-
Recent Posts
- Zola : a political reading. August 13, 2023
- Hotter than July? August 5, 2023
- Rethinking work July 30, 2023
- Educating for political literacy in an age of crisis. July 21, 2023
- Savoirs et valeurs : pratiquer et conjuguer July 21, 2023
- ‘Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education – Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice’ July 18, 2023
- Dilemmas of Growth June 14, 2023
- A broader view of skills? June 7, 2023
- In praise of ‘low value’ subjects. February 27, 2023
- Frigga Haug and the mystery of learning December 6, 2022
- Debating Growth. November 29, 2022
- Code red for human survival November 8, 2022
- The politics of silence. September 4, 2022
- Posts on Corsican themes. August 10, 2022
- When Corsica welcomed thousands of Serb refugees (1916) August 9, 2022
Recent Comments
Bev on 20 questions to ask about a bo… Bev on 20 questions to ask about a bo… Parole_Luri - SITESC… on Conrad in Corsica nivekd on Zola : a political readin… Eddie Playfair on Zola : a political readin… Archives
Categories
Categories
Meta
Tag Archives: marketisation
Many colleges in one
A science college, an engineering technical college, a media technical college, a music industry college and several super-selective A-level providers offering a narrow range of subjects to high-achieving students. These are just some of the new sixth forms which have … Continue reading
The selection debate
The launch of ‘The Ins and Outs of Selective Secondary Schools’ a collection of essays on selection published by Civitas was an opportunity for advocates and opponents of selection to revisit familiar arguments. The debate was mostly good natured but … Continue reading
The case for sixth form colleges
From ‘What’s next for education?’ (New Visions Group, 2015) By any objective standard, England’s 93 sixth form colleges are among this country’s great educational success stories. They offer more opportunities, higher standards and a broader experience for students aged 16-19 … Continue reading
Unlimited potential (part 1)
Unlimited potential (part 1) Part 1 of my chapter from The ins and outs of selective secondary schools (Civitas, March 2015) Summary: In this brief chapter I have tried to make a moral, philosophical, political and pragmatic case against educational … Continue reading
Market madness #7: What markets do to us
The creeping marketization of education has many aspects, each of which changes the way we see ourselves and the way we relate to others. Commodification: If education is seen as a commodity; something which can be consumed and traded, then schools, … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged choice and diversity, commodity, competition, Education, inequality, marketisation, Social cohesion, Solidarity
Leave a comment
Time for a new Great Education Reform Act
27 years ago, Kenneth Baker’s 1988 Education Reform Act changed the direction of travel of English education. It introduced an element of school choice and Local Management of Schools, established more autonomous City Technology Colleges and Grant Maintained Schools as … Continue reading
Education 2020: market or system?
What will education in England be like in 2020? As the 2015 general election approaches, what are the possible futures for education in England? An election is a democratic moment where we are offered a choice of futures and we … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy, Politics
Tagged competition, Democracy, Education, elections, England, Equality, future, marketisation, National baccalaureate, selection, Social cohesion
Leave a comment
Inspectors make the case for comprehensive colleges
A report by the national education inspectorate makes a strong case for comprehensive sixth form colleges rather than vocational colleges. The case is based on evidence that comprehensive colleges are more socially mixed and achieve better results. The report has … Continue reading
‘True worth’ in the education market
“In future we could try to link qualifications to tax data to demonstrate the true worth of certain subjects.” Nicky Morgan, Education Secretary (Jan 2015). Flash forward to 2020 and 17 year-old Amina is meeting her progress coach at the end … Continue reading
People’s College and Top Academy: which is best?
Imagine two colleges, let’s call them People’s College and Top Academy. We want to compare them, so we turn to the national performance tables which tell us that the average A-level point score for People’s College is 200 (C-) compared … Continue reading
Market madness #6 Students as commodities: premium, discount and remaindered
Originally posted on Eddie Playfair:
Enrolment is always a challenge. We come back from our holidays to an empty college. Like someone organising an open house, we’ve stocked up on a range of snacks and drinks for our guests but…
Market madness #5 Qualifications as currency
A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #5 Qualifications as currency. All economies need a currency which we all use to represent the value we give to things and which can be exchanged for real things. … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged competition, Education, marketisation, qualifications
Leave a comment
Better inspection for all?
A critical evaluation of the proposed new Ofsted inspection framework The current Ofsted consultation “Better inspection for all” proposes a new common inspection framework for schools, academies, colleges, training providers and Early Years settings to provide greater coherence in our inspection … Continue reading
The bitter fruits of autonomy
In his speech on 12th November, schools reform minister Nick Gibb restated some of the key themes of this government’s education strategy and expressed his delight at seeing the ‘full fruits of autonomy in all their vivid abundance.’ To those … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy, NewVIc
Tagged autonomy, Democracy, Education, marketisation, selection, university progression
Leave a comment
Education and skills coming together?
The appointment of Peter Lauener as the chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) while remaining as chief executive of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) has prompted speculation that the two agencies could soon be merged, although this has … Continue reading
Eddie Playfair 