Classical Sociologies of Education

Marxist and Critical Approaches to Education

In this course, Dr Eric Lybeck (University of Manchester) explores Marxist and critical approaches to education. In the first lecture, we consider some classical theories of education and its role in society, such as those of Karl Marx, Max Weber and Talcott Parsons. In the second lecture, we look at Marxist analyses of education from the 1960s, including the work of Louis Althusser and Bowles and Gintis. In the third lecture, we think about the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu. Next, we look at how they have been taken on in both qualitative and quantitative critical education research. In the fifth and final lecture, we look at some recent developments in the field, such as critical pedagogy and analyses linked to globalisation.

Classical Sociologies of Education

In this lecture, we think about classical sociological approaches to education and its role in society, focusing in particular on: (i) Karl Marx’s base and superstructure model and the role of education in upholding the ideology of the ruling class; (ii) Max Weber’s writing on education as the means by which societies become rational and modern; (iii) Émile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons’ functional understandings of education, particularly Parsons’ ideas of socialisation and selection.