Marxism in education Main characteristic of Marxism Karl Marx {1818-1883}, a revolutionary thinker, philosopher and author, is regarded the

originator of Marxism !e along "ith his colleague and friend #ried rich $ngles propounded a %ody of socio-economic doctrine "hich came to %e called Marxism Marxism is a theory of revolutionary change &apture of political po"er %y the "orking class is the %eginning and after it the dictatorship of proletariat should %e esta%lish at massive task of social and economic transformation should start so that the "ay for a class less society may %e paved 'n practice Marxism has divided the "orld in t"o main %locks- the capitalist or li%eral %lock and the communist or the social %lock (ith the disintegration of )**+ Marxism has received a great set%ack *ome of the most important characteristic of Marxism are mentioned %elo" Marxism %elieves in the materialistic philosophy of life Man,s essence is defined in the terms of productivity- i e man is a productive animal Man posses no personal or individual freedom %ut finds his freedom in follo"ing the collective "ill of the people -he "orking class must sei.e the po"er and a%olish private o"nership then there "ill %e a classless society /ll the people "ill o"n natural resources +eligion as the 0opium, of the people 'mplication of Marxism in education1&entral aim of education1- )nder Marxism, the ultimate purpose of education is to strengthen the state and the %uilding up of a classless society Kno"ledge is not to %e imparted or ac2uired for its o"n sake 't has social purpose- namely the service of the state 3roduction-oriented education1-according to Marx, education should %e com%ined productive "ork he appreciated the "ork of a 4ritish factory o"ner, +o%ert 5"en for initiating this idea Marx o%served 0from the factory system %udded, as +o%ert 5"en has sho"n in detail, the germ of education of the future, an education that "ill, in the case of every child over a again age, com%ined productive la%or "ith instruction and gymnastic, not only as one of the methods of adding to the efficiency of production, %ut as the only method of producing fully developed human %eings , &urriculum /s stated a%ove the teaching of productive "ork and teaching of practical activities of life must %e made essential and these activities should %e social and useful Marx stressed the importance of studying history scientifically -he significance of 0class struggle, could %e fully understood through the study of social science &ompetence in vocational field should %e encouraged *tress on group "ork Marxian education mitigates competition and su%stitutes it %y group "ork of different kinds -he child is made to feel from the very %eginning that he is a unit in the society and has duty to society $ducational /gencies the state is the sole agency of education 't has a%solute po"er and con troll of all educational institutions -here is no decentrali.ation of educational

administration or educational planning or curriculum -he method of instruction, text%ooks and evaluation system are all centrally controlled and administered %y the state 6iscipline is very rigid nursery education is given due importance #ree and &ompulsory education $ducation is compulsory at the school stage 't is free at all levels PAULO FREIRE {1921-1997} 4rief life sketch of #riere / 4ra.ilian educator, 3aulo #reire, "ho took a vo" at the age of eleven to dedicate his life to the struggle against hunger so that other children "ould not have to face the agony he "as then experiencing, has made profound impact only in the overall struggle for development in the -hird (orld countries %ut also in the field of education /fter o%taining his 3h 6 in 1787 form the university of +ecife, he "orked for sometime as a 3rofessor of !istory and 3hilosophy of $ducation at the same university oa!s o" education /ccording to 3aulo #reire, follo"ing are the main goals of education 1 3o"er a"areness 9 &ritical :iteracy 3 6esocialisation ; *elf-education Meanin# o" Educationa! Practice$ educational practice is not seen as 0extension, %ut as 0communication,, $xtension is negative in nature and communication positive in nature $ducation is not the transfer, or transmission of kno"ledge or cultures <or is it the extension of technical kno"ledge 't is not the act of depositing reports or facts in the educate to the milieu =' see education as the practice of freedom a%ove all as a truly gnosiological situation in the educational process for li%eration, educator-educatee and educatee-educators are %oth cognitive su%>ects %efore kno"a%le o%>ects "hich mediate them 3laced face to face %efore themselves they investigate and 2uestion themselves -he more the ask 2uestion the more that their curiosity a%out the o%>ect of their kno"ledge is not decreasing 't only dismisses if it is isolated from human %eing and the "orld ? %ia!o#ica! Met&od 3aulo #reire suggests the follo"ing methods1 @aA /ctive,, dialogical,, critical and criticism-stimulating method @%A &hange in the 0program, and 0content, of education @cA )se of 0techni2ues, like thematic =%reakdo"n? and =codification? 'an(in# )once*t o" Education 3aulo #reire has introduced the ne" terminology of 0%anking, concept in education !$ explains this %y stating that the narration of the teacher turns students into =containers?, into =receptacles? to %e filled $ducation thus %ecome an act of depositing in "hich the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor 'nstead of communicating, the teacher

