Marketisation

what is marketisation

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

how had marketisation created ‘education market’

• reducing direct state control over education

• increasing both competition between schools and parental choice of school

what government introduced marketisation

conservative government under thatcher as a central theme of government education policy since the 1988 education reform act

however, from 1997 the new labour government with Blair followed similar polices and the 2010 coalition rook marketisation even further with free schools and academies

whos marketisation favoured by

neoliberals and new right as they argue that marketisation means schools have to attract customers by competing with each other in the market. schools that provide customers with what they want will thrive and thoes who dont will go out of business.

what is parentocracy

Miriam David describes marketised education as a ‘parentocracy’ (rule by the parents)

supporters of marektisation argue that in an education market, power shifts away from the producers (teachers and schools) to the consumers (parents). they claim this encourages diversity among schools, gives parents more choice and raises standards

polices which promote marketisation

• publication of league tables and ofstead inspection reports that rank each school according to its exam performance and give parents the information they need to choose the right school

• business sponsorship of schools

• open enrolment, allowing successful schools recurit more pupils

• schools having to compete to attract pupils

whats the reproduction of inequality

despite claimed benefits of marketisation, its critics argue that it has increased inequalities. Stephen Ball and Geoff Whitty note how marketisation polices like league tables and the funding formula reproduce class inequalities by creating inequalities between schools

what are league tables

the publication of each schools exam results in order from best to worst. ensures that schools which achieve good results are more in demand becuase parents are more attracted to those with good leage table rankings.

However Will Bartlett notes that this encourages cream skimming and slit- shifting

what is cream skimming/ cherry picking

‘good’ schools can be more selective, choose their own customers and recruit high achieving mainly middle-class pupils. as a result these pupils gain an advantage

what is slit-shifting

‘good’ schools can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get poor results and damage the schools league table position

what happens to schools with poor league table positions

they cannot afford to be selective and have to take less able, mainly working-class pupils, so their results are poorer and they remain unnatractive to middle-class parents.

the main effect of league tables is thus to produce unequal schools that reproduce social class inequalities.

what is the funding formula

schools are allocated funds by a formula based on how many pupils they attract.

how does formula funding effect popular schools

popular schools get more funds and so can afford better-qualified teachers and better facilities. their popularity allows them to be more selective and attract more ambitious middle-class applicants.

how does formula funding effect unpopular schools

unpopular schools lose income and find it difficult to match teacher skills and facilities of their more successful rivals. unpopular schools fail and their funding is further reduced

what did a study carried out by the institute for public policy research find in relation to the funding formula

a study of international patterns of educational inequality by the institute for public policy research found that competition orientated education systems like Britians produce more segregation between children of different social backgrounds.

what is parental choice

marketisation also advantages middle-class parents whose economic and cultural capital puts them in a better position to choose ‘good’ schools for their children

shown in Gewirtz’s study of 14 London secondary schools. Gewirtz found that differences in parents exonomic and cultural capital lead to class differences in how far they can exercise choice of secondary school. she identifys three main types of parents: privileged-skilled choosers, disconnected- local choosers and semi-skilled choosers

what are privileged- skilled choosers

these were mainly professional middle-class parents who used their economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital for their children. being well educated, they were able to take full advantages of the choices open to them.

their cultural capital meant they knew how school admission systems worked like the importance of putting a particular school as first choice. they had time to visit schools and skills to research the option available

their economic capital also meant they could afford to move their children around the education system to get the best deal out if it, like paying extra travel costs so their children could attend better schools out of their area

what are disconnected- local choosers

these were working-class parents whose choice was restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital.

they found it difficult to understand school admissions procedures. they were less aware of the choices open to them and less able to manipulate the system to their advantage. many of them attached more importance on safety and the quality of school facilities than to league tables or long-term ambitions.

distance and travel costs were major restrictions on their choice of school. their funds were limited and a place at the nearest school was often their only realistic option for their children.

what are semi- skilled chooser

these parents were also mainly working class, but unlike disconnected local choosers they were ambitious for their children. however they lacked cultural capital and found it difficult to make sense of the education market, often having to rely on other peoples opinions about schools. often frustrated in their inability to get their children into schools they wanted.

whats the myth of parentocracy

Ball believes marketisation gives the appearance of a ‘parentocracy’ (parents ahving a free choice of school). however, Ball argues that parentoracy is a myth and it makes it appear all parents have the same freedom to choose which school to send their children to. in reality as Gerwirtz shows middle class parents are better able to take advantage of the choices available.

what marketisation polices did new labour introduce

these polices aimed to reduce inequality

• designate some deprived areas with education action zones and provide them with additional resources

• the aim higher program to raise the aspirations of groups who are under-represented in higher education

• education maintenance allowance (EMAs): payments to students from low- income backgrounds to encourage them to stay on after 16 to gain better qualifications

what were criticisms of new labours marketisation polices

Melissa Benn saw a contradiction between labours polices to tackle inequality and its commitment to marketisation- something she called the ‘new labour paradox’

for example- despite introducing EMA’s to encourage poorer students to stay in education, Labour also introduced tuition fees for higher education that may deter working class pupils from going to university