Which statements reflect Althusser's criticisms of education?

• A. Middle class do better than the working class
• B. Middle class teachers judge the working class pupils
• C. Both of the above
• D. None of the above

Answer: (C)

Althusser sees education as an ideological state apparatus that helps reproduce the existing social order. In this view, schooling doesn’t just teach facts; it trains people to accept and reproduce the relations of production that favor the dominant class. The idea that middle-class students tend to do better in school fits this framework because schooling rewards the cultural capital, language styles, and expectations that are more common in middle-class families, leading to ongoing inequality. At the same time, the classroom is a site where ideology is reinforced through teachers’ attitudes, expectations, and practices. When teachers—consciously or not—hold biases about working-class pupils, their judgments and disciplinary actions can channel students into lower tracks or lower expectations, further reproducing class differences. Taken together, these points illustrate both the outcome and the mechanism of education’s role in maintaining social inequality, which is why the combined statement reflects Althusser’s criticisms.