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Karl Marx's Conflict Theory Of Education

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Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unevenly distributed between groups in society and that these conflicts become the engine for social change. In this context, Marx’s conflict approach was developed in 19th century by Karl Marx (1818-83) .Marx argued wealth and power were unequally distributed in society and sought to explain how one minority group (1% ruling-class) in society maintained its dominance over the majority (working-class). Weber formulated a response to Marx’s theory. Weber saw that conflict didn’t overwhelmingly involve the economy, but that the state and economy together set up conditions for conflict. In this essay I will discuss the views of Conflict Theorists on …show more content…

In this way inequality becomes justified. However Bowles and Gintis argue that rewards in education and occupation are based not on ability but on social background. The higher a person’s class or origin the more likely they are to attain top qualifications and a top job. See Bourdon (position theory); Bourdiau (cultural capital); and Bernstein (language and class). For Bowles and Ginitis then, school can be seen to legitimize social inequality. Conflict theorists call this role of education the “hidden curriculum.” School rules, detention and rewards these teaches people to conform to society whether you like it or not. School assemblies these teaches respect for dominant ideas. Where boys and girls learn to accept different roles in society, with boy learning to be masculine and girls feminine to follow teachers instructions without question. This replace the way you have to follow as bosses …show more content…

These skills are very important in solving the future problems. School is a place that can hold a lot of tension and pressures for kids of all ages. It is also one of the first places (after the home) where a child begins learning how to interact with peers. This can, of course, lead to many conflicts. In order to help students not turn into bullies or become paralyzed with shyness, teaching methods of conflict resolution is a great tool. Many schools have peer mediation, which helps teach both the disputant students as well as the peer

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Jones’ book is conflict perspective. Leon-Guerrero (2009) writes, “conflict theorists consider how society is held together by power and coercion (Ritzer 2000) for the benefit of those in power” (Leon-Guerrero, 2009, p. 14). Leon-Guerrero (2009) goes on to state that Karl Marx was the first to make the argument of conflict theory. Marx focused on the conflict between social classes. There is at most times a tension between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners) (Leon-Guerrero, 2009, p. 14).

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More value is placed on children and families with more money, while working-class schools often receive incredibly poor education. As Anyon states, "Differing curricular, pedagogical, and pupil evaluation practices emphasize differing cognitive and behavioral skills in each social setting and thus contribute to the development in the children of certain potential relationships to physical and symbolic capital, to authority, and to the process of work." (151) When pupils at lower-class schools are only instructed to memorize and not to think for themselves, they're set up to be at a large disadvantage to those who've received an upper-class education and learned how to draw their own conclusions and really assert themselves. This disadvantage manifests primarily in the types of jobs available to such students after graduation, and subsequently, the social class that they'll fall into given their income level. Working-class students are more likely to get blue-collar jobs, while students from the professional or elite class will land higher up the corporate ladder.

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1) Read the essays by Mann, Gatto and Emerson and answer the following questions: A) What did the authors intend to do with these essays? What arguments are they making about American education?  (hint: be sure to discuss Gatto 's idea of the hidden curriculum and Mann 's desire for MANDATORY public education). - Horace Mann’s essay, “From Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, 1848”, intends to show the importance of education and how education can affect a person’s social class.

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In the 1940s and the 1950s the conflict theory was ignored because sociologist thought it was solely economic. Today, sociologists see that conflict is found between many different groups in society. (Crossman) According to the conflict theory, inequality is the result of those who are wealthy, typically those in the upper one percent, which impose their mode of social order on the rest of the general society. In result, society is constantly competing for limited resources.

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This creates conflict and creates a quest for social change. A society with conflict is subject to continuous change and inconsistency. This theory was hypothesized by Karl Marx who studied the existence of a powerful minority class and suppressed majority class that are at a conflict because resources were not distributed evenly among them. He focused on the consequences and causse of conflicts in each social class. Others have expanded the conflict theory to create other types of theories within the conflict theory.

