Assess the Marxist view that education is a form of social control

Marxist Louis Althusser believed that education teaches working class children to accept their place in society amongst the middle class. This shows social control as it makes students believe that the capitalist system that is present is fair and equal to everyone, also it prepares people for the later exploitation they experience in life. This can be done in three ways which are, the hidden curriculum, alienation of school work and textbooks.

The hidden curriculum means that students are following instructions, rules and regulations from people above them in the education system, without asking many questions. This prepares them for exploitation in the workplace later in life as they accept instructions and authority of people higher then them in the work place hierarchy even though this may mean that they are used.

Alienation of schoolwork means that the students become bored with the work which is set for them by the teachers and the way they are rewarded with the marks of the work or certificates. This means that many people feel as though they don't have a say in what they are studying and there is not much point of doing or completing the study which they start.

Textbooks are mostly based on western societies and how capitalism is only successful in the economic system rather than else where. As a result of this many students may look down on other non capitalist ways of organising economy.

Marxist look at alienation as a big factor or contribution in education. Paul Willis looked at alienation and the working class children who opted out of what they thought was boring school work, even though many realised that by doing this they would enter equally boring jobs. He also found that the working class children could resist the middle class values that schools often encouraged. This shows how social control is being accepted in the education system as it is teaching the children to accept their roles and place in society. It also teaches them things such as the working class being below the middle class which shows the hierarchy in the education system where there is one class inferior to another.

Also Marxist Bourdieu believes that school as a institution ensures middle class dominance from one generation to the next. As the working class don't possess cultural capital which is required for the establishments. This relates to how the society is socially controlled as the middle class are in power and as they exploit the working class by teaching them to follow and accept their values through the education system.

Overall Marxist believe that education is socially controlled due to many factors such as alienation, hidden curriculum, textbooks (type of society) and culture as well as other things. Marxist ideas say that education socialises children into processing a false consciousness about the world, this then fails them to see how the real capitalist society is in which they are being brought up in.