Table Of ContentKnowledge, Power, and Education
For more than three decades, Michael W. Apple has sought to uncover and articulate
the connections among knowledge, teaching, and power in education. His germinal
Ideology and Curriculum was a watershed title in critical education studies, and has
remained in print since its publication in 1979. The more than two dozen books and
hundreds of papers, articles, and chapters published since have likewise all contributed
to a greater understanding of the relationship between and among the economy, polit-
ical, and cultural power in society on the one hand “and the ways in which education is
thought about, organized, and evaluated” on the other.
In this collection, Apple brings together 13 of his key writings in one place, provid-
ing an overview not just of his own career, but of the larger development of the field. A
new introduction re-e xamines the scope of his work and his earlier arguments, and
reflects on what remains to be done for those committed to critical education.
Michael W. Apple is the John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and
Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
World Library of Educationalists series
Lessons from History of Education
The selected works of Richard Aldrich
Richard Aldrich
Knowledge, Power, and Education
The selected works of Michael W. Apple
Michael W. Apple
Education Policy and Social Class
The selected works of Stephen J. Ball
Stephen J. Ball
Race, Culture, and Education
The selected works of James A. Banks
James A. Banks
In Search of Pedagogy Volume I
The selected works of Jerome Bruner, 1957–1978
Jerome S. Bruner
In Search of Pedagogy Volume II
The selected works of Jerome Bruner, 1979–2006
Jerome S. Bruner
Reimagining Schools
The selected works of Elliot W. Eisner
Elliot W. Eisner
Reflecting Where the Action Is
The selected works of John Elliot
John Elliot
The Development and Education of the Mind
The selected works of Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner
Constructing Worlds through Science Education
The selected works of John K. Gilbert
John K. Gilbert
Learning, Curriculum and Life Politics
The selected works of Ivor F. Goodson
Ivor F. Goodson
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Research
The selected works of Mary E. James
Mary E. James
Teaching, Learning and Education in Late Modernity
The selected works of Peter Jarvis
Peter Jarvis
Education, Markets, and the Public Good
The selected works of David F. Labaree
David F. Labaree
A Life in Education
The selected works of John Macbeath
John Macbeath
Overcoming Exclusion
Social Justice through Education
Peter Mittler
Learner-Centered English Language Education
The selected works of David Nunan
David Nunan
Educational Philosophy and Politics
The selected works of Michael A. Peters
Michael A. Peters
Corporatism, Social Control, and Cultural Domination in Education:
From the Radical Right to Globalization
The selected works of Joel Spring
Joel Spring
The Curriculum and the Child
The selected works of John White
John White
The Art and Science of Teaching and Learning
The selected works of Ted Wragg
E.C. Wragg
Knowledge, Power, and
Education
The selected works of Michael W. Apple
Michael W. Apple
First published 2013
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Taylor & Francis
The right of Michael W. Apple to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known
or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Apple, Michael W.
Knowledge, power, and education : the selected works of Michael W. Apple /
by Michael W. Apple.
p. cm. – (World library of educationalists series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Critical pedagogy. 2. Educational sociology. 3. Education and state.
4. Education–Curricula. I. Apple, Michael W. II. Title.
LC196.A75 2012
370.11'5–dc23 2012026848
ISBN: 978-0-415-52899-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-11811-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Minion
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Contents
Acknowledgments viii
1 On Being a Scholar/Activist: An Introduction to Knowledge,
Power, and Education 1
2 On Analyzing Hegemony 19
3 Commonsense Categories and the Politics of Labeling 41
4 Seeing Education Relationally: The Stratification of Culture and
People in the Sociology of School Knowledge (with Lois Weis) 69
5 Curricular Form and the Logic of Technical Control:
Commodification Returns 92
6 Controlling the Work of Teachers 116
7 The Other Side of the Hidden Curriculum: Culture as Lived—I 132
8 The Culture and Commerce of the Textbook 152
9 Cultural Politics and the Text 168
10 Consuming the Other: Whiteness, Education, and Cheap French
Fries 186
11 The Politics of Official Knowledge: Does a National Curriculum
Make Sense? 195
12 Producing Inequalities: Conservative Modernization in Policy and
Practice 212
13 “We Are the New Oppressed”: Gender, Culture, and the Work of
Home Schooling 241
14 Global Crises, Social Justice, and Teacher Education 258
About the Author 279
Index 280
Acknowledgments
In a number of ways, this selection of my work is the result of collective efforts. For
over four decades, I have met every Friday afternoon with my graduate students and
the many visiting scholars and activists who have come to spend time with me at the
University of Wisconsin. I asked former and current members of the Friday Seminar
for their suggestions. From the large number of books, chapters, articles, and opinion
pieces I’ve written over the years, what should be included? Predictably, this group of
people—many of whom are now spread all over the world—weighed in with an exten-
sive list. Given the limits of a book such as this, I could not include all of the recom-
mendations. But I want to publicly thank the past and present members of the Friday
Seminar for their collective wisdom in helping in the process of putting this book
together.
