Late Modernism and New Labour

Question 1

Key Ideas about Education

Answer 1

• Government should spend more on education to respond to Globalisation.
• People need to reskill more often as – government should play a role in managing this.
• Schools are also necessary to keep under surveillance students ‘at risk’ of future deviance.
• Policies - the purpose of school should be to raise standards, improve equality of opportunty, and promote diversity and equality.
•Anthony Giddens - third way

Question 2

Supporting Evidence

Answer 2

• All developed economies have governments who spend large amounts of money on education, suggesting more (not less like Neoliberals suggest) state education is good.
• It is difficult to see what other institution could teach about diversity other than schools.
• There did seem to be more equality of opportunity under New Labour rather than under the 2015 New Right government.

Question 3

Criticisms/ Limitations

Answer 3

• Postmodernists argue that government attempts to ‘engineer’ pupils to fit society kill creativity
• Marxists argue that whatever state education does it can never reduce class inequalities – we need to abolish global capitalism, not adapt to it!
• Late-Modern, New Labour ideas about education are expensive. Neoliberalists say that we can no longer afford to spend huge sums of money on education.