new right views on education Flashcards
Overview of the new right
conservative political perspective that has many overlaps with functionalism
state cannot meet people’s needs - better met through free market
role of education is to support individualism and the needs of the market
neoliberal ideology
What is neo-liberalism
pro-capitalist economic theory which believes that the ‘free market’ in capitalist economies is the best basis for organising society
Free market economies are based upon the choices individuals make when spending their money
the general principle is that if you leave everything to the market, then businesses will provide what people demand because businesses want to make a profit
what do markets do
they encourage competition
when people see a high demand for a product, they are encouraged to product and sell that product and the better product they can make and the cheaper they can sell it for, then the more profit they make
advantages of a free-market system - individual freedom
based on the principle of allowing individuals to be free to pursue their own self-interest - this is seen as the best way to pursue the maximum good in society
advantages of the free market - efficiency
businesses try to be efficient in order to maximise profit
advantages of the free market - innovation
competition and the profit motive encourage people to product new products to stimulate demand
advantages of the free market - economic growth
the end result of leaving businesses free to do business is more wealth wealth and more jobs
similarities to functionalism
people are not equal - some are more talented than others
a meritocratic education system should prepare young people for employment through open competition
education should socialise pupils into shared norms and values of society
differences with functionalism
the new right do not believe that the education system we have meets these goals
this is because it is run by the state, which imposes a uniform view of what education should be and is inefficient
state education is not responsive to the needs of its students or parents
four key ideas
marketisation
parentocracy
Consumer choice
Society is meritocratic
what does marketisation refer to
the aim of making schools compete with one another for government funding ie the better a school dies in the previous year, the more funding
this essentially makes schools into businesses competing with one another, and creating an education “market”
what did the new right introduce in policies to create marketisation
league tables
national curriculum
ofsted
formula funding
general evaluation of marketisation
league tables reduce students into being statistics, and put pressure on all stakeholders - teachers and pupils especially - to perform at the highest level rather than enjoy learning
Palmer - toxic childhood
How would marxists evaluate marketisation
it reduces the opportunities for the working class - marxists point out that policies such as formula funding put an economic label on education and turn it into a commodity that can be bought and sold
how would postmodernists evaluate marketisation
argue that policies such as the national curriculum and ofsted create a standardised education system that stifles creativity and allows no room for pupils to be individuals
how does the new right argue parentocracy
for marketisation to work - parents must have a choice where to send their child
parental choice directly affects the school as funding depends on number of pupils
marketisation and parentocracy cause a rise in standards
how does open enrolment cause parentocracy
where parents are allowed to select multiple schools to sent their child to, but only specifying one as their ‘first choice’
the result of this was that some schools become oversubscribed and these were allowed to select pupils according to certain criteria
gave parents a choice
how would marxists evaluate parentocracy
Stephen Ball
point out that parentocracy tends to favour the middle class
for example - wealthier families can afford to move into the catchment areas of the best state schools, meaning the oversubscribed schools end up with a majority middle class student cohort who achieve better results on average
selection by mortgage
general evaluation about parentocracy
upper-middle class parents exercise the most choice if they can afford to send their children to private school
who argues consumer choice
chubb and moe
why did the education in the US fail - consumer choice
- to not creating equal opportunities
- failing needs of disadvantaged groups
- inefficient because it fails to provide students with the skills needed for the economic system
- private schools deliver higher quality education - all schools should be delivering this quality
how do they argue consumer choice
compared achievements of 60,000 pupils from low-income families and 1,015 state and private schools in the USA
data showed that pupils from low-income families do about 5% better in private schools - not meritocratic
private schools delivery higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers
so call the introduction of market system
what is chubb and moe’s answer to the inefficiency
introduce market system through a voucher system in which each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice
Sutton Trust - consumer choice
found UK students from poorer backgrounds who went to private schools through the assisted place scheme did better at GCSE and Alevel than students from a similar background who attended state schools
they were also more likely to be offered a place at Oxford and Cambridge and with a lower grade offer
general evaluations for consumer choice
critics argue that vouchers would be seen as stigmatised identities which would still see the rich attend different schools rather than mix with other social classes - labelling theory?
marketisation policies have generally boosted the educational success of the middle-class but have had a negative impact on working-class communities
This is argued, has helped to reduce social mobility through education
Who argues that society is meritocratic
Peter Saunders
How do they argue that society is meriocratic
social mobility study - showed that those who were able to be upwardly mobile did so
the best and most able take the top jobs in society
the reason the middle class do better than the working class in education and work is because they are more able
financial inequality is a good thing as it encourages competition and rewards talent - this is similar to Davis and Moore’s view on role allocation
discrimination evaluation for meritocracy
evidence shows that a working class person with the same qualifications as a middle class person will be unlikely to get the job
thus, the working class are discriminated against in other ways than pure ability and educational success is not a guarantee of a top job
financial inequality evaluation for meritocracy
financial inequality leads to social breakdown and restricts opportunities thus reducing meritocracy
for example, middle-class schools are better funded than poor inner-city schools under New Right marketisation policy - sink schools
positive evaluations for the new right
Their views have been very influential on educational policies since the 1980s - particularly with the conservative party
exam results have increased since the new right introduced the 1988 education reform act - only 44% of students passed GCSEs in 1988, compared to nearly 70% today
limitations of the new right
poor education standards are the result of lack of funding and inequality rather than state control
the new right view rests on their claim that state control is the cause of education’s problems - if other factors are the real cause, the new right argument falls apart
