Marketisation

• What is Marketisation?

  It is a process of introducing market values of 'consumer choice' and 'competition' into the education system
• How has Marketisation created an 'education market'?

  By:

  • Reducing direct state control over education
  • Increasing both competition and parents choice in schools
• When did Marketisation become a central theme of government education policy?

  Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, which was introduced by the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher
• How did the 2010 Coalition government take Marketisation even further?

  Through creating policies like 'academies' and 'free schools'
• List some policies which promote Marketisation

  • League Tables and Ofsted- rank schools and give parents the information they need to pick the right school
  • Open Enrolment- allows successful schools to pick more students
  • Formula Funding- schools receive the same amount for each student
• What does David (1993) mean when describing marketised education as 'Parentocracy'?

  'Rule by parents'- supporters say that it increases both diversity and standards in schools
• What has Barlett said league tables can lead to which causes further class inequality?

  • Cream-Skimming- 'good schools can be more selective, recruiting higher achieving, mainly middle-class pupils
  • Silt-Shifting- 'good schools' can avoid taking less able students who are likely to get poor results and damage the schools place on the league table
  • Schools lower on the league table cannot afford to be 'picky' and are less attractive to the middle-class