Hidden Curriculum of Hegemony and Capitalism
The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, defines education as, "the field
of study that deals with methods of teaching and learning in schools,"
(Elliott, 1997:237). In contrast, the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology,
defines education as, "a philosophical as well as a sociological
concept, denoting ideologies, curricula, and pedagogical techniques of
the inculcation [instilling/persistent teaching] and management of
knowledge and the social reproduction of personalities and cultures,"
(Marshall, 1998: 183). Finally, one last definition defines education
as, "the social institution guiding a society's transmission of
knowledge including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and
values to its members," (Macionis, Clarke & Gerber, 1997: 512). Why is
it that these definitions are so different from one another? In
looking at these different definitions, we may ask ourselves, is
education a form of domination and coercion, in that those in charge
of the schools have the power to sort out the high-achievers from the
low-achievers?
In this essay, we will discuss the ways in which the education system
through the use of streaming as part of its hidden curriculum is able
to create an environment that is controlled and/or dominated in the
case of Canadian society, by the government, and how this is an
example of Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony. We will also be
taking into account a Marxist analysis when looking at how this type
of education supports a capitalist mode of production.
In recent years there has remained much controversy over educational
institutions influenced largely by soci...
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...n J., Juanne Nancarrow Clarke & Linda M. Gerber.
Sociology. 2nd Canadian ed. Scarborough: Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon
Canada, 1997.
Marshall, Gordon, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1998.
Marx, Karl. German Ideology. 3rd ed. Moscow: Progress Publishers,
1976.
Marx, Karl & Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. Ed. David
McLellan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Merton, Robert King. Social Theory & Social Structure. New York: Free
Press, 1968.
Rahim, Aminur. "Multiculturalism or Ethnic Hegemony: A Critique of
Multicultural Education in Toronto." The Journal of Ethnic Studies.
18.3 (1990): 29-46.
Young, Michael F.D. & Geoff Whitty. Society, State and Schooling:
Readings on the Possibilities for Radical Education. Rimger: Falmer
Press, 1977.
Juveniles are being taught that in order to have a nice car, branded cloths and the house of their dreams, by getting into an expensive mortgage, they have to be an employee of a huge corporation. In addition, they have to undergo to a prestigious school, study hard, have excellent grades in order to become popular and respectable in the world. However, many people would not become those super leaders, but these majority of people have a great role in the capitalism society of the US. As Gatto says, “We buy televisions, and then we buy the things we see on the television. We buy computers, and then we buy the things we see on the computer. We buy $150 sneakers whether we need them or not, and when they fall apart too soon we buy another pair” (38). Such results are in part of a wrong education that teenagers have received trough many decades. In addition, Gatto highlights that modern educational system has been working in a six basic functions methods that makes the system strong and unbreakable: The adjustable function, indulge students to respect authorities. The integrating function, which builds the personality of the students as similar to each other as possible. The diagnostic and directive function, which allows a school to set permanent scholar grades in order to determinate his or her future role in society. The differentiating function, which gives to the student a good education and after his or her role is diagnosed, they prevent any educational progress. The selective function, function that the system has used to prevent academic growth for the non-selected students. The propaedeutic function, which works in the selection of specific groups of intellectual adults to keep perpetuating the system all over again making it a continuous sequence. (Gatto 34). Gatto’s facts revealed the survival of the educational system for decades,
History today recalls the Greek traditions starting from the second millennium B.C to date and not just during the Archaic and the Classical periods. The primary aim of history is to provide us with a broad comprehension of the principles that governed the Greek societies (Carey, 2017). Hegemony together with Greek historians provides a comprehensible examination of the fundamental cultural and political elements which pervades Xenophon, Thucydides, Ephorus, and Herodotus. Hegemony mainly explains the master plan.
Imperialism is a political advocate or practice that the main matters of the acquisition of territory by a country and enslave other countries, people in the occupied territories of the country, the establishment of economic and political hegemony, while above the other countries. Imperialism might derivative colonialism, militarism and fascism. With a derogatory term imperialism. Imperialism is generally regarded as negative, because in occupied countries, most people are being exploited, only a handful of people profiting from.
Following World War II, the concrete nature of imperialism, or the subjection of people or groups based on a social, economical, or racial hierarchy, was seemingly in decline. For instance, India and Pakistan had both gained their independence from Britain in 1947 (p.761), and the French, though unwillingly, gave up their colonies in Vietnam (p.754), but with the development of the Cold War there became a need to ideologically separate the free “First World”, which was made up of western Europe and the United States, from the communist “Second World”, which was primarily made up by the Soviet Union. This separation unintentionally formed yet another hierarchy, and further perpetuated imperialistic notions. While the Soviets attempted to continue political imperialism in surrounding states to form a political and economic buffer from democratic nations, which due to globalization, or the mass integration of cultural and economic practices, would have been necessary to accomplish, many nations, such as the U.S., who subscribed to these democratic beliefs still counterintuitively practiced imperialism in their attempts to forcefully liberate communist nations based on the notion that their free way of life was superior to other’s communist status quo. Therefore, imperialism continued to surface through the dualist political line drawn by the Cold War, but also later through a need to stay competitive culturally and economically in a growing global community in states both subject to past colonizing nations, as well as the nations who relinquished their control over them.
It has long been said that, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck”. This so-called “duck test” implies that one can identify a subject by observing its characteristics. By this standard assessment, we can then ask, is the United States an empire? The answer, according to the duck test, is a rather definitive yes. However, a nation is more complex than a mere duck and therefore, I believe that there is merit in the argument that slapping this label on the United States can at times be inappropriate and distracting. For this reason, I lean more toward the argument that the United States is in fact, not an empire, but rather a hegemony that is too often mislabeled. In order to fully critique and analyze these opposing arguments, I will define the term “empire” then identify, compare, and contrast the assertions of each position.
