Local Markets and the Polarization of Public‐Sector Schools in England and Wales

Bibliographic Data

ID8964329
AuthorsAlex Gibson (0000-0003-2761-2819, University of Exeter, corresponding author), Sheena Asthana (0000-0002-1483-2719, University of Plymouth)
Year2000
Volume25
Issue3
Pages303-319
Publication date2000-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTransactions of the Institute of British Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-2754 • E-ISSN: 1475-5661
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.0020-2754.2000.00303.x
OpenAlexW2027846144
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited35

Notwithstanding the recent change of government, UK educational policy continues to stress school performance tables, parental choice and competition – reflecting an acceptance by New Labour of Tory notions concerning the role that market mechanisms play in improving school performance. In view of the 1997 Education White Paper's insistence that the new government's goal was to ‘overcome the spiral of disadvantage ... passed from one generation to the next’, this implies that the DfEE remains unimpressed by long‐standing arguments concerning the socially‐divisive consequences of market forces in education. This paper seeks to add empirical weight to this debate. Arguing that recent analyses of aggregate levels of social stratification have masked polarization occurring at the local level, our analysis places schools in the context of the local markets within which they operate. This yields clear evidence that educational markets tend to exacerbate existing differences between schools in terms of both their performance and social status

Competition (biology · Context (archaeology · Disadvantage · Economics · Geography · Market economy · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political science · School choice · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · White paper · Education Systems and Policy · Law · Parental Involvement in Education · School Choice and Performance

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