Critical Reflection Paper: Ideologies and Education

Cultural theorist Stuart Hall had a number of insightful ideas in the field of sociology. One of the concepts he wrote about was that of ideologies. Hall postulated that ideologies were a mental framework, a way of thinking. Our ideologies help us to categorize ideas, language, concepts, images, and thoughts, within our class and in relation to other classes. Hall suggested that ideologies help us explain and make sense of the world in which we are living.


Hall posited that certain ideologies uphold the current social order. An example of a group that possesses ideologies to uphold the current social order would be whoever holds political power in a country, province, or district. It seems to me fairly evident that it would be in the best interest of people in the upper classes to uphold the current social order, so it is likely that their ideologies would reflect their socioeconomic status.
Hall also stated that certain ideologies work to undermine the current social order. It follows that if the political party in power would like to uphold the current social order, then the opposing party or parties would work to undermine the social order. People in the lower classes would be far more likely to hold ideologies that would work to undermine the current social order, since it is not to their benefit.
Some of the groups that have ideologies that we discussed in class are: indigenous people, religious groups, families, access to income, sports fans, and students. For the remainder of this reflection paper, I will focus on ideologies that have affected students in Canada.
The bus exercise that we did in class today demonstrated that nearly everyone in our class works for money. Of the majority of students that work for money, approximately ten or twelve of us work around 40 hours per week; 40 hours per week is a full-time job. This suggests that there is a need for students to work more hours, which is evidence that tuition costs have risen. The statistics that we were given in class support that assumption with empirical evidence: in 1979, government funding accounted for 81% of income for universities. This is in stark contrast to the 2001 figure of 47.6% of income coming from government funding. If the universities aren’t receiving funding from the government, they need to generate income some other way: raise tuition (CAUT).
There are a few different theories for why there is such a rapid shift in funding. One theory encompasses fiscal responsibility for everyone, not only students. This is called neoliberalism. Neoliberalism posits the responsibility of individuals over their own finances, as well as other areas in their lives. Following the ideologies of neoliberalism, there is no reason to support someone else’s financial burdens when it profits you in no context. I am fiscally conservative myself, but not to an extreme. Neoliberalism in the extreme will create a vast fissure among social classes that will make progress difficult for our society. Neoliberalism will perpetuate the social elite to an extreme if it is not practiced in moderation.
Another possible explanation for this phenomenon is the increasing credentialization of our society. It is very difficult to have a sustainable career without some kind of post-secondary education. This increases the demand for universities, therefore raising the cost of universities as dictated by the supply-demand relationship. Not only does university become something coveted, it also becomes necessary. In this need for a degree, more costs are created for the university. Our university, Saint Mary’s, has just built one new building and is in the process of building another. Expanding infrastructure costs a great deal of money to a university, especially as government funding continues in a downward trend. Along with more students comes more staff. Professors, custodians, security personnel are all additional costs when student population increases. These factors and many others cause tuition to increase.
Stuart Hall’s ideas on the subject of ideology have helped our understanding of class relations. We are presented with a new way to view the world and examine it in a critical way. He has provided the sociological and criminological world with a valuable tool to understand the world around us, functional interdependence, and conflict.

Source
CAUT. Government Funding and Tuition as Share of University Operating Revenue, Canada. Accessed: 01/10/2012. http://www.caut.ca/pages.asp?page=517

Useful Links
Canadian Association of University Teachers http://www.caut.ca/ statistics on education in Canada.

Stewart Hall and the Marxist Concept of Ideology http://tcs.sagepub.com/content/8/4/1.full.pdf+html extensive examination of the concept of "ideology".

Why the Tuition Problem is Worse Than You Think http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2011/09/16/why-the-tuition-problem-is-worse-than-you-think/ examination of rising tuition by Todd Pettigrew, contributor to Maclean's Magazine online blog, and associate professor of English at Cape Breton University.