the globalization of education

Question 1

what is the privatization and marketization of education

Answer 1

one of the impacts of globalization:
-been a feature of three of the main political parties since the 1980s
- been promoted by neo liberals for example OECP
- hancock 2014: globalisation and neoliberal policies mean such global education markets are growing every year

Question 2

what are international comparisons

Answer 2

one of the impacts of globalization:
international data available on all aspects of education

Question 3

what is PISA

Answer 3

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACHIEVMENT SUREVYS:
programme for international student assesment

Question 4

what is TIMSS

Answer 4

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACHIEVMENT SUREVYS:
trends in maths and science study

Question 5

what is PIRLS

Answer 5

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ACHIEVMENT SUREVYS:
progress in international reading literacy study

Question 6

what do international student achievement surveys involve

Answer 6

tests in maths science and reading among samples of between 325,000 and 600,000 0-15 year old students drawn from around 50 -65 countries every 3 to 5 years
this ranks country’s in the form of league tables to show their country’s performance these then are used to monitor a country’s education system in a global context

Question 7

what is the impact of surveys like PISA and moral panics

Answer 7

• influence educationl polcies in many countries
• they often

Question 8

what did alexander (2015) say PISA panic is?

Answer 8

suggests pisa results have led to educational, economic and political moral panics -‘pisa panic’

Question 9

what are four policies that have been implemented as a result of international comparisons?

Answer 9

-THE NATIONAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY STRATEGY: brought in by labour 1988- requires every primary school to teach two hours of literacy and numeracy a day
- SLIMMING DOWN THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM
- RAISING THE ACADEMIC AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINEE TEACHERS FROM 2012
-MASTER TEACHERS: all state schools would get an elite grade of master teachers - policy from singapore that labour copied

Question 10

what are three strengths of international comparisons

Answer 10

1. They are useful to see whether education spending matches achievement. In the UK, spending is not being used to maximum effort because spending is above average, whereas it performs worse than countries that spend lower amounts.
2. Useful for comparing standards internationally. Oates says that they help to show what is possible for young people to achieve at different ages.
   3.They provide evidence on what policies seem to work best. They can help us understand how our education system works.

Question 11

what are three limitations of international comparisons

Answer 11

1. Kelly suggests that globalisation has led to a view that education is an economic activity concerned with preparing people for work and meeting the needs of the economy and employers. Some countries that consistently do well in international tests only teach students how to pass tests in 2 or 3 countries.
   2.Test results do not necessarily mean that the education received by students is better or worse in different countries, and there are concerns about the validity and reliability of the tests used. It makes no sense to compare the UK with developing countries where children may be used for child labour or soldiers. Alexander suggests that it is pointless comparing the UK with high performing countries because their cultures are different, and their education systems are not comparable in scale.
   3.They care have damaging and wasteful effects on policy. Successive governments have formed policies based on PISA and other tests.

Question 12

what does alexander conclude about international comparisons

Answer 12

that they should have a similar warning to cigarette packages ‘ his product may damage your countries educational health’

Question 13

how much do central government and local authority’s spend on education a year and what does this mean?

Answer 13

around £88 billion so there is an enormous potential market for private investors who can provide educational services

Question 14

what are 7 examples of endogenous privatization in education

Answer 14

• schools begin to manage themselves like independent businesses with few external controls
• performance related pay for teachers
• potential choice of schools
• target setting
• school league tables
• inspections
• schools are now funded by the number of pupils they attract

Question 15

what are the time frames for these policies and with which parties

Answer 15

FIRST ESTABLISHED: conservative government 1979-1997
CONTINUED: labour 1997 -2010
SPEEDED UP: ConDem coalition 2010-2015

Question 16

what are 5 examples of exogenous privatization

Answer 16

• school services: training, building maintenance, school transport, supply teachers etc
• the management of schools: can be seen in privately managed chains of academy such as academies enterprise trust
• school inspections with private companies: tribal inspections conduct inspections on behalf of OFSTED
• school building construction: the sate rents school building from private construction company’s for up to 30 years under the private finance initiative - by the time this has ended company’s have recovered their costs and will make significant profit
• branding of schools: private company’s sell to schools things like website construction logo development and prospectus design in order for them to compete in the marketplace

Question 17

what are three things for privatisation

Answer 17

1. greater efficiency: the expertise of an established education company with a record of running a successful school might provide more education for less costs - greater value for tax payer money
2. more choice for parents: a range of school providers offers more choice for parents
3. the profit motive: to make money companies need to make sure schools are full and run efficently this can only be achieved by attracting pupils by high standards and good results

Question 18

what are three things against privatisation

Answer 18

1. loss of money for education: private providers may not reinvest profits in education turning public money into private profits
2. cherry picking: profit making company’s may just try to cherry pick what they regard as best school’s or those that can be most easily improved
3. equality of educational opportunity under threat: making money may override the needs of children. this means they may exclude the hardest to teach pupils reducing their educational opportunities - those who are seen as being of lower academic ability