Neoliberals and New right

Question 1

Describe Chubb and Moes consumer choice

Answer 1

Claim American state education has failed, therefore needs to be opened up to market forces
Claim disadvantaged groups have been badly treated by state education, failed to create equal opportunity
Claim state education is inefficient, does not train pupils for work
Claim private schools are better because they are answerable to consumers

Question 2

Describe the outcomes of Chubb and Moes policy

Answer 2

Compared achievements of 60k pupils from low-income backgrounds in state and private schools, the pupils in private schools did 5% better
More market, more efficiency, power to consumers, increase that 5%!
End guaranteed funding for schools by government, give parents a voucher to spend on education
Force schools to compete for the vouchers and therefore their main source of funding

Question 3

What are the 2 roles of the state?

Answer 3

State publishes a framework for schools to operate within, Ofsted inspection reports and league tables
State imposes a National Curriculum to ensure students share in the same culture/heritage (social solidarity)
Affirm national identity: British history, Christian values etc.
Oppose multicultural education

Question 4

What are the criticisms of the consumer choice policy?

Answer 4

Competition between schools arguably only benefits the middle class, who can bring to bear their cultural and economic capital to gain access to better schools
Social inequality and poor school funding could be to blame for low achievement rates
Parental (consumer) choice vs. national curriculum [contradiction?]
Marxist: imposes the culture of the ruling class, not a shared culture

Question 5

Give an overview of the New right and Neoliberals

Answer 5

A conservative (right wing) perspective
Belief that the state cannot meet everybody’s needs, therefore better for people to make their own decisions through the mechanism of the market
Pro-marketisation of education
Similar to Functionalists:
Not everyone is equally talented
Meritocracy: education geared towards preparing people for the world of work
Socialise people into shared values (such as competition), instil a sense of national identity

Question 6

Whats the difference to functionalists?

Answer 6

they do not agree that education is achieving its goals; because it is run by the state
The ‘one size fits all’ approach (the NR claim) imposes uniformity and disregards local needs