How do Marxists view the hidden curriculum?

Marxists are against the Hidden Curriculum, where as functionalists support it as it is a way of learning norms, values and skill required in later life. Marxism says that education is used by the hegemonic powers to justify, maintain, and reproduce class inequalities. Meritocracy is a myth.

Which sociologist talks about the hidden curriculum?

The hidden curriculum, first described by Philip Jackson (1968), is a set of unspoken or implicit rules and values that students learn while attending school.

How do Marxists view the education system?

The education system is based on exploitation and oppression; it teaches proletariat children that they exist to be dominated, and it teaches children of the capitalist ruling class they exist to dominate. Schools subdue pupils so that they do not resist the systems that exploit and oppress them.

How do Functionalists view the hidden curriculum?

Functionalists also recognise that there is a hidden curriculum, but they see this is a positive thing: part of what teaches people the norms and values of society. Marxists like Bowles & Gintis think this only benefits the ruling class and capitalism.

What is the curriculum of Marxism in education?

The Marxist approach to education is broadly constructivist, and emphasises activity, collaboration and critique, rather than passive absorption of knowledge, emulation of elders and conformism; it is student-centred rather than teacher centred, but recognises that education cannot transcend the problems and ...

Hidden Curriculum, Explained!

What is a Hidden Curriculum in schools?

The term “hidden curriculum” refers to an amorphous collection of “implicit academic, social, and cultural messages,” “unwritten rules and unspoken expectations,” and “unofficial norms, behaviours and values” of the dominant-culture context in which all teaching and learning is situated.

What is the Marxist view on education AQA?

Marxists view education as a tool for the ruling class to maintain capitalist domination of society. By producing passive workers and ensuring cultural reproduction education is a powerful mechanism for ruling class control. Class inequalities are legitimated thus the capitalist system is never challenged.

Who believes in the hidden curriculum?

The idea of the Hidden Curriculum was was a key idea within the Marxist perspective of education, back in the 1970s. Bowles and Gintis explicitly mentioned it in their Correspondence Principle when they argued that the norms taught through it got children ready for future exploitation at work.

Who disagrees with the hidden curriculum?

Interactionists do not accept that pupils simply accept 'hidden curriculum' messages. They see socialisation as a two-way process, with pupils responding to 'hidden curriculum' messages in a variety of ways. Paul Willis study of 'the Lads' revealed how they knew what the school expected from them.

Who are the theorists of hidden curriculum?

From another perspective, theorists including Michael Apple, Jean Anyon, and Henry Giroux describe how hidden curricular practices provided. Their common point is that social reproduction emerges with the inclusion of the social organization of the school and the authority relationships between teachers and students.

What is a criticism of Marxist view on education?

On the other hand, sociologists such as Henry Giroux (1983) have criticized the traditional Marxist view on education as being too deterministic. He argued that working classes are not entirely molded by the capitalist system and do not accept everything they are taught blindly.

What are the 5 principles of Marxism?

The basic tenets of Marxism are the following: dialectical materialism, historical materialism, the theory of surplus value, class struggle, revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat and communism.

How do Marxists Criticise schools?

Marxists argue that in reality class background and money determines how good an education you get, but people do not realize this because schools spread the 'myth of meritocracy' – in school we learn that we all have an equal chance to succeed and that our grades depend on our effort and ability.

Is the hidden curriculum good or bad?

The general consensus is that hidden curriculum has the potential to teach, stimulate and foster good or bad lessons, behavioral pattern and character traits respectively. Some educators feel that hidden curriculum is creating more negative repercussions for students and society, than it is positive results.

What is an example of hidden curriculum?

The hidden curriculum is all the other things students learn in school that is not explicitly taught or written down; concepts like friendship, honesty, fairness, the value of work, ethnic relations, and cultural differences.

Why do sociologists believe that the hidden curriculum is an important?

This hidden curriculum reinforces the positions of those with higher cultural capital, and serves to bestow status unequally. Critical sociologists also point to tracking, a formalized sorting system that places students on “tracks” (advanced versus low achievers) that perpetuate inequalities.

Are bowles and gintis Marxist?

It is important to remember that Bowles & Gintis were Marxists; they were critics of capitalism. This is what they thought education was like, not what they thought it should be like. Critics would argue that school has changed a lot since the 1970s and so has the workplace.

Why hidden curriculum is an issue?

Hidden curriculum is one of current controversial curriculum issues. Many hidden curricular issues are the result of assumptions and expectations that are not formally communicated, established, or conveyed within the learning environment.

Is Paul Willis a Marxist?

Paul Willis used a wide range of research methods - including observations and interviews - to really try and see education from the children's point of view. As a Marxist, he was interested in conflict in education and why working-class children went on to do working-class jobs.

What is an example of a negative hidden curriculum?

A hidden curriculum can reveal hypocrisy if what a school says it does is not the same as what it does. For example, a school might claim that it wants all students to do well academically, but the hidden curriculum might be teaching students that only those from wealthier backgrounds can do well in school.

Who does the hidden curriculum affect and why?

The most immediate place that the hidden curriculum affects students is in your classroom. There are so many ways that students need to pick up on unspoken messages within the classroom. It affects how they just to get along in the classroom. It can be how they let teachers know they are attending and ready to learn.

How do you deal with hidden curriculum?

If someone is struggling with concepts, offer resources that could be helpful. These small interactions can lead to a conversation that helps illuminate the hidden curriculum—you might end up comparing notes on tough course topics, as well as sharing helpful resources or invitations to participate in study sessions.

What do Marxists believe?

Marxism posits that the struggle between social classes—specifically between the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the proletariat, or workers—defines economic relations in a capitalist economy and will lead inevitably to a communist revolution.

What was Karl Marx theory?

His key theories were a critique of capitalism and its shortcomings. Marx thought that the capitalistic system would inevitably destroy itself. The oppressed workers would become alienated and ultimately overthrow the owners to take control of the means of production themselves, ushering in a classless society.

What was Karl Marx saying?

"Religion is the opium of the people." "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." "The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people." "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."