Notion of Ideology
We often talk about- Gandhism, Marxism, Liberalism, etc., these are what?
These are considered as a set of beliefs, attitudes and aspirations, if we see that a person
or a social group cherishes or uses to describe their political beliefs.
Ideology can be a lens through which a person sees the world, reflects the sum total of
the culture, beliefs, assumptions, common sense and expectations people have for themselves
or others. It determines how we make sense of things - how we understand one’s own position
in the world, their relationships with the world, society as well as their individual purposes, role
and path in life. That’s why I mentioned Gandhism, Marxism, etc. Additionally, the lens of
ideology makes us to see events and experiences. It also shapes and organise social life and
society as a whole. Although it is said that ideology emerges out of prevalent social structures,
economic systems of production and political structure, but the social interests expressed
therein are hidden, not explicit. It tends to form a closed system and maintains itself in &some
inconsistencies. However, ideology can be considered as an individual's worldview, but it is in-
fact a well-articulated worldview of a group at a particular specific group for the juncture of
history.&
The concept of ideology can be understood from different perspectives. Ideology is
false-consciousness as per the thinkers like Marx, Engles. It is a system of distorted and
misleading ideas - hides the reality to preserve the interests of the ruling class. For scholars like
Adorno, Thompson ideology is a neutral concept - and it is linked to a specific group’s value
system or any set of ideas such as liberalism, fascism and behaviourism among others. In this
regard Karl Manheim's of sociology of Knowledge helps to understand notion of ideology.
As per Manheim, there are modes of thoughts- whatever we think depends on our group
experience- the life we lead, the struggles we engage in, the interests we seek to retain and the
hopes we cherish. Each social group has its own modes of thinking and these groups are based
on economic, racial, caste, gender, ethnic or religious identities. Each social groups’
perspectives can be regarded, per Manheim, as “total ideology” of the group. Total ideology is
rooted in concrete socio-historical experiences. For example- The total ideology of upper caste
groups might justify the caste system as divinely ordained, while caste groups might view it as a
tool of oppression; additionally, in patriarchal societies, the total ideology of men might
emphasize male dominance, while women might challenge this ideology by advocating for
gender equality.
Curriculum and Ideology
What do you mean by curriculum? Simply, if we say then, curriculum is a list of
contents. Each content has its particular and specific purposes, objectives, models and
outcomes. Curriculum is essentially a plan for what students should learn in school, including
the content, teaching methods and ways to assess learning. It not only covers a list of contents,
but also involves learning goals, classroom management and how to organise lessons.
However, what should be taught and how it should be taught is often debated. Different groups
like governments, parents, teachers (may be called as stakeholders) have different ideas about
what is important (what can be included and what can be excluded). For example, some may
think the curriculum should focus on preparing students for secured economy or job, while
