The Neoliberal/ New Right perspectives on education

• Neoliberalism


  An economic theory that believes free-market principles are the best way to organise society
• The New Right


  A political movement in the UK which has applied neoliberal thinking to social policies from 1979 to the present day
• Neoliberalism


  • Believes the 'free market' in capitalist economies is the best basis for organising society
  • Based on the choices individuals make when spending their money
  • Businesses will provide what people demand to make a profit
  • Market forces encourage competition
• Neoliberal social policy


  • Governments should play a reduced role in managing the economy and controlling people's lives
  • The free market knows best, individuals should have maximum freedom to pursue profit
• Neoliberal policies


  • Deregulation
  • Fewer protections for workers and the environment
  • Privatisation
  • Cutting taxes
• The New Right


  • Introduced free market principles into many areas of life
  • Reduced spending by the state
  • Emphasis on individual freedom and responsibility
  • Strong state in terms of upholding law and order
  • Stress on the importance of traditional institutions and values
• The New Right adopted and put into practice many of the ideas of Neoliberalism, but there are some differences
• The New Right created an 'education market' in the United Kingdom from 1988 through introducing league tables and formula funding, among other education policies
• New Right Education Policies


  • Schools were run like businesses - competing with each other for pupils
  • Parents were given the choice over which school they send their children to rather than being limited to the local school in their catchment area
  • Schools should teach subjects that prepare pupils for work, hence education should be aimed at supporting economic growth
  • The state was to provide a framework in order to ensure that schools were all teaching the same thing and transmitting the same shared values - hence the National Curriculum
• Competition between schools


  Benefited the middle classes, but lower classes, ethnic minorities and rural communities ended up having less effective choice
• Vocational Education was also often poor
• There is a contradiction between wanting schools to be free to compete and imposing a national framework that restricts schools</b>
• The National Curriculum has been criticised for being ethnocentric and too restrictive on teachers and schools
• The New Right is closely associated with Neoliberalism
• Results have improved since marketisation, but at the expense of teaching the test and widening class inequalities
• GCSE Pass Rates


  • Improved nearly every year for the last 30 years
  • Increase in pass rate for grades A*-C from 42.5% in 1988 to 68.1% in 2013
  • A*/A grades have almost trebled from 8.6% in 1988 to 21.3% in 2013
• Some of the increase in GCSE performance is due to grade inflation as it is not mirrored by English and Welsh students in international tests like PISA
• PISA international league tables


  Tests 15-year-old students worldwide in reading, maths and science every 3 years to assess how well they can apply their knowledge to real-life situations
• The UK currently ranks 23rd for English and Maths in PISA
• Middle class parents as 'skilled choosers'


  • Have more material, social and cultural capital to navigate the education system and get their children into the best schools
  • Use social networks, collect data on GCSE results, and negotiate with administrators to gain school places
• Schools want middle class students as they are easy to teach and likely to perform well, maintaining the school's position in league tables
• Problems of tests, targets and education


  • From age 4, children's education is dominated by preparing for tests like SATs
  • Less time for creative, hands-on learning as curriculum is broken down into discrete learning objectives matched to assessment criteria
  • Research shows conceptual understanding of 11-year-olds has declined despite test performance improving
• England has slipped from 3rd to 19th place in international literacy assessments like PIRLS