Globalisation and educational policy • Marketisation and privatisation • International comparisons

Okay, let's break down marketization and privatization in the context of globalization and educational policy.

Marketization in education refers to the introduction of market forces and principles into the education system, which traditionally has been a public service. This means treating schools and educational institutions more like businesses and students/parents more like consumers. Key aspects include:

* Competition: Schools compete for students, funding, and reputation, often through league tables, inspections, and performance metrics.

* Choice: Parents and students are given more choice over which schools to attend, creating a "market" where schools try to attract students.

* Efficiency: There's an emphasis on cost-effectiveness and outcomes, often measured by standardized tests or graduation rates.

* Performance-related pay: Teachers' salaries might be linked to student performance or school results.

Privatization in education goes a step further than marketization. It involves the transfer of ownership, management, or funding of educational services from the public sector (the government) to private companies or organizations. This can take several forms:

* Private schools: Schools that are privately owned and funded, charging fees to students.

* Contracting out services: Public schools might hire private companies to provide services like catering, cleaning, IT support, or even teaching resources and curriculum development.

* For-profit education providers: Companies that run schools or educational programs with the goal of making a profit.

* Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) or Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs): Private companies build or manage school buildings, and the government pays them back over a long period.

How they relate to Globalization and Educational Policy:

Globalization plays a huge role in driving both marketization and privatization in education. Here's how:

1. Economic Competition: In a globalized world, countries compete economically. There's a widespread belief that a highly skilled workforce is crucial for national competitiveness. This leads governments to seek what they perceive as the most "efficient" and "effective" ways to deliver education, often looking to market-based solutions.

2. Influence of International Organizations: Bodies like the World Bank, IMF, and OECD often advocate for market-oriented reforms and private sector involvement in public services, including education, as conditions for loans or as best practice. They promote ideas like school choice, performance management, and standardized testing across borders.

3. Global Education Industry: The rise of multinational education companies means there's a global market for educational products, services, and even entire school chains. These companies can influence policy by lobbying governments and offering ready-made solutions.

4. Ideological Diffusion: Neo-liberal ideologies, which favor free markets, deregulation, and reduced state intervention, have spread globally. These ideas underpin the push for marketization and privatization in many countries.

5. Standardization and Benchmarking: Globalization encourages countries to compare their educational performance against international benchmarks (like PISA scores). This can pressure governments to adopt policies that are seen as successful elsewhere, which often include market-driven reforms.

In essence, globalization creates an environment where educational policies are increasingly influenced by international economic pressures and ideas, often leading to reforms that introduce more market mechanisms and private sector involvement into what was traditionally a state-run system.

1. The Tripartite System & Selection (1944 Education Act)

• Overview: Established a three-tier school system based on student ability, determined by the 11+ exam given at age 11

• The Three School Types:

• Grammar Schools: ?

• Secondary Moderns:?

• Technical Schools:?

• Arguments FOR Ability Selection/Grammar Schools:

State 3?

• Arguments AGAINST Ability Selection/Grammar Schools:

•State 3?

• Functionalist View: Argued the system was meritocratic, sorting individuals into roles best suited to their talents (Davis and Moore's role allocation), maximizing social efficiency .

• Criticisms: Marxist View: Heavily criticized for reproducing class inequality. Working-class pupils were less likely to pass the 11+ due to middle-class children having greater cultural capital and educational support .

2. Comprehensivisation (1960s Onwards)

• Overview: Introduced in 1965 to abolish the 11+ exam and replace selection with single "comprehensive schools" educating all local pupils together regardless of ability or social background.

• Analysis: Reflected social democratic ideals aiming to create greater equality of opportunity and reduce inequality rather than reinforce it .

• Evaluation & Marxist Critique: ?

3. Marketisation & The New Right View (1988 Education Reform Act)

• Core Definition: Marketisation is the move towards educational provision being determined by market forces based on supply and demand, competition, and choice.

• Key Vocabulary:

• Parentocracy: ?

• Neoliberal Economic Foundations: An economic approach suggesting that resources are the most efficient when managed by private businesses rather than the state. Key policies include league tables, Ofsted inspections, formula funding, open enrolment, and parental choice.

• Marxist Critique & Bartlett's Concepts: Marxists argue marketisation disproportionately benefits middle-class parents who are better able to understand league tables, move to desirable catchment areas, and manipulate admissions systems. Bartlett notes marketisation creates:

• Cream Skimming: ?

• Sink Schools: ?

4. Privatisation: Endogenous vs. Exogenous

Educational policies since the 1980s have heavily featured two distinct forms of privatization :

• Privatisation IN Education (Endogenous): Making state schools operate internally like private businesses using techniques like performance incentives for teachers, competition, league tables, and efficiency management(control spending, can choose who to fire without going through gov) .