I have had discussions about the content of this book with other friends and col-
leagues as well. In particular, Luis Armando Gandin, Wayne Au, David Gillborn,
Stephen Ball, and Geoff Whitty have helped me think through the process and the
content.
Anna Clarkson first suggested the volume and took my questions very seriously
during meetings we had in London. Catherine Bernard once again demonstrated why
she is one of the very best publishers and editors with whom I have ever worked.
Diane Falkner and Elham Milani were very helpful in doing a large number of tasks
that accompany putting together a collection of writings that spans decades.
As always, Rima D. Apple acted as the best sounding board for my concerns and
ideas about a project such as this.
The selections in this book have come from the following sources. For those chap-
ters that have come from my own books, I have used the most recent editions. For
example, even though the first edition of Ideology and Curriculum was originally pub-
lished in 1979, the material included here has come from the third edition. The page
numbers cited in the Acknowledgments, thus, refer to the latest editions of these
books.
“On Analyzing Hegemony,” Ideology and Curriculum, 3rd edition. New York:
Routledge, 2004, pp. 1–23, 204–205.
“Seeing Education Relationally: The Stratification of Culture and People in the Soci-
ology of School Knowledge,” Journal of Education, 168, 1 (1986), pp. 7–34. (With
Lois Weis)
Acknowledgments ix
“Commonsense Categories and the Politics of Labeling,” Ideology and Curriculum, 3rd
edition. New York: Routledge, 2004, pp. 117–144, 217–220.
“Curricular Form and the Logic of Technical Control: Commodification Returns,”
Education and Power, Routledge Classic edition. New York: Routledge, 2012,
pp. 123–148, 180–184.
“Controlling the Work of Teachers,” Teachers and Texts: A Political Economy of Class
and Gender Relations in Education.” Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986,
pp. 31–53, 209–214.
“The Other Side of the Hidden Curriculum,” Education and Power, Routledge Classic
edition. New York: Routledge, 2012, pp. 61–82, 171–175.
“The Culture and Commerce of the Textbook,” in Michael W. Apple and Linda
Christian- Smith, eds. The Politics of the Textbook. New York: Routledge, 1991,
pp. 24–40.
“Cultural Politics and the Text,” Official Knowledge: Democratic Education in a Con-
servative Age, 2nd edition. New York: Routledge, 2000, pp. 42–60, 185–188.
“Consuming the Other: Whiteness, Education, and Cheap French Fries,” in Michelle
Fine, Lois Weis, Linda Powell, and L. M. Wong, eds. Off White: Readings on Race,
Power, and Society. New York: Routledge, 1997, pp. 121–128.
“The Politics of Official Knowledge: Does a National Curriculum Make Sense?” Cul-
tural Politics and Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 1996, pp. 22–41,
122–126.
“Producing Inequalities: Conservative Modernization in Policy and Practice,” Educat-
ing the “Right” Way: Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality, 2nd edition. New
York: Routledge, 2006, pp. 53–85, 273–279.
“We Are the New Oppressed: Gender, Culture, and the Work of Home Schooling,” in
Michael W. Apple and Kristen L. Buras, eds. The Subaltern Speak: Curriculum,
Power, and Educational Struggles. New York: Routledge, 2006, pp. 75–93.
“Global Crises, Social Justice, and Teacher Education,” Journal of Teacher Education
62 (March/April 2011), pp. 222–234.
