Social Theory and Education

Raymond Allen Morrow is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta, Canada. Carlos Alberto Torres is Professor and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs with the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Morrow and Torres have given us more than a cornucopia of social theories relevant to the study of reproduction and transformation in and through education. They have carefully examined the theoretical assumptions and political implications of each perspective, showing variations within each perspective as well as similarities and differences among the various perspectives. For a book to deal adequately, let alone in depth, with perspectives, such as functionalism, neo-functionalism, structural marxist, structural conflict, critical theory, neo-marxist, Gramscian, feminist, post-structuralist and post-modernist, is a major accomplishment."—Mark B. Ginsburg, University of Pittsburgh"This is an impressive analysis that draws together multiple theoretical foci into a conversation with one another. This includes seeing a relation among classical social theory, cultural studies, critical pedagogy, studies of race/gender/class, and state theories. Its focus on critical issues of production/reproduction in educational theories is unique and sophisticated. Further, the book has tremendous scholarly strength through its explorations of various literatures from European, Latin American, British, and U.S. discussions. This exploration involves an intellectual history that traces developments of traditions as part of a global system of intellectual life." — Thomas S. Popkewitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Preface Acknowledgments Part 1. Social Theory and Education 1. Introduction 2. Metatheoretical Foundations Part 2. Structural Functionalism and Systems Theories 3. The Functionalist Tradition: Parsons and Education 4. Neofunctionalism and Education Part 3. Structuralism: Neo-Marxist and Conflict Theories 5. Structuralism and the Logic of Reproduction 6. Structuralist Marxism: Correspondence Theories 7. Structural Conflict Theories: Culture, Class, and Domination Part 4. The Convergence of Neo-Gramscian and Critical Theory 8. Critical Theory and Education: From the Frankfurt School to Poststructuralism 9. The Two Gramscis and Education: Technical Competence versus Political Consciousness Part 5. Agency and Structure: Resistance and Reproduction 10. The Recovery of Agency: From the British New Sociology of Education to Cultural Studies 11. Critical Pedagogy in the United States: Michael Apple and Henry Giroux Part 6. Education, the State, and the Logic of Reproduction 12. The Capitalist State and Educational Policy Formation 13. Education, Race, and Gender: Towards a Critical Modernist Perspective 14. Education, the Fragmentation of Domination, and Postmodernism 15. The Logic of Reproduction: Summary and Conclusions Notes References Index