Sociological Issue SCRIBD

8/6/2019 Sociological Issue SCRIBD

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Table of Contents

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Sociological Issue. ....................................................................................................... 2


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Sociological Issue.

This assignment is to discuss the issue of Education using the theories of Marxism

(Conflict Theory) and Symbolic Interactionism (Social Action Theory) from a range of

different perspectives like social class, the individual, discrimination these

perspectives may not be directly addressed but implied as with discrimination in

Marxist education; as Marxism directly implies this, or interactionism and prejudice

as it relies on the formation of assumptions through experience which can be

distorted leading to the alienation of individuals. Starting with the individual theories

take on education and how these differ followed by a discussion on the different

perspectives and how these are seen within the context of education using the

different theories.

Firstly It must be said that Marxism indirectly addresses education and that the

application of Marxism instead has given rise to Marxist interpretations of Education.

Marx(1848)said We shall not draw attention to the trite contradiction which lies in

the fact that modern industry replaces compound labour more and more with simple

labour which requires no education; we shall not draw attention to the fact that it

throws more and more children from the age of seven upwards behind the machine

and turns them into a source of income not only for the bourgeois class but for their

own proletarian parents; the factory system frustrates the school laws, example

Prussia; nor shall we draw attention to the fact that the education of the mind, if the

worker had such an education, has no direct effect at all on his wages, that

education is altogether dependent on the conditions of life, and that by moral


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education the bourgeois understands indoctrination with bourgeois principles, and

that, finally, the bourgeois class neither has the means, nor if it had them would it

use them, to offer the people a real education. So to recap the Marxist point of

view on education is seen as the building block to provide specific labour for the

bourgeoisie who exploit them to gain power ;be it goods land money or politically.

They also dictate what the proletariat needs to learn through the bodies setup to run

the education system, which in turn are controlled by the bourgeoisie, and that by

educating individuals in the same skills an overabundant workforce is created

forcing wages down and perpetuating the cycle between education and wages

which has the effect of keeping people from achieving the bourgeoisie status.

They begin by indoctrination through education using the hidden

curriculum(Harolambos,2008), through the act of acquiring education, that is the

ritual of attending school, which is designed to normalise the individual to the

capitalist point of view and prepare them ready for work. For example going to

school and returning home requires a particular start time, lunch time and home

time, this is one of the conditions placed on them in order to reinforce the work ethic

and produce a social norm with respect to that work. It also uses the structure of

education to reinforce the concept of hierarchy preparing them for the subservient

roles they will play in the working world again producing norms related to hierarchy,

for example Teacher student and Manager worker roles. It also provides incentive

conditioning through the use of exams( external rewards) mirroring the working

worlds incentives to climb higher and to gain more money with which to purchase

capitalist goods which again reinforces the use of external rewards. The curriculum


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is also designed to fracture the educational environment so that each lesson does

not connect with the previous one this fragmentation mirrors the real world work

environment, where the roles are specifically tailored as to minimise the possibility of

competition by making sure that the whole process is not easily derived (Bowles, S.

Gintis, H.,1976). Engles(1948) said in a communist society free education would

enabled young people to develop the skills needed to fill any position in society or

follow their own inclinations with respect to their education irrespective of

background and achieve their potential but when this happens class will not

necessarily disappear. This approach becomes self sustaining and is a breeding

ground for discrimination through its use of incentives, external rewards born of

class and economy through education, it plays like against like, friend against foe

and able against less able, old against new. Some may justify this as natural

selection; the fittest survive and the weak perish in which case when did we ever

become conscious human beings capable of empathic cohabitation. Gintis and

Bowles(1976) argue that education legitimises inequality by making society appear

fair and just, class consciousness does not develop and the stability of society is not

threatened.

Symbolic interactionism (micro sociology) on the other hand doesnt really deal with

the social side of education but instead deals with the individual and the

relationships created by them through the use of symbols. The focus is in the

individuals concept of self built from interactions with others, the environment and

experiences, formed individually or by groups. In order to understand interactionism

within the context of education we will have to examine the relationships values


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beliefs and norms with respect to the pupil and teacher, and apply some social,

cultural environmental conditioning. Key to this is the understanding of self first

presented by (Cooley,1922). Cooley(1922) said A self-idea of this sort seems to

have three principal elements: the imagination of our appearance to the other

person; the imagination of his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self -

feeling, such as pride or mortification. The comparison with a looking-glass hardly

suggests the second element, the imagined judgment, which is quite essential. The

thing that moves us to pride or shame is not the mere mechanical reflection of

ourselves, but an imputed sentiment, the imagined effect of this reflection upon

another's mind. This is evident from the fact that the character and weight of that

other, in whose mind we see ourselves, makes all the difference with our feeling.

