In an ideal world, governments would pay for public education, and teachers, with the aid of students, would have full control over the school curriculum. Such a set-up would essentially assist lower-class families, advocate educational rights, as well as limit the control and influence of the dominant group in terms of determining such matters as curriculum. Democracy is dependent on an educated citizenry; therefore, a publicly funded education system is recognized as a core responsibility of government. Moreover, if students had control over their own curriculum, cultural politics and cultural capital would reflect the ideals of a student population rather than that of the dominant groups in society. That said, using a critical perspective …show more content…
In addition to critical theory and pedagogy, neo-marxism and conflict theory is grounded in the assumption that society is made up of groups that compete, usually with unequal power, for scarce resources(). Therefore, critical analysis, much like conflict theory, stresses that the education system has largely failed in its promisee to promote a more egalitarian society. While both theories differ, the fundamental goal of critical theory and conflict theory is to find underlying causes of inequality and education. That said, the following paper will compare and contrast critical theory and conflict theory in terms of student engagement and government involvement in curriculum, critical pedagogy and social …show more content…
Thus, conflict theory is referred to as neo-marxism because the values and power of the economic structure determine the nature of the social order, and therefore the inequalities(). Moreover, similar to critical theory, education becomes a means of cultural selection. For example, children who do not possess the cultural traits of the elites are often offered a less demanding curriculum; hence, the struggle between status culture groups and the way status culture is learned in school is grounded in conflict theory. Moreover, similar to critical analysis, conflict theory argues that higher status groups transform their cultural capital into academic capital, thus reinforcing the production of the dominant culture through which educational and social inequalities are perpetuated (). However, if governments paid full tuition, the relations between different social classes and quality of education would not be looked at time terms of power. Rather than charging students or parents high tuition fees, governments should seek to provide all students with equal opportunities. That said, many students are missing in school because of financial matter. Thus, high-achieving low-income students are at a disadvantage because although they have potential, money issues hold them back.
Allen supports her claims about hierarchies and power dynamics in her chapter “Social Class Matters.” She dives into the structures of society by examining power and social class in various contexts. In this chapter, she explains that people are categorized according to themes of class difference and struggle. Social class is associated with the relationship between power and the distribution of resources. Because this stratification system of social class is one of the biggest predictors of school achievement, social identity plays a large role in the social reproduction of inequality in the education system.
America’s public school system started off very rough, but through the dedication of many hard-working Americans, it was starting to shape into a system that allowed all children, regardless of race, gender, religion, or nation of origin, to have an education.
The conflict perspective/theory involves how “the elite class…. use social control mechanisms …. to perpetuate their own advantageous positions in society.” (p.109). Further they can gain an “unequal access to economical goods …. resulting [in gaining capital versus someone poorer who would
Education holds power over determining one’s class. Knowledge and refinement can set one individual apart from another who lacks the qualities of successful individuals. Finances and opportunities distinguish class meaning the lower class has difficulty in obtaining the same conditions of the upper class. Education ultimately dictates success and power in society. Education is taken for granted and should be recognized for the significance it possesses.
Conflict theory is recognized as the inequalities within capitalist society. Having resources such as money, power, material items and certain social relationships can improve an individual’s chance of excelling in society and determines where they are placed in the social hierarchy. By holding a relatively high position in the social hierarchy, it becomes much easier to move progress upwards. An individual’s position within the hierarchy was originally defined by Karl Marx.
Massey et al. states, “To put it crudely, parents of upper-class children have no interest in devoting resources to the education of lower-class children, so that poor and working-class students end up going to lousy schools to receive a lousy education to prepare them for the lousy jobs they will hold as adults.” (Massey et al., 20). This example shows in a simple manner how critical theory functions to generate socioeconomic inequality because the lousy schools that poor and working-class students have to attend are the result of not enough resources going into the educations of lower-class children. Massey et al. shows that the structure of dominance is generating a system that disadvantages historically underrepresented students. Furthermore, hooks writes, “That shift from beloved, all-black schools to white schools where black students were always seen as interlopers, as not really belonging, taught me the difference between education as the practice of freedom and education that merely strives to reinforce domination.” (hooks, 3). hooks was disadvantaged because she was not accustomed to the segregated school as the white students were. Critical Theory states that inequality is reproduced by specific institutional arrangements, such as the arrangements that hooks dealt with. In addition to the experiences in higher education due to the structure of dominance, hooks
Students ' racial and economic background, their parents ' education level, their access to high quality preschool teaching, school funding, peer influences, teachers ' expectations, and curricular and instructional quality. Paraphrasing Marxism, in theory, it is a way of understanding and investigating a structure of society. It is also a way of analyzing how societies develop and change. For example, imagine you are looking at education through your pair Marxist glasses; you might perhaps see that school’s prime children and young adults become workers in the capitalist economy, creating economic determinism. This intern generates division. An excellent example is one taken from Marxist theory itself; the rich and less disadvantaged are the “haves” and the poor or disadvantaged are the “have
Throughout the years, many aspects of the educational curriculum have been altered and modified as it relates to the material that is being taught within schools worldwide. Some of the changes are due to new laws that are being implemented and “raising the bar” for the education of the upcoming generations. But with all of the changes being made does it level the playing field or does it make it more competitive? Which brings up the questions, “How does social class effect the quality of education and does equal opportunity in education exist in America?” Social class affects the quality of one’s education through power, social status and equality within the educational system.
