Assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of the Role of Education Sociologists argue that Education has different functions amongst society. Functionalists would argue that Education is a good thing and that it prepares younger generations for life in the work place; however Marxists would argue that education justifies social inequality and prepares working class people for working class jobs. Marxists argue that Education creates the ‘Myth of Meritocracy’, where pupils are taught to believe that social mobility is possible in society; however in reality schools are educating working class students for working class jobs. With the exception of a few, education confirms individual’s class of origin as their class of destination. Class inequalities are reproduced and education does not provide a means of social mobility.
Weber believed it was linked to the type of job people could get, Weber thought differently to Marx about this, as marx believed it was due to owning factories or other resources, and weber thought it was due to skills and qualifications. Weber’s idea of class influenced the ideas of other sociologists, such as goldthorpe (1980). Goldthorpe derived a stratification scale which includes the Weberian concept of market position. This was felt by sociologists to be a more accurate technique of studying stratification, as a pose to just studying peoples jobs. Weber was skeptical about the possibility of the working class bonding together for revolutionary purposes, for example becoming class-conscious because of differences in status would always undermine any common cause.
This socialist inspiration for Priestley came from Bernard Shaws and H. G. Wellses, who also had communist aims for the society. At the beginning of the play, Priestley introduces ideas about social class, through characterization. This is evident in the stage directions when the Birling family doesn’t require any aid, ‘Edna goes out.’ This suggests that Edna is not vital to the society because she is only needed in the house for domestic work. Due to Edna's position in the hierarchy, it is necessary for her to leave the stage but if she was a member of the Birling family, she wouldn't be required to. This illustrates the significance of the social class and the inequality faced by those of the lower class.
Leaders have to set the standard by being empathic, supportive and use a range of different leadership styles to develop and maintain the team, they also have be fair and consistent, as workers that feel they are unfairly treated by a manager will not show loyalty and will do the minimum. The leader also has to demonstrate capability and experience, as having workers that are more highly achieving than the leader breeds resentment. Tuckman (1965) described the stages of team development as ‘Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. As teams travel through these stages trust, respect and understanding of individual’s strengths and tolerance of their weaknesses is established. This process allows individuals to learn about each other personalities, coping strategies and response to pressure, allowing for bonds between members to be formed.
However, Marxists criticise this and argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the ruling class and not the shared values of society. Furthermore, Durkheim argues that modern industry has a complex division of labour where production of a single product involves cooperation from many different specialists. But for this to be successful, each person must have the necessary specialist knowledge and skills to perform their role. So education teaches individuals specialist skills and knowledge that individuals need to play their part in the social division of labour. So the main function of education is to maintain a value consensus in society.
One way the family serves capitalism is the socialisation of the young into the ruling class ideology. They see the family as an institution which serves and maintains the position of the ruling class. Marxists point out is that families socialise children in to an idea of hierarchy and inequality. An example of this is when parent’s power over children making them accustom to the idea that there is always someone above or better than them and they will have to obey there orders. This leads them to the working life where you work under capitalists and accept orders from superior employers.
Social control theory can also be very closely related to Tre as it focuses on the conformity of individuals within society. Social control theory takes place when an individual has a strong need for belonging and they are reinforces doing well in school, hard work and presenting himself better then his friends do. Social control theory is often discredited because it does not point to political or economic standards that play a major role in
Time has shown, that this is not the case, the upper class always attempt to retain their power, and will try everything within their capabilities to keep it until they have been overthrown. Capitalism is also based on the idea that people care about one another on a personal level, this is also not true. Although there are countless acts of benevolence between humans it is mostly committed by the middle and lower classes
Student’s values, personality and attitudes are shaped to make them useful for capitalism and to make money for society. Education is an important part of each individual’s secondary socialisation. It teaches and encourages children to learn and conform to norms and values that are expected of them in society. Marxists believe that these norms and values are taught through a ‘hidden curriculum’ (Bowles and Gintis 1976). It teaches pupils to be flexible, obedient, punctual, and to have respect for people of authority (i.e.
Let me fist began with accountability. Accountability is major part of being successful in life and in your career. It seems like in society, people are just looking for any avenue possible to shift the blame and not take responsibilities for their own actions. I feel employers are looking for someone who not only acknowledges his or her errors, and take responsibility for his or her actions, but also someone who is willing to learn from their mistakes and not blame someone else. Everyone makes mistakes but the real test is how you react.