ABSTRACT
Materialism recognizes human beings to be sociohistoric manifestations of biological reproduction rather than pure emanations of human nature, and it sees educational values, theories and practices as deriving not from some essential basis but rather from historical material contexts. In a particular form of materialism, economic determinants are regarded as the central and basic conditions influencing practice. The distinctive nature of the materialist approach can be seen in its account of the operation of universal compulsory schooling, which is a useful place to begin, a second time, to consider the past and especially the future role of teaching. The emergence of a more highly stratified society thus also looms as a real possibility. The second implication is that the traditional role of the teacher-as-educator, especially in the state-school classroom, will also radically change. What corporate managerialism means for teachers in their day-to-day work recontextualized as management of schools, pupils and the distribution of knowledge is also discussed in this chapter.
