marketisation Flashcards
1
Q
what is marketisation in education?
A
- process of introducing market forces like consumer choice and competition into state-run areas, such as education
- marketisation has created an ’education market’ by:
- reducing direct state control over education
- increasing competition between schools and parental choice of school
2
Q
when did marketisation become central to education policy?
A
- became central after the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA)
- introduced by the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher
3
Q
why do neoliberals and the new right support marketisation?
A
- believe schools should compete to attract customers (parents)
- argue competition drives up standards
- schools that deliver what parents want, like exam success, will thrive
- those that don’t will ‘go out of business’
4
Q
what policies promote marketisation in education?
A
- publication of league tables and ofsted reports to inform parental choice
- business sponsorship of schools
- open enrolment so successful schools can recruit more pupils
- specialist schools to widen parental choice
- formula funding (schools receive same funding per pupil)
- schools allowed to opt out of local authority control (e.g. academies)
- schools compete to attract pupils
- introduction of tuition fees for higher education
- parents and others allowed to set up free schools
5
Q
how does David describe marketed education?
A
- parentocracy
- meaning ‘rule by parents’
- power shifts from producers (teachers and schools) to consumers (parents)
- supporters argue it encourages school diversity
- gives parents more choice
- helps raise educational standards
6
Q
what do critics say about the effects of marketisation?
A
- argue marketisation increases inequalities
- ball and whitty: say policies like exam league tables and funding formula reproduce class inequalities
- these policies create inequalities between schools
7
Q
how do league tables create inequality, according to bartlett?
A
- encourage cream-skimming: good schools select high-achieving, mainly middle-class pupils, giving them an advantage
- encourage silt-shifting: good schools avoid less able pupils who might lower exam results and league table rankings
8
Q
what is the overall effect of league tables on schools?
A
- schools with poor league positions can’t be selective
- have to take less able, mainly working-class pupils
- results remain poor, making them unattractive to middle-class parents
- overall effect is the creation of unequal schools that reproduce class inequalities
9
Q
how does formula funding affect school inequality?
A
- schools receive funding based on pupil numbers
- popular schools get more money
- can afford better teachers and facilities
- become more selective and attract more able, mainly middle-class pupils
- reinforces their advantage and increases inequality
10
Q
what happens to unpopular schools under formula funding?
A
- lose income due to fewer pupils
- struggle to afford skilled teachers and good facilities
- can’t compete with successful schools
- fail to attract pupils, leading to further funding cuts
- cycle of decline reinforces inequality
11
Q
what did the 2012 institute for public policy research study find? (funding formula)
A
- competition-oriented education systems eg britain’s create more segregation
- children from different social backgrounds are more divided
- marketisation increases educational inequality
12
Q
how does marketisation advantage middle-class parents? (parental choice)
A
- creates inequalities between schools that benefit the middle class
- increases parental choice, which middle-class parents can use more effectively
- their economic and cultural capital helps them choose and access ‘good’ schools for their children
13
Q
what did gewirtz’s study of 14 London secondary schools find? (parental choice)
A
- differences in parents’ economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in school choice
- middle-class parents are better able to exercise choice of secondary school
14
Q
what are the three types of parents identified by gewirtz?
A
- privileged-skilled choosers
- disconnected-local choosers
- semi-skilled choosers
15
Q
what are the characteristics of privileged-skilled choosers?
A
- mainly professional middle-class parents
- use economic and cultural capital to secure educational capital for their children
- confident, well-educated, and prosperous, enabling them to fully exploit school choices
- possess cultural capital: understand school admissions systems and know how to navigate them
- have time to visit schools and research options
- economic capital allows them to afford extra costs, like travel, to access better schools outside their area
16
Q
what are the characteristics of disconnected-local choosers?
A
- working-class parents with limited economic and cultural capital
- struggle to understand school admissions procedures
-
less confident and aware of school options, making it hard to navigate the system
prioritize safety and school facilities over league tables or long-term ambitions - distance and travel costs limit their choice of school
- often only able to afford a place at the nearest school
17
Q
what are the characteristics of semi-skilled choosers?
A
- mainly working-class parents
- but ambitious for their children but lack cultural capital
- struggle to navigate the education market and often rely on others’ opinions
- frustrated by their inability to get their children into the schools they desire
18
Q
what does gewirtz conclude about the education market?
A
- in theory, the education market gives everyone greater choice
- argues that in practice, middle-class parents have more choice due to their cultural and economic capital
- working-class parents face more limitations and have less choice
19
Q
what else does marketisation do other than reproducing inequality? (myth of parentocracy)
A
- legitimates it by concealing its true causes and by justifying its existence
20
Q
what does ball say about ‘parentocracy’?
A
- marketisation creates the appearance of a ‘parentocracy’
- it seems like parents have free choice in selecting schools
- ball argues that parentocracy is a myth
- it makes it appear that all parents have the same freedom to choose schools, but in reality, they do not
21
Q
how do middle-class parents benefit from marketisation, according to gewirtz, leech, and campos?
A
- gewirtz: middle-class parents are better able to take advantage of school choices
- eg they can afford to move into catchment areas of more desirable schools (as shown by leech & campos)
- the myth of parentocracy disguises how schooling continues to reproduce class inequality
- makes inequality in education appear fair and inevitable
22
Q
what policies did the new labour government (1997-2010) introduce to reduce inequality?
A
- designated deprived areas as education action zones and provided additional resources
- the Aim Higher programme to raise aspirations of under-represented groups in higher education
- education maintenance allowances for low-income students to encourage them to stay in education after 16
- introduced national literacy strategy, literacy and numeracy hours, and reduced primary school class sizes
- created city academies to improve struggling inner-city schools with mainly working-class pupils
- increased funding for state education
23
Q
what is the ‘new labour paradox’ according to benn? (critic)
A
- sees contradiction between labour’s policies to reduce inequality and its support for marketisation
- called the ‘new labour paradox’
- example: EMAs encouraged poorer students to stay in education, but tuition fees for higher education could deter them from going to university
24
Q
what further criticisms are there of new labour’s approach to inequality?
A
- new labour did not abolish fee-paying private schools
- they also did not remove private schools’ charitable status
- this status is estimated to be worth over £165 million per year
- these actions undermined efforts to reduce inequality
