Education- New Right Flashcards
(10 cards)
Functionalism and the New Right
There are broad similarities between the views of the New Right and Functionalism, including:
Emphasis placed of traditional (conservative) values in education
Education is seen as a key agent of socialisation for children
The role of education in maintaining social order
Endorsement of meritocratic principles
Critical of high levels of state intervention
However, Functionalism tends to focus on the positive functions of education, while the New Right is often more critical of the perceived failures in the education system and calls for more market-oriented solutions.
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political philosophy that all areas of society should be run as if they were a business to make them more efficient and to encourage economic growth.
This is based on free market principles (a market free from government regulations and restrictions)
In the case of education, this means there should be greater competition and involvement of private companies
3 features of education according the new right
Marketisation- Introducing market principles into education, emphasizing choice and competition
Privatisation- Transferring ownership and control of educational services from the public sector to the private sector.
Globalisation- The exchange of ideas, resources, and educational practices among nations.
The 1988 Education Reform Act (and more!
Open enrolment- parents can choose which school to send their children to. This encourages competition between schools
Formula funding- funding is dependent on the number of enrolments, rewarding some schools, and providing an incentive for others.
National curriculum- the government telling schools for the first time what they should be teaching and how it should be assessed.
League tables- Schools are required publish their GCSE and A-level results. Government ranks schools according to exam results to allow parents to make informed decisions and compare schools.
1993- creation of Ofsted to inspect, monitor and grade schools and educational establishments and available for parents to read.
1979-1997- various policies aimed at developing vocational education (e.g NVQs, apprenticeships
Chubb and Moe (1990)
Chubb and Moe (1990) America – system fails because there is not equal opportunity, pupils don’t have skills needed, private schools are better as they are answerable to consumers.
Data: achievements of 60,000 pupils in approx. 1000 state and private schools, parents surveys, case studies of failing schools
Findings: low income children do 5% better in private schools.
Proposal for state system: All parents should be given a voucher with which they buy their child’s education – schools would have to improve their product to appeal to parents/ kids.
Evaluation of chubb and moe - Sharon Gewirtz et al (1995)
“Skilled choosers”- parents who have the money, skills and motivation to make informed choices about the school they send their children to. This may include moving house or paying for private education. Usually, these are middle class parents.
“Semi-skilled choosers”- parents who have a high level of concern for their children’s education, but do not have the same abilities or resources as skilled choosers.
“Disconnected choosers”- parents who are less concerned with the academic reputation of a school, and more concerned with the happiness of their child. They are more likely to send their child to the local school where their friends are going, and tend to believe schools are largely all the same. Usually, these are working class parents.
Evaluation- Ball (1994)
Stephen Ball argues that marketisation policies, such as publishing exam league tables and formula funding (where schools get funded per pupil) creates inequalities between schools.
This is because of ‘cream skimming’ and ‘silt shifting;’ where schools who are higher in the league tables attract more pupils and so gain more funding.
This allows them to invest in resources and at times find strategies to be selective as well (cream skimming). Over time, more m/c students attend theses schools.
On the other hand, the schools which are perceived as poorer end up with less students and less money (silt shifting). This can become a vicious cycle. They tend to attract more w/c students (less skilled choosers).
Therefore, parental choice actually creates further divisions between schools and greater inequality.
New Right and Meritocracy -saunders
Peter Saunders- “Social Mobility Truths” (2019)
Argues that social mobility is in fact widespread in the UK, including in the education system
People born to working class parents are able to become upwardly mobile, and those born to middle class parents often fail to retain their position if they do not work to do so
Saunders also believes that intelligence is largely inherited from your parents and that the education system gives pupils more or less equal opportunities to succeed.
“It is true that middle class children are twice as likely to get middle class jobs than working class children are. But we should not assume that this is due to class privileges and blockages. Even in a perfect meritocracy (where occupational positions were allocated purely on the basis of talent and hard work) there would be a strong association between parents’ and children’s achievements, because talent is to a considerable extent passed on in the DNA children inherit.”
Evaluation of saunders (AO3)
Saunders’ claim that IQ is inherited is extremely outdated and controversial, with very little evidence to support this
Although there is some evidence of upward social mobility in the UK, this tends to be far easier for those already born in to a middle class family (relative mobility)
Britain still has some of the largest social class divides in the western world
MC students on average have higher attainment than their WC counterparts, they are more likely to do A-levels, and are more likely to go to university
