RATIONING EDUCATION (Paperback)

David Gillborn

ISBN 10: 0335203604 / ISBN 13: 9780335203604

Published by Open University Press, Milton Keynes, 1999

About this Item

Paperback. "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, MadisonRecent 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. Focusing on two London schools, this book exposes the processes of selection and differential treatment. As schools strive to meet performance targets, teachers find themselves rationing education. An 'A-to-C economy' has developed where students are selected according to their supposed chances of attaining grades A-to-C. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780335203604

Bibliographic Details

• Title: RATIONING EDUCATION (Paperback)
• Publisher: Open University Press, Milton Keynes
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0335203604
• ISBN 13: 9780335203604
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Education reforms have raised standards but deepened inequity. More students now reach the previously elite level, of five higher grade passes in their final examinations, but at the same time inequalities of race, class and gender have grown. Focusing on two London schools, this volume exposes the processes of selection and differential treatment that shape these trends. As schools strive to meet performance targets, teachers find themselves rationing education. An A-toC economy has developed where students are labelled, sorted and selected according to their supposed chances of attaining grades A-to-C. The situation is worsened by government refusal to prioritise equity issues, an examination system that institutionalises failure, and a testing industry that reinforces dangerously simple notions of ability and intelligence. Using interviews and observations, the study shows how these factors work upon teachers and students as they try to make sense of and survive the changing demands upon them.

About the Author

David Gillborn is Reader in the Sociology of Education and Head of Policy Studies at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is best known for his work on 'race' and inequality, including Racism and Antiracism in Real Schools Open University Press. He is founding editor of the international journal Race Ethnicity and Education. Deborah Youdell is research lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of London. Her current research examines the construction of gendered identities in school and youth cultures. Her previous research includes work on sexual health education; exclusions from school; the education of homeless young people; and the impact of HIV and AIDS on older people.