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Essay Review: A Marxist Critique Of Michael Apple’S Neo-Marxist Approach To Educational Reform, Ramin Farahmandpur

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay review examines Apple's most recent work. It begins by providing a brief historical account of Marxist educational theory since the late 1970s. Next, it offers an analysis and a critique of a number of the theoretical underpinnings of Apple's neo-Marxist approach to educational reform. These include, among others, his interpretation of Gramsci's concept of the 'commonsense' his employment of the 'decentered unity' which he identifies as an counter-hegemonic alliance among progressive forces on the left; and finally, his notion of a 'dual strategy' for building alliances between progressive forces on the left and those on the Right. Finally, …