1.4 The marketisation of education

• What are the three criticisms of the reform act?

  Parentocracy benefits the middle class as they can access and manipulate the information given to them (reinforces class differences)

  Few places in popular schools they had very little room left meaning parents didn't have as much choice as was made out

  Competition allowed the popular/better schools to cream skim meaning schools were selective
• Semi-skilled choosers

  Working-class parents who are ambitious for their children, but still lack the cultural capital needed to make sense of the education market. Often they rely on others' opinions of schools
• Disconnected-local choosers


  Working class parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital
• Privileged skilled choosers


  Professional middle-class parents who possess the economic and cultural capital to take full advantage of the choices available
• What were the 3 types of parents Gewirtz identified?

  Privileged-skilled choosers, Semi-skilled choosers & Disconnected-local choosers
• What did Gewirtz find out?

  That differences in parents' economic & cultural capital lead to class differences in how far they can exercise choice of secondary school
• What was Gewirtz's (1995) study?


  The study of 14 London secondary schools
• Who talked about silt shifting & cream skimming?

  Bartlett
• What is cultural capital?


  The knowledge, attitudes, values, language, tastes and abilities of the middle class which transmit to their children
• What did Miriam David say about marketised education?


  Described it as a parentocracy
• Who described marketised education as a parentocracy?

  Miriam David
• Why was the national curriculum introduced?

  To ensure pupils worked on key areas
• How did exams change in 1986?


  GCE and CSE were combined to form GCSEs
• What ten things did the education reform act in 1988 do?


  *focus on accountability of schools, parental choice and testing

  *introduced national curriculum

  *drove up standards and increased parental choice

  *marketised education

  *ofsted

  *league tables

  *SATs

  *GCSEs
• What did Ball and Whitty say about marketisation?

  Reproduced class inequalities by creating differences between schools
• What does it mean if a school academises?

  Local authorities no longer in control
• What is open recruitment?

  Allowing successful schools to recruit more pupils
• What are examples of marketisation policies schools have?

  *league tables and ofsted reports

  *business sponsorship of schools

  *open recruitment

  *specialist schools

  *formula funding

  *opportunity to academise

  *competing to attract pupils

  *introduction of tuition fees

  *allowing parents/others to set up free schools
• What sort of government had the new right view of education?

  Conservative
• What years were the new right view of education?

  1979-1997