We are ashamed to seem evasive in the presence of a straightforward man,

cowardly in the presence of a brave one, gross in the eyes of a refined one, and so

on. We always imagine, and in imagining. In other words how we see ourselves is

a direct reflection of how others perceive us and that this perception also changes

our projected self. From an educational point of view this relevant in that the teacher

has a direct influence on the pupil through typing, labelling, self fulfilling prophecy,

and that a pupil will reflect the perception perceived by the teacher Harolombos

(2008,citing Hargeaves et al 1975). In order to do this the teacher needs to make

sense and respond to pupils Harolombos(2008,citing Hargeaves et al 1975) suggest

that this is done in three stages firstly by typing. As the teacher has no experience of

the new pupils at this school they need distinguish pupils according to seven main

criteria these are, their appearance, how they conform to discipline, their ability and


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enthusiasm for work, how likable they are, their relationships with other children,

their personality and whether they are deviant. Secondly by elaboration over a

period of time, where the teachers hypotheses of the child is confirmed or

contradicted. It must be said that it is at this point that the teacher may unwittingly

set of a chain of events that lead to the inclusion or exclusion of the pupil leading to

alienation and discrimination, as the teachers individual positive or negative

experiences may play a part in the elaboration process. Lastly is the stabilisation

stage whereby the teacher now feels confident to deal with the pupil and believes

that the image of the pupil he sees is the correct one, more importantly it is at this

point that those pupil who perceive this as true will begin to respond to this projected

self and respond in kind to the teachers perception of themselves and only the

teachers interaction with other teachers with a contradictory perception of the said

pupil may affect the current teachers perception via influence and change the

opinion. It is by this measure that changes in perception are made. Studies carried

out by Rist(1970, cited by Harolambos 2008) found that as early as the eighth day of

school the children were categorised into three separate tables. One for fast

learners and tables 2,3 for the less able. Rist(1970) noted that it was not, in reality,

the Childs ability that determined their seat , but the degree to which the pupils fitted

with the teachers social class. The teacher used appearance and knowledge about

the education and employment with the family to identify their social class

orientation, and note the abilities of the pupils.

to conclude both Marxism and interactionism have implied similarities in that the

perception of social class directly influences the education that is supplied and


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although Marxism doesnt directly address this concept it implies it throught the

bouguarsies concept of power. This is in contrast to the interactionists interpretation

of labelling which implies a marxist response with respect to the influence on pupils

from labelling. The fairest thing to say is that each of the theories would be unable to

exist without the other and more fundamentally it is the perpetuation of the single

wrong that plagues our society and fundamentally an issue of our inbuilt drive to

survive and reproduce. In order for humans to exits on an educational level playing

field irrespective of academic, intellectual or physical ability all forms of education

need to be free. What would that mean you may ask well without constraints of

money or expectation within education people would be able to reach whichever

potential they suited this is not to say that individual levels would not be exacted just

that we would all have the opportunity to find out and explore it at our own pace. To

hypothesise the affect to capitalism a happier more content people with the

understanding that individuals have different abilities would not lead to capitalisms

demise as it is within the very nature of our beings to conflict and multiply it would

just might mean we would be happier.


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References

Bowles, S. Gintis, H. (1976) Schooling in Capitalist America. London: Routledge &

Kegan Paul.

Cooley,C.(1922) Human Nature and the Social Order. Revised ed. New York:

Charles Scribner's Sons.

Engles,F. (1847) Principles of Communism [online] Available at:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm [Accessed 17

Jun. 10]

Giddens,A.(2009) Sociology.6th ed. Cambridge: Polity Press

Hargreaves, D. Hester, S. Mellor, F.(1975) Deviance in Classrooms. London:

Routledge and Kegan Paul. Cited in Haralambos,M.(2008) Sociology Themes and

Perspectives. 7th

ed. London: HarperCollins Publisher Ltd.

Haralambos,M.(2008) Sociology Themes and Perspectives. 7

th

ed. London:

HarperCollins Publisher Ltd.

Herbert,B.(1969) Symbolic Interactionism Perspective and Method. London:

University of California Press Ltd

Marx,K.(1847) Wages [online] Available at:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/12/31.htm [Accessed 17 Jun. 10]

Sarup,M.(1978) Marxism and Education. London:Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

Rist, R. (1970) Student social class and teacher expectations: the self -fulfilling


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prophecy in ghetto education, Harvard Educational

Review, vol. 40. Cited in Haralambos,M.(2008) Sociology Themes and

Perspectives. 7th ed. London: HarperCollins Publisher Ltd.

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