Marketisation Flashcards
How was marketisation introduced?
Through the Education Reform Act in 1988
What does ‘free market’ mean?
Schools should compete against each other for consumers (‘pupils’). The more pupils a school enrols, the more money the school gets (FORMULA FUNDING)
What can schools do to attract more students
Through raising standards to gain the attention of more parents, who are given more choice and control in where to send their child (PARENTOCRACY)
What is parentocracy
When parents have more choice over where to send their child to school, instead of just the local school, irrelevant of their grades and standards.
What will happen if schools compete like a business?
Standards should improve in the educational system, otherwise schools will lose interest from students and so lose money.
What policies were introduced in the ERA?
- league tables
- formula funding
- diversification
(4. open enrolment) - national curriculum
What are league tables?
Public rankings of schools in an area, based on OFSTED reports, grades etc. They allow parents to see what schools are best to send their child to. Schools work to be as high up the tables as possible.
What is formula funding?
The Govt. use an algorithm to work out how much funding a school should get, based on the number of students enrolled. The more students = the more funding
What is diversification
Refers to the introduction of a wider range of schools; after 1988, specialist schools were introduced. Now there are even more such as faith, boarding, free, academies etc. Students and parents can now choose from a wider variety of schools.
What is open enrolment
When parents can apply for a state funded school, if there are vacancies the school must accept that student. Popular/oversubscribed schools can expand their capacity to take on more schools.
These schools can make their own admissions criteria (siblings, close in the catchment area, children in care etc).
Undersubscribed schools then have to accept any and all children that apply to go there.
What is the national curriculum
When schools teach students of the country the same knowledge and the same subjects in maths, English and science.
What is an evaluation of parentocracy (Ball)
Ball (1994) claimed parentocracy is a myth because it gives the illusion parents have a choice but they actually don’t. It’s only M/C parents that have a choice, not W/C parents.
Gerwitz’s study agrees as it showed M/C can use their cultural and economic capital to choose good schools for their children.
What is Gillborn and Youdell’s evaluation of parentocracy
argue that schools are put under pressure to stream and set pupils.
policy of publishing exam results creates an “A to C economy”
the educational triage is formed.
