new right views on education

Question 1

Overview of the new right

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is neo-liberalism

Answer 2

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

Question 3

what do markets do

Answer 3

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

Question 4

advantages of a free-market system - individual freedom

Answer 4

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

Question 5

advantages of the free market - efficiency

Answer 5

businesses try to be efficient in order to maximise profit

Question 6

advantages of the free market - innovation

Answer 6

competition and the profit motive encourage people to product new products to stimulate demand

Question 7

advantages of the free market - economic growth

Answer 7

the end result of leaving businesses free to do business is more wealth wealth and more jobs

Question 8

similarities to functionalism

Answer 8

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

Question 9

differences with functionalism

Answer 9

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

Question 10

four key ideas

Answer 10

marketisation

parentocracy

Consumer choice

Society is meritocratic

Question 11

what does marketisation refer to

Answer 11

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”

Question 12

what did the new right introduce in policies to create marketisation

Answer 12

league tables
national curriculum
ofsted
formula funding

Question 13

general evaluation of marketisation

Answer 13

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

Question 14

How would marxists evaluate marketisation

Answer 14

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

Question 15

how would postmodernists evaluate marketisation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

how does the new right argue parentocracy

Answer 16

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

Question 17

how does open enrolment cause parentocracy

Answer 17

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

Question 18

how would marxists evaluate parentocracy

Answer 18

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

Question 19

general evaluation about parentocracy

Answer 19

upper-middle class parents exercise the most choice if they can afford to send their children to private school

Question 20

who argues consumer choice

Answer 20

chubb and moe

Question 21

why did the education in the US fail - consumer choice

Answer 21

• 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

Question 22

how do they argue consumer choice

Answer 22

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

Question 23

what is chubb and moe’s answer to the inefficiency

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Sutton Trust - consumer choice

Answer 24

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

Question 25

general evaluations for consumer choice

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Who argues that society is meritocratic

Answer 26

Peter Saunders

Question 27

How do they argue that society is meriocratic

Answer 27

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

Question 28

discrimination evaluation for meritocracy

Answer 28

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

Question 29

financial inequality evaluation for meritocracy

Answer 29

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

Question 30

positive evaluations for the new right

Answer 30

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

Question 31

limitations of the new right

Answer 31

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