• Privatisation OF Education outside schools (Exogenous): Opening up state education to outside, private, profit-making business environments . → Allows schools to make own decisions without gov influence

• Examples: Private companies running essential school services (canteens, cleaners), the external branding of schools (designing websites, logos, prospectuses), and private multinational companies running examination systems (such as Pearson Edexcel) .

5. Selection and Covert Selection

• Overview: Official selection reduced after comprehensivisation, and the School Admission Code now legally bans selection by parental social class or ability.

• Covert Selection: Despite bans, schools use subtle, covert methods to gain educational advantages and choose middle-class families through :

• Catchment areas: Districting rules where house prices near successful schools lock out lower-income families.

• Tutoring: Middle-class parents paying for extra support to meet hidden baselines.

• Faith school admissions: Navigating complex faith criteria that working-class families might struggle to satisfy .

6. Policies to Reduce Inequality

Governments introduced targeted funding interventions to support disadvantaged pupils and combat material/cultural deprivation :

• Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA): Financial support given to low-income students staying in post-16 education to reduce material deprivation. Critique: Critics argue it only handles symptoms rather than structural inequality itself .

• Sure Start: Provided early educational and childcare support for disadvantaged families, acknowledging that external factors shape achievement before school even begins.

• Pupil Premium: Extra funding provided directly to schools for each economically disadvantaged pupil they enroll. Critique: Schools under marketisation pressures might still prioritize league table performance over supporting these students .

7. Globalisation and Education

• Overview: Globalisation has impacted UK education policy in two main ways: the privatisation and marketisation of education and international comparisons. Policies are heavily influenced by international rankings like PISA testing, which compares student performance worldwide.

• Impact: Neoliberal economic pressures push governments to shape education around global economic competitiveness, focusing heavily on measurable outcomes, productivity, and specific workforce skills

Grammar schools: For academically able upper-class pupils (the top 15-20% who passed the 11+), preparing them for professional careers

Technical Schools: Intended for technical education, though very few were actually established .

Secondary Moderns: For the remainder of students, focusing on practical work and general education .

Arguments FOR Ability Selection/Grammar Schools:

• High-ability students are not held back by a slower pace of learning, so they can be really challenged .

• Produces top exam results

• Students will be with others of a similar social class.

Arguments AGAINST Ability Selection/Grammar Schools:

• Punishes "late developers" who mature academically later in life.

• Worsens social divisions.

• Failing the 11+ causes children to be seen/feel like a failure .

Evaluation & Marxist Critique: Marxists argue inequality simply moved inside the school walls through practices like streaming and setting, alongside external factors like catchment areas. Middle-class families still maintained advantages .

Parentocracy: A system where a child's education is dependent upon the wealth and wishes of parents, rather than their own ability or pupil efforts .

Cream Skimming: Successful schools selecting high-achieving, middle-class pupils.

• Sink Schools: Disadvantaged schools trapped in a cycle of declining reputations, lower funding, and poorer results.

Privatization in education and of education

1. What is Privatization in education (endogenous)?

2. Name 6 things this may involve?

3. What is Privatization in education (exogenous)?

4. Name 5 things this may involve?

5. What is marketisation?

1. Within schools and universities where they begin to operate like a private business

2. •Competition between schools for students

   • Performance related pay for teachers

   • Parental choice

   • League tables etc

   • OFSTED inspections

   • Independently managed academies and free schools

3. Privatization outside the education system. This involves opening up state education to private profit School

4. •School services such as the canteen and cleaners

   • Branding of schools

   • Running the exams system

   • School Inspections contracted out by OFSTED to TRIBAL or paid for by schools

   • Policy formation

5. The process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state.

Educational Policies:

1. Name 5 benefits to the education market that has come with education policies?

2. Name 5 benefits for the equality of opportunity(help disadvantaged kids) that has come with the introduction of education policies?

1. •Growing Independence of Schools

   •Parental choice and open enrolment

   •The national curriculum and national testing

•Ofsted and League Tables Pupil •Specialist schools

2. •More money for nursery education - Sure start centres

•Helping the most disadvantaged - extra money better paid teachers

•Introduction of academies/free schools

•Pupil premium - encourage schools to work harder for these pupils

MARKETISATION & POLICY: Sociologists

What does Chubb and Moe say about marketization?

• Marketisation increases competition

• Raises standards overall

What does Ball say about marketisation?

• Marketisation benefits middle-class parents

• Education becomes a parentocracy(parents economic and social status determine student futures)

(e.g. catchment areas and money to buy educational books to increase chances of getting into better institutions)

What does Gilborn say about Marketisation?

• Argues education policies are racialised

• Marketisation and testing favour white middle-class pupils(tutoring,cultural capital)

• Policies appear neutral but reinforce inequality

• Evidence of institutional racism in policy