New Right & Education Flashcards
What do the New Right argue functions of education are? (2)
Performing a social function. This is by socialising young people into the collective values and reinforcing the national identity.
Performing an economic function. By training the workforce it ensures that the most able studemts have their talents developed and are recruited into the most important jobs.
What are problems with the current system? (2)
Chubb and Moe: They argue that state-run education in the US has failed because:
It tends to have low standards so has lower standards of achievement
It fails to produce pupils with the skills neded by the economy therefore it has a less qualified workforce.
What can the solution be for the current system?
They have aspired to make state education more like private education. The reason why private schools were doing better is because the schools were answerable to paying parents.
What did Chubb and Moe introduce?
Chubb and Moe called for the marketisation of education which is where schools were encouraged to compete against each other making schools run like a business. This would help schools become encouraged to be more economical.
A voucher system was introduced where each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice. Schools would be forced to become more responsive to parents wishes because the vouchers would be the school’s main source of income.
What are criticisms of the New Right? (3)
If schools treat education like a business, children won’t be the first priority anymore because they are thinking about money more. (Profits over people)
There can be issues with trying to reaffirm the national identity because there are different religions in schools nowadays, so children of a different religion may feel ignored and feel less important.
Marxists argue that marketisation feeds into capitalism. This is because it would make the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.
