Rationing Education: Policy, Practice, Reform, and Equity"This research should make us extremely sceptical that the constant search for 'higher standards' and for ever-increasing achievement scores can do much more than put in place seemingly neutral devices for restratification." - Michael W Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison Recent educational reforms have raised standards of achievement but have also resulted in growing inequalities based on 'race' and social class. School-by-school 'league tables' play a central role in the reforms. These have created an A-to-C economy where schools and teachers are judged on the proportion of students attaining five or more grades at levels A-to-C. To satisfy these demands schools are embracing new and ever more selective attempts to identify 'ability'. Their assumptions and practices embody a new IQism: a simple , narrow and regressive ideology of intelligence that labels working class and minority students as likely failures and justifies rationing provision to support those (often white, middle class boys) already marked for success. This book reports detailed research in two secondary schools showing the real costs of reform in terms of the pressures on teachers and the rationing of educational opportunity. It will be important reading for any teacher, researcher or policymaker with an interest in equality in education. |
Contents
Education and equity | 1 |
policy and practice | 16 |
defining ability in the AtoC economy | 42 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
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Rationing Education: Policy, Practice, Reform, and Equity Gillborn, David,Youdell, Deborah Limited preview - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
A-to-C economy academic achievement African Caribbean attain the benchmark band Bell Curve Black pupils boys case-study schools cent Chapter Clough GM compulsory concern curricular D-to-C conversions Despite differentiation discourse education reform educational triage ethnic origin exam example fast groups Figure Foundation tier free school meals GCSE examinations GCSE grades GCSE outcomes GCSE tiering gender Gillborn and Gipps girls grant-maintained school head of careers head of mathematics headteacher hereditarian Herrnstein and Murray Higher tier higher-grade GCSE passes higher-grade passes identify individual inequalities Key Stage kids Labour lower school mixed-ability teaching National Curriculum NFER Ofsted opportunity options process particular peers perspective predicted grades proportion of pupils race racialized racism receipt of free relation seen selection senior management sets and tiers social class subjects targets Taylor Comprehensive teachers teaching groups tier entry tier of entry tutor group under-achievement upper school Yeah