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Example Of Marketisation Of Education

Decent Essays

Marketisation of education is the process of introducing consumer choice and competition into the education system. This was a key feature of the 1988 education reform act by the conservatives, who introduced various policies to create a market force within education.
My first Marketization policy implemented by the 1988 education reform act was the publishing of league tables. This meant schools examination performance results were public and available to view by parents. This was designed to increase competition between schools by forcing them to raise their standards in order to attract parents and pupils. Because of this good schools attracted more parents – giving them an advantage when it comes to selecting pupils Another consequence of this was also avoiding taking less able pupils who are likely to contribute poor results to the school. These two processes ensure the ‘good’ schools stand out and look better continuing the cycle …show more content…

For example, when New Labour came into power they largely continued with these Marketisation policies but also implemented new ones to reduce some of the inequalities being caused. One example is the introduction of EMA – Educational Maintenance Allowance. This was weekly payments paid to students in sixth form from low income backgrounds, in an attempt to keep them in further education to improve their employability prospects. Another policy implemented by new labour was Educational Action Zones – designating poorly performing schools and providing them with additional resources. Finally, the aim higher programme was also established, to raise the aspirations of groups who are under-represented in the education system. Some are critical of these policies, arguing that they are contradictory to the much larger, more significant and influential Marketisation policies that were in

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