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The general argument made by Marc Tucker in his piece is higher students in social classes who have higher expectations strive more which then results to get a better education and various opportunities. More specifically, he argues that the regular diplomas should be abolished and taken out from school systems. Furthermore, Marc is implying that regular diplomas limit the students achievements and expectations, they don’t work as hard. In the passage, “ OECD data show that social class is a better predictor of educational achievement in the United States than in all but a handful of countries surveyed by the OECD. If there is an aristocracy, it is here in the United States, where well-to-do, well-educated parents predict well-educated children…”

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The conflict standpoint is based on the idea that the society is comprised of various different groups who are in constant friction with one another for the access of scarce and valuable resources; these may include wealth, fame, power, or the authority to apply one’s own value system onto the general society. The conflict theorists argue that a conflict exists in the society when a group of people who believe that their interests are not being met, or that they are not getting a fair share of the society’s resources, work to counter what they perceive as a handicap or a

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The clear argument in the Communist Manifesto is centered around that class struggles and the exploitation of one class by the other. Modern Industrial society in specific is characterized by class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. Eventually, the productive forces of capitalism are quickly ceasing to be compatible with this exploitative relationship. At this point, the proletariat will lead a revolution and the working class emerges as the ruling one. However, this revolution will be different than previous ones.

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Colleges in America should use the grading scale. Under the pass/fail grading system, students feel pressure, and they will study hard more than necessary to keep good GPA or to get scholarship. Some school teachers and parents who support the pass/fail grading system never allow getting away from academic rigor and competition. They always say that you study hard or you cannot go to a good university or get a better job. Student’s will and characteristic don’t exist there.

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Reason for this is for the child to learn independently, but sometimes conflict can arise amongst classmates. Helping young children to get along and how to address the problem is very important for the kids to learn. If a conflict is brought up in the class room I would follow these steps, (1) approach the situation calmly, this helps the child know that you are not mad at them, then (2) gather information from the children, this allows them to identify and express their feelings, (3) then allow the child to understand each other’s needs, this can help the children gain ideas for solving the situations, then (4) allow them to share the ideas. Once a solution is met, (5) clarify the solution, make sure both children are happy and thank them for solving the problem by themselves. When following these steps, it can guide children to handle situations

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The goal is not necessarily to avoid conflict, but instead to minimize and make sure that any conflict that arises is mended. It is important that teachers develop conflict resolution and not just focus on conflict avoidance. It is also good to remember that the perceptions of a student between the parent and teacher may differ neither one of them is invalidated, but instead both can be correct. This allows parents and teachers to move away from conflicts based on who is right or wrong and instead focus on problem solving. The cost of not focusing on conflict resolution skills is that we do the students and parents of the educational community a disservice and are not offering the best possible

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Marx sees change through capitalism and conflict and Weber sees change through rationalisation and bureaucracy. Both have differing views about social change and the outcome of such change. Marx’s views are much more optimistic than Weber’s idealistic pessimistic views. Karl Marx Marx’s theory of social change is entwined with his idea of social classes and class conflicts.

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In the following, I will use the conflict theory, which operates on the macro-level, as well as the symbolic interactionist theory, which focuses on the micro-scale of society, to explain the influence of globalization and the associated phenomena of inequality and conflict on the individual and society. The conflict theory approaches society on the macro-level. It was established by Karl Marx, who believed that social conflict stands at the center of sociocultural realities. His evolutionary theory came to be known as one of the most significant early contributions to sociology. Marx emphasizes the idea that “society is based on the struggle for scarce resources” (Module 1, 2015) and asserts that inequality and unequal conditions set forth forces that may end in conflict, which in turn contributes to change.

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Therefore, in a stratified society, the individual’s opportunities are always determined by his or her social class. In this essay, I will be arguing that even though mobility exists in the social class system, the opportunity to change status is relatively open for everyone but the distribution of opportunities among the members of a social class is not relatively equal to all. I will demonstrate this point by showing how participation of an individual in a specific social class will decide the opportunities in terms of attaining education and achieving a well-paid job. Education has a significant role in promoting social mobility; it enables people to acquire knowledge and certain skills in order to promote their social status. Nowadays, people believe that societies are based on meritocratic

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Class conflict, Marx believed, was what encouraged the evolution of society. To quote Marx himself, The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one

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