Education, according to Dictionnary.com is “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university”. However, education is taught differently everywhere. The educational system of each country is created based on their own cultures, traditions, and historical background. Each county, perhaps, have their own way to teach and manage their educational systems. Unlike some countries. “The US has most diversified education system in the world, with public and private schools at all levels flourishing alongside each other” (Hampshire, 2006) Even though the U.S. display some similarities such as a diverse population of students in classes and a great emphasize on education and education and academic success, they however differ dramatically in teaching methods, student aids, teacher evaluation system, and resources. Though not so far apart on the map, the education system in Haiti and the educational system in the United states are extremely opposite when it comes to organization, technology, and finance.
Anoyn, J. (n.d.). From social class and the hidden curriculum of work In EDUC 160 Urban Education (Spring 2014, pp. 127-136).
Throughout American History the U.S. has sought to expand its boundaries. This need increased greatly during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century with the start of the industrial revolution. This Expansion was a big departure from earlier attempts to expand the boundaries of the U.S. The needed for Natural resources forced the U.S to look for places that could supply them with the natural resources they needed and markets where they could sell their goods in. The need to imperialize caused the U.S. to look to foreign places to gain resources to better the nations industries.
The Quality of a child’s education often either limits or opens up a world of opportunities. Those who study the purpose of public education and the way it is distributed throughout society can often identify clear correlations between social class and the type of education a student receives. It is generally known by society that wealthy families obtain the best opportunities money can buy. Education is a tool of intellectual and economical empowerment and since the quality of education is strongly influenced by social class, a smaller portion of the American population obtains the opportunities acquired from a top notch education. Many people believe that educational inequalities are perpetuated from the interests of specific classes, but some researchers like John Gatto believe that there are even stronger social forces in play. In the essay “Against Schools” the author John Gatto presents three arguments: (1) that are educational system is flawed, (2) that the American educational system is purposely designed to create a massive working class that is easy to manipulate, and (3) alternative teaching methods should be applied to teach children to think for themselves. In this essay I will be summarizing and relating each of these arguments to other educational essays. Also, I will be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument.
The current socio-economic climate of the United States and the world at large can best be characterized as one in which access to both opportunity and wealth are increasingly scarce to those living in poverty. While there are a number of contributing factors that create this mass inequality, the scope of this argument will focus on education. The American schooling system is lagging behind globally and the current programs in place are ineffective to the point of being detrimental. This paper asserts that specific changes to the public education system will produce positive outcomes not only in the global ranking but will be additionally beneficial in bridging the opportunity gap and countering the growing culture of classism. Specifically, the argument, backed by statistics and application of sociological principles, will support the notion that adding sociology as part of a compulsory curriculum is a viable means to reverse the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor.
Imperialism and the hegemonic stability theory are used in different period of time which helps the countries to expand themselves. Firstly, let’s look at the neo-Marxist theories of imperialism. It refers to imperial government that is ruled by an emperor to earn and hold colonies and dependencies by extending the rules or authority of a nation over foreign countries. The key representatives of the theories of neo-Marxist on imperialism are Sweezy, Paul Baran, Andre Gunder Frank and Amin. Sweezy states that imperialism is a stage in the development of world economy. (Baran, Paul, and Paul Sweezy, 1968)He pointed out that there are several reasons such as the dominant form of capital is the monopoly capital and the rivalry in the world market had led to cutthroat competition and international monopoly combines. For Baran, he thinks that there is a clear connection between monopoly capitalism and imperialism. (Baran, Paul, and Paul Sweezy, 1968) Imperialism is an integral portion of the political and economic order of capitalism, it is unavoidable characteristic of a system of international domination and global capitalism. The control of imperialist powers over undeveloped nations means that there is a lack of industrialization and the stagnation of the economies of the undeveloped countries which is leaded by the advanced capitalist countries.
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, and Robert C. Tucker. The Marx-Engels reader. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1978. Print.
This essay will explore the relationship between education and society from a sociological perspective, the topics I have chosen to explore is Marxism, functionalism, education and class, feminism and the last topic is a very general topic which enhances our understanding of sociology and the world we live in. I chose the topics above as they offer an interesting viewpoint of education and sociology; also the topics above interlink this makes it easier to understand the contributions from a sociological perspective. Furthermore, to enhance my understanding of the topics I have found readings from other modules which offer a different perspective of education and society this will enable me to answer the question much more concisely as other viewpoints can challenge the topics I have stated above.
The advertisements both contain the symbolism of the milk squirted in the face, but it is used as a sexual (and pornographic) innuendo and has connotations to semen being ejaculated into a woman’s face.i
The quality of education in America is a subject that is steadily gaining notice by citizens across the country. Making sure that young children have equal opportunities to achieve in the academic world is extremely important if we desire to sculpt a successful and lucrative nation. In her essay entitled “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”, author Jean Anyon ethnographically studies a handful of American schools and argues that there are vast class-oriented differences between these vessels of academia across the United States. The most prevalent differences however are not so much in resources and financial situations of the individual school systems, but rather the teaching methods and philosophies utilized. Anyon builds on her thesis by splitting public schools into five separate social class designations and explains the most prevalent coinciding philosophies that teachers incorporate in each of these categories. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” is an absolutely mind opening literary work relevant to current society in America. Jean Anyon proves to stimulate her reader’s thoughts on the impact the modern educational system has on socio-economic class differences in the country.