Evaluation of Michael W. Apple’s Book “Education and Power”

Abstract

One of the most important books on Education by Michael W. Apple, one of the living advocates of Critical Pedagogy, is “Education and Power”. He lived as the child of a worker household in a very poor city in the USA. In his youth, he played an active role in the struggles for civil rights and participated in the actions. The author, who taught at schools in the run-down areas of the city, also served as the chairman of the teachers' union for a while. In his work, he talked about his own history and social position. The book also touched upon how different forms of power in education are processed within educational institutions. The author states that the education system is in the hands of dominant groups; It claims to be the production of technical/business- oriented knowledge used for economic, political and cultural control. The aim of this study; Micheal W. Apple's book "Education and Power" is to examine how the current forces use education for their own benefit. The research is examined with the document analysis technique, one of the qualitative researches. The author, who argues that in the programs necessary for a change, people should have a say in the decisions about their lives and that the intervention of those who have money in the companies should be reduced, says that the awareness of the workers should be raised and that the teachers have a great role in this. He argues that for change, the majority must act at the same time. In the current situation we are in, the author states that workers only have to perform the given roles and act according to the instructions; Libertarian projects argue that these negativities can be turned into positives by acting together with faithful steps. The book, which consists of six chapters, is supported by the views of many thinkers.