Neoliberalism, New Right and Postmodernist view on education

Question 1

What is neoliberalism?

Answer 1

• neoliberalism is a political view that the state should not provide services such as education, health and welfare and have influenced conservative, labour and the coalitions governments since 1979
• neoliberalism is based on the idea that the state just not dictate to individuals how to dispose of their own property and should not try to regulate a free market economy
• so, governments should encourage competition, privatise state run businesses and deregulate markets

Question 2

What do neoliberals say about the value of education?

Answer 2

• neoliberals say the value of education lies in how well it enables to country to compete in the global marketplace which can only be achieved if schools become more like businesses, empowering parents and pupils as consumers and using competition between schools to drive up standards

Question 3

What are some examples of the way which neoliberal values are evident in education today? [3]

Answer 3

• schools have to compete for students thought open days and open evenings for money
• advertisements if schools on websites of public places (eg on the side of buses)
• ofsted reports are published and displayed

Question 4

What is the New Right?

Answer 4

• a conservative political perspective that incorporates neoliberal economic ideas
• a central principle is that the state cannot meet every individuals needs and therefore people are best left to meet their own needs though the free market based on competition, supply and demand

Question 5

What are the similarities between the New Right and functionalist views of education? [1]

Answer 5

• both believe that education should be meritocratic and serves to meet the needs of the economy

Question 6

What are the differences between the New Right and functionalist views of education? [1]

Answer 6

• the new right believe that education is failing to meet these goals as education is ran by the state

Question 7

What do the New Right argue about the education systems and why?

Answer 7

• they argue that the education systems are currently not achieving their goals because they are run by the state
• the star education systems take a one size fits all approach, imposing uniformity and disregarding local needs
• the local consumers including pupils, parents and employers, have no say in how education system is run, school waste money or get poor results, yet remain unanswerable to their customers
• this means lower standards of achievement for pupils, less qualified workforce and a less prosperous economy

Question 8

What is the New Rights solutions to the problems of the education system?

Answer 8

• the solution to these problems is the marketisation of education
• they believe that competition between schools and empowering consumer will bring greater diversity, choice and efficiency to schools, increasing their ability to meet everyone’s needs

Question 9

What ways do local schools successfully compete in the marketplace to attract more students? [3]

Answer 9

• advertising
• free school meals
• accessible: transport

Question 10

What did Chubb and Moe say about consumer choice?

Answer 10

• according to chubb and moe, the state run education in the US has failed

Question 11

What ways did Chubb and Moe say the state run education in the US has failed? [3]

Answer 11

• it has not created equal opportunity and has failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
• it is not efficient as it has failed to produce pupils with skills needed by the economy
• private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to their paying customers (the parents)

Question 12

What was Chubb and Moe’s research?

Answer 12

• chubb and moe compared the achievement of 60,000 pupils from low income families across 1015 state and private schools
• they carried out parent surveys and analysed case studies
• found that pupils from low income families consistently achieve 5% better in private than state schools

Question 13

What do Chubb and Moe urge for based on their findings and why?

Answer 13

• urge for the introduction of a meeker system that would put education in the hands of the parents and local communities, allowing them to shape schools to meet their needs, thus improving quality and efficiency of education

Question 14

How did Chubb and Moe plan to urge the introduction of a market system and why?

Answer 14

• propose a system in which each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their own choice
• this would force schooks ti become more supportive of parents wishes since the vouchers would be the main source of the schools income
• schools would have to compete for business, thus improving the quality of their product for the customers and dressy improve educational standards

Question 15

What ways would a voucher system increase class inequalities in education? [2]

Answer 15

• vouchers with different amounts of money for social classes
• different skill levels in same classes

Question 16

In what ways could the national curriculum integrate pupils into a single set of values to affirm British national identity?