Applying material from Item B and your knowledge, evaluate the contribution of Marxist views to our understanding of education.

As stated in Item B, Marxism views capitalist society as being divided predominantly by the possession (or lack thereof) of means of production. That is also to say that as a conflict, structuralist theory Marxism depicts a less harmonius image of different components of society; one of those being education.

The education system has commonly been deemed as a functional and progressive institution, however marxists tend to disagree. For example, to begin, Marxists such as Althusser view the education system as acting as an ideological state apparatus through which the state implicitly impose ruling class ideology. Such an idea is further highlighted by the concept of the 'hidden curriculum' , often adopted by marxist theorists in order to argue for the way in which schools teach norms and values such as gender norms. Furthemore, ideology being imperative to marxist schools of thought, Marxists such as Bourdieu often view the education system as excluding working class children due to the fact that they do not harness ruling class 'habitus', meaning ways of thinking and acting. However, fuctionalists would disagree as they view education as meritocratic and an inclusive platform for all to success.