Theoretical perspectives of education: Marxist

Marxist Perspective of Education

The Marxist perspective is based on the ideological viewpoint of Karl Marx, who emphasised the role of the economy in shaping society, including its educational systems.
According to Marxists, education is a reflection of social inequality and serves to reproduce existing class structures. They posit that schools function as ‘ideological state apparatuses’, inculcating the values and cultural norms of the dominant, capitalist class.

Reproduction and Legitimation

Marxists argue that through education, the pre-existing social class structure and inequality is reproduced. Schools do this by consistently rewarding children from middle-class families with acclaimed academic achievement.
The education system also legitimates class inequality by spreading the ‘myth’ of meritocracy: the belief that everyone has the same opportunity to succeed and that success is based on talent and effort alone.

Marxist Theories

Bowles and Gintis proposed the ‘correspondence theory’, arguing that the hidden curriculum in schools corresponds to the demands of the capitalist workforce. They suggest that the school system creates a subservient workforce accustomed to following orders and tolerating boring, repetitive tasks.
Paul Willis developed the ‘learning to labour’ theory. He studied working-class boys who rejected the values of the school system, ultimately reproducing the class structure as these students often ended up in working-class jobs. Willis’ study challenges the idea that working-class underachievement is simply due to passive acceptance of capitalism.

Critiques of Marxist Perspective

Critics argue that Marxist perspectives overgeneralise the negative aspects of education and oversimplify the complex relationship between education and the economy.
It is suggested that Marxists overlook the fact that many individuals from working-class backgrounds do succeed through education.
Critics also point out the Marxists’ standpoint is outdated and doesn’t sufficiently take into account more recent developments in education, such as progressive teaching methods and policies aimed at reducing inequalities.
The ideas of meritocracy and social mobility are challenged by other perspectives like functionalism, which argue that the education system does reward individual effort and talent, and it can help children from less advantaged backgrounds to climb the social ladder.