Neoliberalism and the New Right Perspective on Education Flashcards
1
Q
Describe neoliberalism and link it to education
A
- Argue that the state shouldn’t provide services like education, health and welfare
- Based on the idea that the state mustn’t dictate individuals how to dispose of their own property and shouldn’t try to regulate a free-market economy. So governments should encourage competition, private state-run businesses and deregulate markets
- Argue that the value of education is how it enables the country to compete in the global marketplace. They claim that this can only be achieved if schools become like businesses, empowering parents and pupils as consumers and using competition between schools to drive up standards
2
Q
Describe the shift of national policy of education as a result of New Right thinking
A
- In schools, interest in gender and ethnic inequalities was strong and policies were adopted to reduce these inequalities. However, it normally happed on a local basis. Whilst individual schools, colleges and local education authorities adopted polices to combat sexism and racism, government showed less interest in these issue
- The aim focus of national policy was now focused on the needs of industry and the economy
- The New Right thinking which lay behind this shift in emphasis is largely based on theories from economics. The New Right advocate market system as the most effective way of distributing resources
3
Q
Outline the New Right perspective
A
- It is a conservative political view that incorporates neoliberal economic ideas.
- The central principle of New Right thinking is the belief that the state can’t meet people’s needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market, they favour marketisation
4
Q
What are features of the New Right that are similar to functionalism?
A
- Some people are naturally talented than others
- Favour an education system run on meritocratic principles of open competition, and one that serves the needs of the economy by prepared young people for work
- Education should socialise pupils into shared values, such as competition, and instil a sense of national identity
5
Q
What are features of the New Right that are different to functionalism?
A
- The current education system doesn’t function effectively to achieve these goals, as it is run by the state
- State system takes a ‘one size fits all’ approach, imposing uniformity and disregarding local needs. Local consumers have no say and the education system are therefore unresponsive and inefficient.
- Schools that waste money or get poor results aren’t answerable to their consumers. This means that lower standard of achievement for pupils, a less qualified workforce and a less prosperous economy
6
Q
What is the New Right’s solution to the problems of the education system?
A
- Marketisation of education
- They believe that competition between schools and empowering consumers will bring greater diversity, choice and efficiency to schools and increases schools’ ability to meet the need of pupils, parents and employers
7
Q
What are issues with marketisation?
A
- MC often only have choice
- Entrance exams (differentiates between classes)
- Catchment areas (best schools = wealth areas, so no choice)
- If English isn’t 1st language, then it’s difficult to navigate
8
Q
Why do Chubb and Moe argue that state-education in the US has failed?
A
- Hasn’t created equal opportunity and has failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
- It’s inefficient as it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy
- Private schools deliver higher quality education as, unlike state schools, they are answerable to paying consumers (parents)
9
Q
Describe Chubb and Moe’s study?
A
- They compared 60,000 low income pupils from private and state schools, parent surveys and ‘failing’ schools being ‘turned around.
- They found pupils from low-income families consistently do about 5% better in private than in state-schools
10
Q
What do Chubb and Moe argue based on their studies?
A
- Introduction of a market system in state education that would give control to consumers (parents/local communities).
- They argue it would allow consumers to shape schools to meet their own needs and would quality and efficiency
11
Q
What system do Chubb and Moe propose?
A
- Each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice.
- This would force schools to become more responsive to parents’ wishes, since the vouchers would be the school’s main source of income. Like private businesses, schools would have to compete to attract ‘customers’ by improving their ‘product’
12
Q
Describe the role of the state as imposing a framework of operation
A
- State imposes a framework on schools within which they have to compete.
- For example, by publishing Ofsted inspection reports and league tables, the state gives parents information to make a more informed choice between schools
13
Q
Describe the role of the state as ensuring a shared culture
A
- Ensuring schools transmit a shared culture.
- By imposing a single National Curriculum. It seeks to guarantee that schools socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage
14
Q
Give evaluation for the New Right perspective (competition + real cause)
A
- Gewirtz and Ball both argue competition between schools benefits the MC who use their cultural and economic capital to gain access to more desirable schools
- Critics argue the real cause of low educational standards isn’t state control but social inequality and inadequate funding of state schools
15
Q
Give evaluation for the New Right perspective (contradiction +
A
- There’s a contradiction between the NR’s support for parental choice and the state imposing a compulsory national curriculum on all its schools
- Marxists argue that education doesn’t impose a shared national culture, as the New Right claim, but imposes the culture of a dominant minority ruling class and devalues the culture of the WC and ethnic minorities
