44
45 as what has to be done by the teachers because of the subtle, persuasive way the curriculum policies as the ISA are enforced.
Althusser (1971) suggests that individuals become subjects because of their subscription to dominant ideologies without them even being aware of it (Aydoğdu, 2014; Mills, 2014). A subject is someone who now obeys and follows the dictates of those who enforce these dominant ideologies. The subjects – in this study the teachers – believe that they are free thinking individuals whose task it is to bring about curriculum change in mathematics education. However, Althusser (1971) points out that just showing up at work and participating in the day’s work is consistent with legal ideology. Mathematics teachers are led to believe that they have to work to implement curriculum changes as demanded by the state because they are being paid to do so and thus have a legal obligation to complete the allotted task. Furthermore, showing up on time to school and obeying the period changes in lessons and fulfilling their jobs as mathematics teachers with all the other obligations expected of a teacher, is considered to be the right thing to do, is termed a moral ideology by Althusser (1971).
Structural institutions such as schools are not the only venues where ISA is practiced. ISAs are practiced in all areas of a person/subject, primarily starting with the family (Ivanov & Sautkin, 2008). They are used to maintain the status quo. This can be explained adequately using as an example the value placed on mathematics. Families wish their children to get high status careers which are dependent on achieving in mathematics. Teachers want to prove that they are good mathematics teachers by wanting to achieve academic excellence in their students. These subjects are subscribing to the status quo because with better achievement in mathematics there will be better economic prosperity for the state as it is believed that mathematics would achieve such a goal. Lundin (2012) claims that it is believed that cohesion of man, nature and society is mediated through mathematical knowledge and therefore such knowledge is the precondition for reaching the higher echelons of society. Those that belong to the higher echelons of society are those who have access to careers and places in society that are not readily available to others.
46 Ideology exists through practices and rituals that are evident in all institutions. Myers (2005) describes three characteristics in the ISA. Firstly, the ISA takes the form of an institution which has practices and rituals embedded within its walls (Myers, 2005). We can use the school as an example of such an institution, with its many rules and regulation that teachers have to follow, as these rules are formulated by the state to exact control of all its subjects. One such rule deals with having to adapt a lesson within an allocated time frame called a lesson. Secondly, the ISA functions to interpellate subjects through a relationship between ordinary subjects and absolute subjects (Myers, 2005). The absolute subject refers to those who hold the highest position in the institutional hierarchy like the principal in the school. The interpellation2 occurs when the ordinary subjects or the workers believe that they are lesser than the principal so they have to obey him or her (Myers, 2005). It could also be that they believe they are similar to the absolute subject or principal so by obeying him or her they are doing what they would have done if they were the absolute subject (Myers, 2005). So the principal, who has to follow what the state requires by reinforcing the curriculum and its changes, is obeyed by the teachers who carry out the curriculum and its changes as is ordered by the principal who is obeying the state.
Accountability through assessment, internal and external, moderation of teachers’ work and management systems such as IQMS (Integrated Quality Management Systems) are practices that make sure that there is control. Finally, the ISA serves to reproduce the relations of production within an already established, dominant mode of production (Myers, 2005). So, in a school, roles of production are already established and even with curriculum changes these roles are adapted within the dominant ideology that the schools exhibit, which is to produce educated citizens that will serve the state. However, as Althusser (1971) may not have envisaged, there may be resistance to the policies. Teachers do not always accept the changes in the policies and show their resistance through unions. Their resistance can end up in strike action that is prevalent in South Africa. This leads to the question of democracy and how it should be used to benefit all stakeholders in a collaborative way rather than the way policies are formulated and imposed on schools.
Ideological State Apparatuses, therefore, exist without their subjects even being aware of it.
Changes in the curriculum are met without the teacher even being aware of doing it. The rules and regulations within an institution force compliance within subjects and even if there is
2 Interpellation - interruption
47 resistance these rules bring recalcitrant subjects back to the fold. However, even though this has been said there is still the issue of unions and how they play their role to bring recalcitrant teachers back to the fold. Here in South Africa, the largest teacher union, SADTU (South African Democratic Teacher Union), has its alliance with the government through their membership with COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) and at the same time they serve the teachers (Chisholm, 2015). So this type of paradox arises in how they do their job to support teachers in their resistance to some of the policy demands and at the same time agree with state governance. Are they therefore agreeing to state demands rather than protecting the interests of the teachers who are included in their membership?