Marketisation and selection

Question 1

How was education marketised

Answer 1

• Open enrollment=parents can send their child to any school of choice.
• Formula Funding=All schools get an amount of money per student (£3000)
• Exam league tables -published annually to show the percentage of pupils who get 5+ A*-C grades.
• Ofsted-Inspection of schools provide information to parents

Question 2

What was A-C economy and who researched about it?

Answer 2

Gillborn and Youdell argue that marketisation of
education contributes to widening the gap in
achievement between working class and middle
class students.
This happens through the A-C economy - a system through which schools allocate time, resources and
effort towards those pupils they perceive as having the potential to get 5+ A*-C grades. These students tend to come from middle class backgrounds.

Question 3

What was the educational triage? (gillborn and Youdell)

Answer 3

Teachers carry out an educational triage. They decide which students:
-Will get a A*-C- they dont need help
-Hopeless cases=will fail anyways so no point of helping
Borderline students- students that will most likely get a D but with extra help these students will achieve a C.

Question 4

Who came up with the research about Cream skinning and silt-shifting?

Answer 4

Bartlet said that schools select which pupils they want to admit to their school
Cream skinning-select the high ability students who will get A*-C and offer them a place at the school. These students tend to be from middle class backgrounds.
Silt skinning-reject applications from students with learning difficulties or behavioural problems – as these are likely to underachieve. These students tend to be from working class backgrounds.

Question 5

What does Gewirtz say about selection?

Answer 5

One way through which schools attract middle class parents is through the home school contracts. If these are particularly ‘wordy’ and demanding of parents, some, usually w/c parents are likely to be put off and not apply to the school.

Question 6

What does Ball say about Selection?

Answer 6

Schools spend money on advertising themselves through expensive brochures or professionally designed websites in order to attract parents often at the expense of actually investing in teaching resources.