HED4809
ASSIGNMENT 4
DUE DATE: AUGUST 2026
,HED4809 ASSIGNMENT 4 2026
DUE AUGUST 2026
QUESTION 1
1.1 Define social reproduction in your own words.
Social reproduction is the process through which societies pass on their existing social
structures, values, and inequalities from one generation to the next. In education, this
means schools help to maintain the current social order, including class divisions and
power relationships. Unlike the functionalist view that schools give everyone a fair
chance to get ahead, the concept of social reproduction, especially from a Marxist
viewpoint, argues that schools work to protect the interests of the dominant class and
keep things as they are. This happens through both the official curriculum and the
hidden curriculum, which teach learners to accept their place in society. Schools do this
by developing different attitudes and skills in learners from different social backgrounds
preparing working-class learners for lower-level jobs while giving privileged learners
the cultural knowledge they need to stay in top positions (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp.
41-44).
1.2 True or False
a) Functionalism views education as contributing to social stability.
True.
Functionalism sees education as a key institution that helps keep society stable by
teaching learners shared values and skills. Functionalists believe schools play
important roles like bringing people together, sorting people into different jobs, and
getting individuals ready for their adult roles in society (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 13-
18).
,b) Hegemony depends only on direct physical force.
False.
Hegemony does not rely only on physical force. According to Marxist theory, hegemony
is about one social class dominating others through ideas and culture, not just through
force. The dominant class gets its values and beliefs accepted as "common sense" by
everyone, so people go along with the system without needing to be forced (Feinberg &
Soltis, 2009, pp. 47-50).
c) The hidden curriculum may teach learners obedience, discipline and attitudes
towards authority.
True.
The hidden curriculum is the informal, unspoken lessons learners pick up through school
routines and how things are organised. These include learning to be obedient,
disciplined, punctual, and to respect authority. Through everyday practices like lining up,
following rules, and sticking to schedules, learners learn the behaviours needed to fit into
modern society (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 19, 57-58; Lesson 5, p. 45).
d) Interpretivism focuses on the meanings that social actors attach to their
actions.
True.
Interpretivism is a way of looking at society that focuses on understanding behaviour
through the meanings and intentions people give to their actions. Unlike functionalism
and Marxism, which look for big general rules, interpretivists care about how people
make sense of their social world, the rules they follow, and what they understand
, together. They see schools as places where people interact through shared "rules of the
game" (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 79-82; Lesson 6, p. 58).
e) Learner resistance always eliminates social inequality.
False.
learner resistance does not always get rid of social inequality. As Paul Willis showed in
his study of "the lads," fighting against school authority can actually end up helping to
keep inequality going, rather than ending it. As learners may challenge school rules in
the short term, this kind of behaviour can prepare them for working-class jobs and
keep class divisions alive. Resistance can make the very structures it seems to fight
against even stronger (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 62-66; Lesson 5, pp. 48-49).
1.3 Which concept refers to the process through which dominant ideas may come
Hegemony
Hegemony is the process where the dominant class gets its ideas and values accepted
as normal by everyone in society. This happens not through force but through cultural
institutions like schools, media, religion, and family, which shape how people think and
get them to accept the way things are. Hegemony makes the interests of the ruling
class look like the interests of everyone, which keeps inequality in place (Feinberg &
Soltis, 2009, pp. 47-50; Lesson 4, p. 35).
1.4 Which perspective is most closely associated with the reproduction of class
inequality through schooling?
b) Marxism
ASSIGNMENT 4
DUE DATE: AUGUST 2026
,HED4809 ASSIGNMENT 4 2026
DUE AUGUST 2026
QUESTION 1
1.1 Define social reproduction in your own words.
Social reproduction is the process through which societies pass on their existing social
structures, values, and inequalities from one generation to the next. In education, this
means schools help to maintain the current social order, including class divisions and
power relationships. Unlike the functionalist view that schools give everyone a fair
chance to get ahead, the concept of social reproduction, especially from a Marxist
viewpoint, argues that schools work to protect the interests of the dominant class and
keep things as they are. This happens through both the official curriculum and the
hidden curriculum, which teach learners to accept their place in society. Schools do this
by developing different attitudes and skills in learners from different social backgrounds
preparing working-class learners for lower-level jobs while giving privileged learners
the cultural knowledge they need to stay in top positions (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp.
41-44).
1.2 True or False
a) Functionalism views education as contributing to social stability.
True.
Functionalism sees education as a key institution that helps keep society stable by
teaching learners shared values and skills. Functionalists believe schools play
important roles like bringing people together, sorting people into different jobs, and
getting individuals ready for their adult roles in society (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 13-
18).
,b) Hegemony depends only on direct physical force.
False.
Hegemony does not rely only on physical force. According to Marxist theory, hegemony
is about one social class dominating others through ideas and culture, not just through
force. The dominant class gets its values and beliefs accepted as "common sense" by
everyone, so people go along with the system without needing to be forced (Feinberg &
Soltis, 2009, pp. 47-50).
c) The hidden curriculum may teach learners obedience, discipline and attitudes
towards authority.
True.
The hidden curriculum is the informal, unspoken lessons learners pick up through school
routines and how things are organised. These include learning to be obedient,
disciplined, punctual, and to respect authority. Through everyday practices like lining up,
following rules, and sticking to schedules, learners learn the behaviours needed to fit into
modern society (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 19, 57-58; Lesson 5, p. 45).
d) Interpretivism focuses on the meanings that social actors attach to their
actions.
True.
Interpretivism is a way of looking at society that focuses on understanding behaviour
through the meanings and intentions people give to their actions. Unlike functionalism
and Marxism, which look for big general rules, interpretivists care about how people
make sense of their social world, the rules they follow, and what they understand
, together. They see schools as places where people interact through shared "rules of the
game" (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 79-82; Lesson 6, p. 58).
e) Learner resistance always eliminates social inequality.
False.
learner resistance does not always get rid of social inequality. As Paul Willis showed in
his study of "the lads," fighting against school authority can actually end up helping to
keep inequality going, rather than ending it. As learners may challenge school rules in
the short term, this kind of behaviour can prepare them for working-class jobs and
keep class divisions alive. Resistance can make the very structures it seems to fight
against even stronger (Feinberg & Soltis, 2009, pp. 62-66; Lesson 5, pp. 48-49).
1.3 Which concept refers to the process through which dominant ideas may come
Hegemony
Hegemony is the process where the dominant class gets its ideas and values accepted
as normal by everyone in society. This happens not through force but through cultural
institutions like schools, media, religion, and family, which shape how people think and
get them to accept the way things are. Hegemony makes the interests of the ruling
class look like the interests of everyone, which keeps inequality in place (Feinberg &
Soltis, 2009, pp. 47-50; Lesson 4, p. 35).
1.4 Which perspective is most closely associated with the reproduction of class
inequality through schooling?
b) Marxism
