evaluating new right

What is the problem with excessive competition in education according to critics?

• That the losers are children

• May teach some important life lessons but is still undoubtedly a problem

How do Parsons and Davis and Moore view children who fail within a competitive education system?

• Imply that children who fail and receive low rewards are being allocated their appropriate social roles, making this functional

What criticism is made regarding the focus on rewards in functionalist and New Right theories?

• Focus on rewards but give little attention to those at the lower end of the scale

How does the New Right view failure compared to functionalists?

• Implies that every should push, struggle and fight for rewards, with the fear of failure being important

• Everyone should want to win but most will lose

Why might fee-paying schools achieve better results than state schools, beyond market principles?

• Children of parents who can afford to pay are likely to have other various advantages that contribute to their academic success

What is a factor that makes private schools perform better academically besides market principles?

• Private schools are selective and choose pupils who are likely to preform well

How do selective state schools compare with private schools?

• Results in selective state schools often compare favourably with fee paying schools

• Regardless of market incentives

What contradiction exists in the New Right’s approach to promoting “the right values” in education?

• While they advocated for giving more power to parents, they also implemented central legalisation like the national curriculum and section 28 which was top-down state interference

What specific policy shows the New Right’s contradiction in advocating a small-state approach?

• Section 28

• Strictly limited what could be taught about sexual orientation

• Represents top down state interference despite the new rights small state market led rhetoric

What core theme does the New Right’s approach link to in sociology?

• Socialisation, functionalists see it as one of the principle functions of education