marketisation of education

Question 1

educational triage

Answer 1

dividing students into sets, top, middle and bottom
practise of focusing on the C/D students to ensure they pass their GCSE’s

Question 2

league tables

Answer 2

exam results

Question 3

cream skimming

Answer 3

good schools can be more selective and choose the high achieving, usually middle class pupils

Question 4

silt shifting

Answer 4

good schools can avoid taking less able pupils who might damage their position on the league tables, usually working class

Question 5

league tables, cream skimming and silt shifting and educational triage

Answer 5

• the policy of publishing each schools exam results means that the schools with the highest results will be in higher demand
• parents can compare all schools in their area and select the best
• this will encourage all schools to raise their standard so they can climb the league tables and attract parents to their schools
• this also encourages cream skimming and silt shifting
• schools in lower positions on the league tables can’t afford to be so selective. their results stay low and they are unattractive to middle class parents so reproducing inequalities
• gillborn and youdell argue that league tables also encourage educational triage

Question 6

formula funding

Answer 6

• schools are allocated funds by a formula based on how many pupils they attract
• as a result, popular schools get more funds and so they can afford more experienced teachers, more resources and better facilities
• this helps their results to stay high, maintain their position in the league tables and be attractive to usually middle class parents
• schools in lower positions on the league tables remain unpopular, lose income and consequently can’t afford to employ more experienced teachers, buy resources or improve their facilities
• the result: popular schools with good results and middle class pupils thrive whilst schools with mostly working class pupils continue to fail, are unpopular and their funding is reduced
• conclusion: research shows that competition orientated education systems reproduce social class inequalities

Question 7

the myth of parentocracy

Answer 7

• sharon Gewritz criticises marketisation policies for advantaging middle class parents
• the external factors that limit the outcomes of working class pupils?
• economic, social and cultural capital
• gewritz identifies 3 types of parents: privileged skilled choosers, disconnected local choosers and semi skilled choosers
• stephen ball; marketisation only gives the appearance of parentocracy. parent choice is a myth. middle class parents have choices but all that does is reproduce social class inequalities

Question 8

privileged skilled choosers

Answer 8

• professional middle class parents who used their social, economic and cultural capital to take full advantage of the choices open to them
• they can read the league tables, move to a new area if necessary, discuss preferences with headteachers and plan years in advance

Question 9

disconnected local choosers

Answer 9

• working class parents with restricted choices due to their lack of capital
• they find it hard to understand admissions procedures, are less confident in dealing with schools, less aware of their options, can’t afford to move/travel to other schools
• most local schools is only real option for them

Question 10

semi skilled choosers

Answer 10

• also mainly working class but more ambitious for their children
• lack the capital and find the process difficult to understand but rely on other people’s opinions about schools (essentially copy them)

Question 11

geoff whitty (1998)

Answer 11

• marketisation has not led to more choice or opportunities for working class families
• marketisation has led to more opportunities for the middle classes to use their wealth and knowledge more effectively

Question 12

state schools

Answer 12

public schools - what i went to

Question 13

public schools

Answer 13

private, posh schools

Question 14

difference between private education and privatisation of education

Answer 14

privatisation of education imitates private education and private education isn’t about privatisation of education, it’s people who can afford it

Question 15

specification focus

Answer 15

• creating equal access and opportunity
• creating more equal outcomes
• selection
• globalisation
• privatisation
• marketisation

Question 16

aims of educational policy

Answer 16

• economic efficiency
• raising educational standards
• creating equality of educational opportunity in a meritocratic society

Question 17

equality of access

Answer 17

• the tripartite system 1944
• the comprehensive system
• school admissions code
• compensatory education

Question 18

globalisation

Answer 18

has impacted UK policy through:
- international comparisons
- privatisation
- marketisation

Question 19

raising standards since the 1980’s

Answer 19

• conservative party policies 1979-1997
• new labour policies 1997-2010
• conservative- liberal democrat 2010-2015

Question 20

private education

Answer 20

• public schools
• the case for independent schools
• the case against independent schools

Question 21

private education - key questions:

Answer 21

• private education in the UK refers to schools that aren’t funded by the government but instead charge a fee to the parents
• these range from internationally renowned public schools like aston and harrow with extremely high fees, to small local independent schools
• some schools have a very high examination results (partly because of their resources, small class sizes and freedom to select their pupils based on ability)

Question 22

history of private schools

Answer 22

• private schools have an extremely long history of Britain
• the oldest continuously operating school in the world is the Kings school, canterbury, founded 597
• in the middle ages the great public schools such as Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse were funded by benefactors to educate local boys regardless of background
• the rich increasingly took advantage of the education provided by these establishments, these schools gradually became boarding houses for those who could pay, pushing out those who couldn’t
• there was/ is high academic expectation on pupils who attended, with a strong emphasis on classical studies
• consequently the ‘elite’ were the only people who truly educated and prepared for Oxford and Cambridge unis and public service
• 55 prime ministers to date (1721-2021)
• 42 attended Oxford and Cambridge university
• 20 attended Eton, 7 attended Harrow and 6 Westminster

Question 23

what is the difference between private education and privatisation of education?

Answer 23

• privatisation is closely linked to marketisation
• it is the move of state schools for total state control to independent management and decision making (neoliberal approach)
• education is still free for those who attend - despite the term privatisation, these are still state funded schools
• private schools are private businesses - education is provided by non-state companies, religious institutions, trusts or private individuals and is funded by parents not the state - this has always been the case

Question 24

privatisation IN education (endogenous)

Answer 24

schools, colleges and universities operate more like private businesses
key factors: competition between schools for students, efficiency, choice for parents, target setting, league tables, per capita funding - effective since 1980’s

Question 25

privatisation OF education (exogenous)

Answer 25

opening up of state education to private profit making businesses
key factors: school services, management, inspections, buildings, branding, educational policy and exam system

Question 26

private education and careers

Answer 26

• 7% of the population are privately educated but..
• 39% of those with high ranking jobs were privately educated
• members of Britains elite who hold top jobs in politics, the judiciary, media and business, are 5 times more likely to have been to private school
• in law: nearly 3 quarters (74%) of the top judiciary were educated at independent schools and the same proportion (74%) went to oxbridge. barristers and solicitors disproportionately from the same schools and unis
• in journalism: about half of the country’s leading journalists were educated privately, less than one in 5 went to comprehensives. over half went to oxbridge