issue communicate and makes deposits "hich the students patiently receive, memori.e and repeat -his is the =%anking concept? of education, in "hich the scope of education allo"ed to the students extends only as far as receiving and storing the deposits ? Ideo!o#+ o" t&e o**ressed$ /ccording to the %anking concept of education, kno"ledge %ecomes a gift %esto"ed %y those "ho regard themselves kno"ledgea%le upon those "hom they consider to kno" nothing -his pro>ection of an a%solute ignorance on others %y the kno"ledgea%le is a characteristic of the ideology of oppressed it negates education and kno"ledge as processes of en2uiry -he students accept their ignorance like a slave 3aulo #reire here makes an interesting point %y stating =%ut unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher ? $ducation must %egin "ith the solution of the teacher-students contradictions, %y recording the poles of the contradiction so that %oth simultaneously teachers and students #ollo"ing are the chief characteristics of the %anking education "hich lead to several contradictions in the system 1A -he teacher teaches and the students are taught 9A the teacher kno"s everything and the students kno" nothing 3A the teacher thinks and the students are thought a%out ;A the teacher talks and the students listen-meekly 8A the teacher discipline and the students disciplined BA the teacher chooses and he enforces his choice, and the students comply CA the teacher acts and the student have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher 8A the teacher chooses the program content and the students @"ho are not committedA adopt it 7A the teacher confuses the authority of kno"ledge "ith his o"n professional authority "hich he sits in opposition to the freedom of the students 1DA the teacher is the su%>ect of the learning process, "hile the pupils are mere o%>ects -he %anking system reduces the creative po"er of the students -his is in the interest of the oppressor -hat oppressors, through their "elfare schemes "hat they call ,humanitarism, preserve their superiority -hey oppressed are termed as 0marginals,, incompetent and la.y -he %anking procedure =dehumanism? the students and adults in place of 0humani.e, them &ontri%ution of #riere to 3rinciples and 3ractices in $ducation1#riere vie"s are summari.ed as under1 1 authentic thinking-thinking that is concerned "ith 0reality, does not takes place in ivory to"er isolation, %ut only in effective communication 9 3ro%lem *olving education, responding to the essence of conciousness-intentionally re>ects communi2uEs 3ro%lem solving 0epitomi.es, the special characteristics of consciousness 3 -he movement of en2uiry must %e %elieved and directed to"ards humani.ation -he pursuit of humanity cannot unfold in the antagonistic relation %et"een oppressors and oppressed <o one can %e authentically human "hile he prevents others from %eing so ; -eachers cannot think 0"ithout, the pupils, nor 0or, the pupils %ut only 0"ith, the pupils

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'n the %anking system of education there should %e a t"o-"ay traffic -he roles of the depositors, the prescri%ers and the receivers must %e exchanged to a great measure -here should %e true communication %et"een the teacher and the students / teacher cannot think for his students !e also cannot impose his thought on them 6ialogical relations- 0-he teacher-of-the-students, and the 0students-of-the-teacher, leads to a situation "herein the teacher is no longer merely the one-"ho-teaches, %ut one "ho is himself taught in dialogue "ith the students, "ho in turn "hile %eing taught also teach -hey %ecome >ointly responsi%le for process in "hich all gro" 'n the dialogical relations, no one teaches another nor is anyone self-taught 3eople teach each other 'n the dialogical system, the students are no longer docile listeners no" they are coinvestigators in dialogue "ith the teacher 'n the dialogical system, kno"ledge does not remain at the 0doxs, @opinionA level %ut reaches the level of the 0:ogos, @reasonA 6ialogue cannot %e reduced to the act of one-person =depositing ideas? in another, nor it can %ecome a simple exchange of ideas to %e =consumed? %y the =discussants? 't must %e meaningful 6ialogue cannot exist "ithout humility #aith is an 0apriori, re2uirement for dialogue -he task of the dialogical teacher in an interdisciplinary team "orking on the thematic universe id to =represent? the universe to the students not as a lecture %ut as a pro%lem *ome fundamental themes should %e taken up for teaching-learning and learningteaching in dialogical relations -he themes may %e %roken up -he thematic %reakdo"n splits the total themes in search of their fundamental nuclei, "hich arr the partial elements -hemes may %e printed %y means of %rief dramati.ations, reading and discussion of maga.ine articles, ne"spapers, %ook chapters @%eginning "ith passagesA and records intervie"s 'n the dialogical relations, arguments %ased on authority are no longer valid /uthority is on the 0side, of freedom, not 0against, it 3ro%lem *olving in the dialogical system stimulates creativity and true reflection *tudents, as they are increasingly posed "ith pro%lems relating to themselves in the "orld and "ith the "orld, "ill feel increasingly challenged and respond to the challenges resulting in development on ne" understandings -he teacher must %e im%ued "ith a profound trust in the creative po"er of his students -he teacher should %ecome a partner of the students in his relationships "ith them