Marketisation - 1997 – New Labour Education Policy

Question 1

What are the three main strands to New Labour’s Education Policies

Answer 1

1. Raising standards – which essentially meant building on what the New Right had done previously
2. Increasing diversity and choice within education
3. Improving equality of opportunity

Question 2

Examples of New labour policies that were designed to improve standards

Answer 2

 Class sizes – were reduced to 30
 Literacy and Numeracy Hour – one hour per day of reading and maths

Sure Start ( targeted parents +children under the age of 4 living in the most disadvantaged areas.  deliver - designed to support children's learning skills, and social and emotional development.) 
 Tougher Line on Inspection – Expanded the role of OFSTED

Question 3

Examples of New labour policies that were designed to reduce inequality of opportunity

Answer 3

 Education Action Zones – Extra money for schools in deprived areas (The policy was not deemed a great success, attracting limited sponsorship and achieving disappointing improvements, and was not continued beyond its initial 5 year term.)

 Sure Start – 12 hours a week free nursery provision for children aged 2-4

 Education Maintenance Allowance - £30 per week to encourage students from low income households to stay on in 16-18 education

Question 4

Examples of New labour policies that were designed Polices designed to increase diversity

Answer 4

 Specialist schools – Specialise in various subjects

 Special Educational Needs Provision – there has been

 Faith schools – expanded under New Labour

Question 5

Positive Evaluations of New Labour Policies

Standards have improved and there is greater choice and diversity -

Answer 5

 SATs and GCSE scores have improved significantly under New Labour
 There are now a greater diversity of schools (Specialist Schools, City Academies = meaning there is more choice for parents and pupils.

Question 6

Criticisms of New Labour policies

= New Labour have not improved equality of educational opportunity

Answer 6

gap between middle classes and working classes achievement continues to grow because of selection of by mortgage, cream skimming

e introduction of tuition fees in Higher Education puts many working class children off

Private school system still means

to shape the curriculum

Question 7

Many students have a negative experience of the education syste

Answer 7

Gilborn and Youdell argue that more students have a negative experience of education in the ‘A-C economy

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Question 8

What political influence still remained in New Labour

Answer 8

New Righ ideas remained influential

Question 9

What did ball and Youdell mean by exogenous privatisation and endogenous privatisation

Answer 9

= exogenous privatisation = Privatisation from outside

= endogenous pr1ivatisation = privatisation within the education system

Question 10

Apply the idea of exogenous privatisation to the UK education system

Answer 10

Setting up Academies = since New labout est of academies meant greater involvement of private sector in running skl.
Academies allowed to seek 10% of their funding from businesses or charities, which would increase the influence of private interests over the running of the skl, and some recent academy chains such as the Academies enterprise trust are run by private companies, and manged by ppl with a background in education

Question 11

What did ball and Youdell mean by exogenous privatisation and endogenous privatisation

Answer 11

= Introd of free market principles into the day to day running of skls

= Making skl compete for pupils so they become like a business
= Giving parents choice so they become consumer (open enrolment)
= Linking skl funding to success rates (formal funding)

Question 12

Arguments against Privatisation of education

Answer 12

Stephen Ball = cola-isation of skls - private sector also increasingly penetrates skls through vending machines and they development of brand loyalty through logos and sponsorship.

Question 13

Arguemtn for marketisation

Answer 13

NEW RIGHT

= External privatistion = is that private companies are used to keeping costs down and will run certain aspects of the education system more efficiently than local education authorities even they ran them.

Question 14

Critics of free schools claim they have brought in a selection

Answer 14

‘by the back door’ and are failing to meet the needs of disadvantaged children.