Ideological Conrol

• ideological control’ refers to the way a dominant set of ideas or ideology is maintained. In simple terms we could call this ‘brainwashing’.
• Ideological Control

  The Marxist Althusser argued that the ruling class (bourgeoisie) control all aspects of society, including the government. Therefore, all decisions taken by the government will inevitably benefit the capitalist system.
• Althusser

  Education reproduces the necessary technical skills in capitalist society and reproduces ruling class ideology and the socialisation of workers into accepting this dominant ideology (this is known as false class consciousness)
• According to Althusser ruling class power is maintained via two complimentary apparatuses

  Repressive State Apparatus: maintains rule of bourgeoise by force (police courts prisons)

  Ideological State Apparatus: maintain rule of bourgeoise by controlling peoples ideas( religion mass media)
• Evaluation

  Neo Marxists argue education system does not necessarily ‘brainwash’ students into accepting capitalist inequality, but can instead raise awareness of it. This is referred to as raising class-consciousness.
• The ‘correspondence principle’ refers to the way the education system parallels or mirrors the relationships and structures found in the workplace.
• Bowles & Gintis 1976

  develop Althusser’s ideas further, arguing too that the role of the education system is to create an obedient workforce willing to be exploited by the capitalist system.
• Bowles and Gintis found that schools reward precisely the kind of personality traits that make for a worker who is willing to do as they are told.
• Students who showed independence and creativity tended to gain low grades, while those who showed characteristics linked to obedience and discipline, such as punctuality, tended to gain high grades.
• Educational success is not entirely related to intellectual ability, but how well a person has been socialised or ‘brainwashed’ into the values that benefit capitalism.
• Bowles and Gintis argue that through the hidden curriculum (the most crucial in their view), the education system socialises or ‘brainwashes’ students into the norms and values required in the workplace. They refer to these

  parallels between school and workplace as examples of the ‘correspondence principle'.
• Education prepares pupils in the workforce in the following ways

  
• Evaluation

  Postmodernists argue Marxists fail to aknowledge that education reproduces diversity rather than inequality. Morrow and Torres claim students create their own identity rather than be constrained by traditional ideas like class
• Evaluation

  Neo-Marxist Giroux rejects the view that W/C passively accept their position to become compliant workers. Existence of anti school subcultures, truancy and exclusion suggest both the hidden curriculum and correspondence principle have failed.