Bowles and Gintis View of Education. The Correspondence Theory

Bowles and Gintis view of education: The Correspondence Theory. Bowles and Gintis developed this theory to explain the relationship between education and the economic system in capitalist societies. The core idea of the Correspondence theory is that the structure of the school mirrors the hierarchical division of the workplace. So, it means that the primary function of education is to reproduce the workforce by preparing the next generation of workers which are the proletariat children in a capitalist economy, which is done through Social Reproduction, Hidden Curriculum. Like in the workplace, school has a clear Hierarchy (including some hierarchy among the pupils/workers to keep them divided). Fragmentation of schoolwork into different subjects and disciplines, just as people have separate tasks on a production line. People work for Extrinsic Rewards and Sanctions (i.e. pay for workers in the capitalist system, grades, sweet and certificates, etc. in school Therefore Bowles and Gintis use the phrase: "work casts a long shadow over school." How do schools do this? The schools mirrors the world of work through: • Punctuality • Rewards/sanctions • Extrinsic motivations • Division of students • Hierarchies and power • Privileges for conformity/status Hierarchy In schools there is a clear hierarchy, with the head teacher at the top, a hierarchy of staff and the pupils at the bottom. Often there is an internal hierarchy of pupils too, with prefects, president of the school learners, etc. This Corresponds with the workplace under capitalism in which there is a hierarchy in the workplace with a boss (or CEO) at the top of the company, various levels of management beneath that, with the workers at the bottom. Some workers might be given supervising roles, like how teachers select prefects in class. Rewards and sanctions School pupils are rewarded with good marks or with credits/house points/certificates/ stars, etc. In schools, pupils are also rewarded for good behaviour with trips. According to Bowles and Gintis this is often not because of the academically best work, or even about the most effort: what is rewarded is compliance (for being obedient), subservience, punctuality, perseverance, etc. Pupils also receive sanctions of various kinds, usually for disruptive behaviour (some of which could be considered creative or innovative from an unfamiliar perspective). The rewards in a workplace are pay of salaries and wages. in some workplaces, bonuses, promotions, etc. Again, the reward is for doing as instructed and working tirelessly without complaint and for attending on time or not being late and not leaving early, etc. Again, workers can find themselves going through disciplinary procedures or even losing their jobs when they step out of line, which is again reflected in school. Fragmentation Another important feature of school life is the way that knowledge is fragmented into different subjects and skills in which it prepares learners for specialised roles in the economy. Pupils learn knowledge in clear, delineated disciplines. While on the other hand the workplace too is fragmented: work can be divided into unconnected tasks that need to be completed, people do their task with little knowledge of what else happens in the process. This is again part of the alienation of the worker under capitalism and helps the bosses control the situation. While the workers create the products, no one worker has an overview of the entire process. Again, it is worth pointing out that functionalists would agree with a lot of this but see it as a positive thing. Yes, education prepares people for what it is going to be like in the workplace, but it is important that it does. Because functionalists do not see the workplace and the relationship between the employer and employee as one of fundamental conflict, and domination, they see preparation for work as a positive function of the education system. Hidden Curriculum Bowles & Gintis also explore the idea of the hidden curriculum – which are sets of lessons which are learned but not openly intended to be taught in schools, the things that education teaches us that are not part of the formal curriculum (what we learn about the various subjects in the classroom). So, the schools impart soft skills like respect for authority and acceptance of boredom which mirrors the workplace in that way. Functionalists also recognise that there is a hidden curriculum, but they see this as a positive thing: part of what teaches people the norms and values of society. Marxists like Bowles & Gintis think this only benefits the ruling class and capitalism because it only prepares students for future roles as workers in a capitalist society. Social Reproduction The education system helps to reproduce the social relations of production, meaning it reinforces and perpetuates existing social and economic inequalities by preparing students for their 'appropriate' roles in the workforce. Bowles & Gintis argue that the aim of this is to create obedient, docile workers, who will not question how things are arranged and will not be able to rebel the situation. Separately, the children of the ruling class are taught in private schools or similar, to be confident and to expect to run things and be in charge. As such, for Bowles & Gintis the schooling system performs a vital function for capitalism: it keeps the children of working-class parents working class and ensures the children of bourgeois parents remain bourgeois. And it ensures that those working-class children will continue to work hard and put up with low pay and poor conditions. “The education system is based on exploitation and oppression; it teaches the proletariat children that they exist to be dominated, and it teaches the bourgeoisie children that they exist to dominate.” (Marxism, p15, 1848) After all, it is important to remember that Bowles & Gintis were Marxists; they were critics of capitalism. This is what they thought education was like, not what they thought it should be like in which they used The Correspondence Principle to argue about how capitalist societies maintain and reproduce social inequalities and reproduce next generation of workers. Evaluating Correspondence Theory Bowles and Gintis conducted their research in 1976 and perhaps their findings are more applicable to when they were writing than they are to the present day. The modern workplace is much less like the one described by Bowles and Gintis than the workplaces of the 1970s. Of course there are still factory jobs like those described, but a lot of jobs are very different. Of course, this is a further criticism of the education system today, because some say it continues to correspond with the workplaces of a different era, and so no longer prepares people for the modern workplace. (This can be seen in the work of Ken Robinson, who argues that the education system is based on the principles of industrialism but stifles creativity and does not prepare people for their working lives today). However, other criticisms suggest that the education system is no longer as described, and again this is describing schools in the 1970s. In contemporary schools, some suggest, pupils are encouraged to get involved with democratic structures and to complain about aspects of school they dislike, and to come up with ideas for improvements. These are all things that Marxists would assume were unwanted in the workplace in a capitalist system. Summary questions: 1.What is meant by the term correspondence principle? It describes the way in which the education system corresponds (mirrors) the workplace. It does this to create the correct sort of workers for mindless, (often) manual work - who can be easily exploited for their labour by the bourgeoisie. 2.Come up with 5 examples how education and work are mirrored: • Timetabling - much the same as factory rotas. • Bells to signal break/lunch time - similar to allocated break times in factories. • Uniform - to enforce a smart appearance when at work. • Detentions/Sanctions for poor behaviour - similar to the consequences at work. • Attendance quota/measuring - much like the workplace, poor attendance will lead to interventions or even sanctions. 3.What is positive / useful about this? Provides a somewhat right comparison between the demands of the workplace and the expectations of students within the education system.