The implications for teaching presented by Connell’s article are immense. The concept of equality in education and the equality of access to education are matters that are determined by the social constructs of the society in which we live. The notion of equality in education means that educators must approach all material and subject matter with a premise of unbiased predetermination. Music, math, science, fine arts, English, Japanese, history, etc… must all be considered on a par. Our current educational system does not treat all subjects as equal in our public education system. The stereotypical reading, writing and arithmetic (primary subjects) take precedence over the fine arts and like subjects (secondary subjects). Social justice criteria as presented in this article, establish that economic variables are a means of determination for favouritism within the educational institution. Where the primary subjects receive ensured funding, the secondary subjects receive funding when deemed viable. This creates inequality at the very base of the institution itself. The result is degradation to all facets of the educational system.
...etitions “unfairly privileges the rich” since the higher class holds enough power to “perpetrate an unfair system” that keeps them at an advantage (boundless 5). According to the conflict theory, the lower class has very little chance to move upward, either financially or educationally, since those that acquire positions with acquire far more power and money; therefore, they can alter fairness of the system.
Conflict theory is a theory that claims society is in a state of everlasting conflict due to competition for limited resources. Conflict theory holds that social order is preserved by domination and authority, rather than harmony and conformity. According to conflict theory, those with fortune and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, primarily by suppressing the underprivileged and powerless. Conflict theory also credits most of the fundamental developments in human history, such as democracy and civil rights, to attempt to control the common people rather than to a desire for social order. Conflict theory proposes that each individual or group struggles to attain the maximum benefit. This causes society to change constantly in response to social inequality and social conflict.
This book, Dare The School Build a New Social Order by George Counts, is an examination of teachers, the Progressive Education Movement, democracy and his idea on how to reform the American economy. The book is divided into 5 different sections. The first section is all about the Progressive Education Movement. Through this, George Counts points out many downsides and weaknesses of this ideal. He also talks about how he wants teachers to lead society instead of following it. In the second section, he examines 10 widespread fallacies. These fallacies were that man is born free, that children are born free, they live in a separate world of their own, education remains unchanged, education should have no bias, the object of education is to produce professors, school is an all-powerful educational agency, ignorance rather than knowledge is the way of wisdom, and education is made to prepare an individual for social change.
Clearly each sociological perspective has something very different to say about how it views the social aspect of underperforming schools and the interaction they have with society as a whole. While functionalism focuses on certain positive aspects, and conflict theory argues our societies competitive tendencies, it is apparent that all three of the perspectives need to be addressed in order to gain a well-rounded educated opinion as to how any of societies’ many individual aspects fit into the massive complex web that defines our social structure.
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.
According to Parsons, a leading functionalist, ‘schools, like the wider society, operate on a meritocratic basis where children achieve their status according to merit, or worth, rather than the basis of their sex, race, or class’ (Parson & Bales 1956, cited in Giddens & Sutton 2013, p. 871) and this follows the basic functional idea that society should have inequality, but based around a person’s individual worth to the society, and not by their socio-economic background or any other factor outside of their control. Conflict theorists reject this as they say an individual’s worth is consistently heavily influences by their lineage. Functionalists justify the resulting inequality of their meritocratic system as people receive what they deserve; a different kind of equality. Sadovnik (2011) continues to write that schooling provides the opportunity for the development and preservation of modern and democratic societies, particularly in regards to equal opportunities for everyone. Pierre Bordieu contradicts this, arguing that schools are only there for the advancement of middle and upper class families, leaving many working class children alienated from any education (Holmes 2015), and Sadovnik (2011) adds that many conflict theorists suggest functionalists are confusing reality with ideology in terms of education deliverance, with