Critical Theory And Conflict Theory In Education

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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.

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