Two writers, Hickox and Hargreaves, who recently criticized Marxist sociology of education, largely misunderstand and misrepresent the work they criticize. Hickox attributes a position to Marxist sociologists of education which few hold. Hargreaves is insufficiently familiar with Marxist scholarship to grasp the nature of the Marxist project.…

Cites studies that show that environmental effects on ability test scores and school attainment are welcomed, while ability is regarded as a social construct. Asserts that an account of cognitive socialization based on the work of Bernstein and Vygotsky would represent an advance in explaining social differences in educational attainment.…