This study sets out to examine fundamental aspects of citizenship education in Swedish schools, based on the theory that, in a democracy with a system of compulsory public education, curricula are the products of political compromise, accommodating the aims of several different groups. From this perspective, the school as an ideological state…

This paper presents a critique of various theoretical traditions in the study of schooling. Both the predominant liberal tradition of social and educational theory, with its roots firmly in structural functionalism and human capital theory, and the more radical reproduction tradition, which builds largely on Marxian and Weberian analyses of…

The introductory essay in this volume argues for the importance of the original critical theory developed by the Frankfurt school (The Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany) in developing a critical foundation for a neo-Marxist theory of radical pedagogy. Accordingly, it begins by defining the aims of the Frankfurt school and then…

This paper addresses the social context of curriculum construction and development to show the relationship between school curricula and patterns of social organization control. The first section traces the history of the concept of curriculum based on sequence, prescription, and differentiation and links this concept to the prevailing ideology of…

This paper discusses the relevance of the neo-Marxist perspective (critical theory) to educational theory and practice, with partictular emphasis on the implications of this perspective for educational researchers and educators involved in teacher education programs. For purposes of comparative analysis, it also provides a brief overview of basic…

Asserts that the sociology of education is fraught with noncommunicating paradigms. Outlines this paradigm split from a critical theory perspective. Discusses the use of history to support education reform efforts. (CFR)

With reference to Karl Marx's writings on education, this article outlines the education of the future as anti-capitalist education. In starting out from a conception of communism as the "real movement which abolishes the present state of things" (Marx), it is argued that the anti-capitalist education of the future consists of three…

In this article, John Holst presents findings of his historical research on Paulo Freire's educational work in Chile from 1964 to 1969. Freire's "Education as the Practice of Freedom", which was written in 1965 from notes he brought from Brazil, was informed by a liberal developmentalist outlook. In contrast, his "Pedagogy of the…

Analyzes extent to which Marxist theories of social class influence can explain structure of schooling in the United States. Argues that theoretical and empirical flaws exist in Marxist studies and concludes that effects of class processes have been minimal compared to Europe because of a political system that has limited social class influences…

As workers throughout the globe struggle to gain control over the conditions in which they labor as well as the means by which capital is produced, the importance of understanding class struggle, class formation and class consciousness as they relate to education and schooling takes on a new urgency. In the early part of the twenty-first century,…