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It is clear to many that social mobility and meritocracy are myths. We have high-stakes testing from primary school age, exams which ration the best grades while failing the rest and we have a university system which sells expensive commodities rather than providing a form of genuine public education for the common good.In this session of Education and Socialism, we’ll discuss the history of education under capitalism in the UK and think about how the system contributes to class formation.
Was the current form of education inevitable? Does the education system really only benefit the already privileged? Are economics or education more relevant today? Is there anything we can do about it?
We will discuss the key themes and questions as a group after a short introduction on the text. All welcome, even if you haven’t managed to do the reading, but you’ll get more out of the session if you do.
We suggest chapter four from Dan Evans’ A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie. The first half is an accessible overview of the history and function of education under capitalism in the UK. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eFGBzKlKxDfZEZ2Rmgu7YBlvAh6Zm_QJ203lPPazMQw/edit?usp=sharing
If you want to go further into the theory about ideology, the petty bourgeoisie and how universities contribute to the class divide, the second half of the chapter is here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E6zS5ok0LAr_ML5v9oH6a61qBqcbtRpRSK2fzeWadYs/edit?usp=sharing
If you’d rather listen to the author explain the wider ideas of the book, here is an interview which does include some observations on education: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dR8zDrEfYQRAqFr1J8vKG?si=0997d646d234472c
Tickets available on Headfirst: https://hdfst.uk/e137917
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
PRSC, PRSC, 17-35 Jamaica Street, Bristol, United Kingdom
Tickets
