Hidden Curriculum of Hegemony and Capitalism

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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.

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