Which perspective holds the view that the education system unequally distributes the benefits of education on the basis of class?

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    In the Marxist perspective, social stratification is created by unequal property relations, or unequal access to the means of production.

    Learning Objectives

    • Diagram the relationship between the owners of production, the proletariat, the substructure and the superstructure according to Marx’s view

    Key Points

    • In capitalist societies, the bourgeoisie class owns the means of production while the proletariat class sells their labor to the bourgeoisie.
    • The bourgeoisie have power and status, which they use to maintain the society’s superstructure —it’s values, ideologies, and norms.
    • In an ideal Marxist communist society, everyone would share access to the means of production and social stratification would be nonexistent.

    Key Terms

    • egalitarian communist society: A society in which the state owns the means of production and equally distributes resources.
    • superstructure: The ideas, philosophies, and culture that are built upon the means of production.
    • substructure: The base of society, which in Marxist terms includes relations of production.

    In Marx’s view, social stratification is created by people’s differing relationship to the means of production: either they own productive property or they labor for others.

    In Marxist theory, the capitalist mode of production consists of two main economic parts: the substructure and the Superstructure. In a capitalist society, the ruling class, or the bourgeoisie, owns the means of production, such as machines or tools that can be used to produce valuable objects. The working class, or the proletariat, only possess their own labor power, which they sell to the ruling class in the form of wage labor to survive. These relations of production—employer-employee relations, the technical division of labor, and property relations—form the base of society or, in Marxist terms, the substructure. From this material substructure, the superstructure emerges. The superstructure includes the ideas, philosophies and culture of a society. In a capitalist society, the ruling class promotes its own ideologies and values as the norm for the entire society, and these ideas and values are accepted by the working class.

    A temporary status quo could be achieved by employing various methods of social control—consciously or unconsciously—by the bourgeoisie in various aspects of social life. Eventually, however, Marx believed the capitalist economic order would erode, through its own internal conflict; this would lead to revolutionary consciousness and the development of egalitarian communist society. In this communist society, the state would own the means of production, and it would equally distribute resources to all citizens. The means of production would be shared by all members of society, and social stratification would be abolished.

    Which perspective holds the view that the education system unequally distributes the benefits of education on the basis of class?
    Marx Memorial in Moscow: This memorial to Karl Marx in Moscow reads, “Proletarians of all countries unite! ” Marxism is associated with a view of stratification that pits the owners of means of production against the laborers.

    Social inequality results from a society organized by hierarchies of class, race, and gender that unequally distributes access to resources and rights.

    It can manifest in a variety of ways, like income and wealth inequality, unequal access to education and cultural resources, and differential treatment by the police and judicial system, among others. Social inequality goes hand in hand with social stratification.

    Overview

    Social inequality is characterized by the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society. It contains structured and recurrent patterns of unequal distributions of goods, wealth, opportunities, rewards, and punishments.

    Racism, for example, is understood to be a phenomenon whereby access to rights and resources is unfairly distributed across racial lines. In the context of the United States, people of color typically experience racism, which benefits white people by conferring on them white privilege, which allows them greater access to rights and resources than other Americans.

    There are two main ways to measure social inequality:

    • Inequality of conditions
    • Inequality of opportunities

    Inequality of conditions refers to the unequal distribution of income, wealth, and material goods. Housing, for example, is inequality of conditions with the homeless and those living in housing projects sitting at the bottom of the hierarchy while those living in multi-million dollar mansions sit at the top.

    Another example is at the level of whole communities, where some are poor, unstable, and plagued by violence, while others are invested in by businesses and government so that they thrive and provide safe, secure, and happy conditions for their inhabitants.

    Inequality of opportunities refers to the unequal distribution of life chances across individuals. This is reflected in measures such as level of education, health status, and treatment by the criminal justice system.

    For example, studies have shown that college and university professors are more likely to ignore emails from women and people of color than they are to ignore those from white men, which privileges the educational outcomes of white men by channeling a biased amount of mentoring and educational resources to them.

    Discrimination of an individual, community, and institutional levels is a major part of the process of reproducing social inequalities of race, class, gender, and sexuality. For example, women are systematically paid less than men for doing the same work.

    2 Main Theories

    There are two main views of social inequality within sociology. One view aligns with the functionalist theory, and the other aligns with conflict theory.

    1. Functionalist theorists believe that inequality is inevitable and desirable and plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and thus should receive more rewards. Social inequality and social stratification, according to this view, lead to a meritocracy based on ability.
    2. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, view inequality as resulting from groups with power dominating less powerful groups. They believe that social inequality prevents and hinders societal progress as those in power repress the powerless people to maintain the status quo. In today's world, this work of domination is achieved primarily through the power of ideology, our thoughts, values, beliefs, worldviews, norms, and expectations, through a process known as cultural hegemony.

    How It's Studied

    Sociologically, social inequality can be studied as a social problem that encompasses three dimensions: structural conditions, ideological supports, and social reforms.

    Structural conditions include things that can be objectively measured and that contribute to social inequality. Sociologists study how things like educational attainment, wealth, poverty, occupations, and power lead to social inequality between individuals and groups of people.

    Ideological supports include ideas and assumptions that support the social inequality present in a society. Sociologists examine how things such as formal laws, public policies, and dominant values both lead to social inequality, and help sustain it. For example, consider this discussion of the role that words and the ideas attached to them play in this process.

    Social reforms are things such as organized resistance, protest groups, and social movements. Sociologists study how these social reforms help shape or change social inequality that exists in a society, as well as their origins, impact, and long-term effects.

    Today, social media plays a large role in social reform campaigns and was harnessed in 2014 by British actress Emma Watson, on behalf of the United Nations, to launch a campaign for gender equality called #HeForShe.

    What is the role of Education in sociological perspective?

    While it is clear that education plays an integral role in individuals’ lives as well as society as a whole, sociologists view that role from many diverse points of view. Functionalists believe that education equips people to perform different functional roles in society.

    What is the function of education according to Schultz?

    Schultz viewed the function of education as the development of human capital. Investment in education benefits the wider economy, as education can provide properly trained, qualified and flexible workforce. To Schultz, human capital was the acquisition of all of the useful skills and knowledge needed for a deliberate investment.

    What are the criticisms of functionalist perspective on education?

    Functionalist perspectives on education have been criticized for several reasons. Firstly, functionalists ignore aspects of education which are dysfunctional, such as negative conflict. Sociologists have also noted that the functionalist view is more applicable in societies where there is a single dominant and shared culture.

    How does education promote social inequality?

    Education promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its “hidden curriculum.” Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality.

    What is the conflict perspective on education?

    Conflict theory posits that conflict is a fundamental part of the social order, and that schools are a critical site in the reproduction of social inequality, particularly class conflict and racial stratification.

    Which sociological perspective views the educational system as perpetuating social inequality?

    The conflict perspective emphasizes that education reinforces inequality in the larger society. The symbolic interactionist perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on school playgrounds, and at other school-related venues.

    What are theoretical perspectives in education?

    There are five primary educational learning theories: behaviorism, cognitive, constructivism, humanism, and connectivism. Additional learning theories include transformative, social, and experiential.

    What is the cause of unequal education?

    Unequal educational outcomes are attributed to several variables, including family of origin, gender, and social class. Achievement, earnings, health status, and political participation also contribute to educational inequality within the United States and other countries.