of labelling).
Support of his perspective are shown in these studies: -Louise Archer (1994) - Nike identities. -Diane Reay (2004) - Psycho-social approach - deft habitus: the capacity of individuals to navigate the constraints and opportunities of their social environments, drawing on their habitus (dispositions) to do so. She argues that habitus is not simply inherited or imposed but can be actively cultivated and deployed in ways that can help individuals to overcome barriers to social mobility. -Alice Sullivan (2001) - Students with higher amounts of cultural capital achieve higher in education. |
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Correspondence principle
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Coined by Bowles & Gintis, this term refers to the idea that the social relationships and values found in the workplace are mirrored in the classroom, thereby preparing working-class students for their future roles as obedient and exploitable workers in capitalist society. Examples of this include: -The workplace and the education system are both hierarchies (head teachers and bosses, pupils and workers). -Schooling takes place in 'the long shadow of work'. -Punctuality. -Rewards/sanctions. -Extrinsic (external) motivations. -Privileges for conformity/status. |
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Repressive State Apparatus
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This term, coined by Althusser, is the set of institutions and physical forces that a state uses to maintain social control and exercise its power through repression, such as police, military, and judiciary.
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The myth of meritocracy
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Bowles & Gintis believe meritocracy doesn't exist in the education system. The education system promotes the belief of meritocracy to prevent rebellions by the poor against capitalism (system responsible for inequality and the unfairness that comes with it). It legitimates class inequalities, by producing ideologies (meritocracy) that try to explain and justify why inequality is fair, natural and inevitable. It serves to justify the privileges of the higher classes, to make it seem they gained them through succeeding in open and fair competition at school. This makes sure working class pupils will end up in working class jobs.
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Material Deprivation
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This term refers to the lack of access to basic material needs and resources, such as adequate housing, nutrition, clothing, and healthcare, that are necessary for people to lead a decent life. This can have a negative impact on individuals' education, health, and overall well-being.
According to Marxists, working class children are more likely to have poorer diets, health, housing and parents who are less able to meet the hidden costs of schooling. |
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Hidden curriculum
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Coined by Bowles & Gintis, this term refers to the values, norms, and beliefs that are transmitted to students through the school's socialisation process (i.e. all 'lessons' learnt in school without being directly taught), which reinforces the dominant ideology of the capitalist system. They suggested that schools, even unintentionally, play a crucial role in reproducing the existing social class structure and power relations through this.
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Louis Althusser (1970)
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This Marxist sociologist argued, if people are simply forced to co-operate with capitalism, they would eventually reject the system. Therefore, there are a range of formal and informal agencies of social control, which are necessary to maintain capitalism. This is so the people are manipulated into loving the system so that they find it harder to challenge it. The mechanisms he believed do this are: -Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) -Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)
He argues that the education system is an important ideological state apparatus, with it performing 2 functions: 1. It reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn. 2. It legitimates class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. Its function is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and that they deserve their subordinate position in society. If they accept it, they are less likely to challenge or threaten capitalism. |
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Subculture
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This refers to a group of people within a larger culture who share distinctive norms, values, beliefs, behaviours, and attitudes that differentiate them from the larger culture. The may be formed based on factors such as age, ethnicity, occupation, interests, or other shared experiences or characteristics. Members of this often engage in their own unique activities, have their own language and symbols, and may be more likely to associate with other members of their subculture than with members of the larger culture.
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Evaluations
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Below are the criticisms of all the Marxist sociologists views on this quiz.
Criticisms of Bowles and Gintis: -Functionalists agree with the teaching of skills for employment but suggest this is for the benefit of society. -Do all students become passive and unthinking puppets (see Willis' study)? -Are the workers being produced, equipped with necessary skills for employment?
Criticisms of Althusser: -Functionalists suggest that the state apparatuses are beneficial for society. -There is limited empirical (factual) evidence for his ideas. -Postmodernists would suggest education is one way of expressing ability in contemporary society. -His views are deterministic (fatalistic) - there are more children from manual labour backgrounds going into higher education than ever before (although this is still only 9%).
Criticisms of Willis: -His close bonds with his boys during his study could have caused the Hawthorne Effect (where participants in a study modify their behaviour or performance in response to being observed or studied). -Do these boys 'choose to fail' by design or free will? -Are the end results of working class boys ending up in working class jobs prove that education reproduces inequality?
Criticisms of Bourdieu: -Functionalists suggest that education is meritocratic. -Functionalists argue that pupils are socialised into a value consensus as the skills are needed to achieve. -Students acquire cultural capital throughout their time in the education system. |
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Bowles & Gintis (1976)
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These Marxist sociologists argued that capitalism requires a workforce with the kind of attitudes, behaviour and personality-type suited to their role as alienated and exploited workers willing to accept hard work, low pay and orders from above.
They believed the role of the education system in a capitalist society was to reproduce an obedient workforce that would accept inequality as inevitable. For example, schools reward precisely the kind of personality traits that make for a submissive, compliant worker. They found students that showed independence and creativity tended to gain low grades, however students who showed characteristics linked to obedience and discipline tended to gain higher grades.
The education system also justifies inequality (poverty), through what they described as the 'poor are dumb' theory of failure. The education system does this via blaming poverty on the individual, rather than blaming capitalism.
Contemporary applications of education legitimising inequality: -Uniform policies -Role of academies - closer links with work -1980s Conservative Government - 'teachers given power' policy -Apprenticeships and vocational education
They coined the terms 'correspondence principle', 'hidden curriculum' and 'the myth of meritocracy' (defined on this quiz). |
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Cultural Deprivation
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This term refers to the lack of exposure and access to cultural knowledge, experiences, and resources, which may put individuals at a disadvantage in terms of educational attainment and social mobility.
According to Marxists, working class pupils are seen as lacking the right attitudes, values, language and knowledge for success. |
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