2.1.4

The New Right

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The New Right Perspective on Education

The New Right (sometimes called neo-liberals or market liberals) believe that governments should play a lesser role in areas such as education and allow market forces to play a greater role.

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Market forces

  • The New Right believes that private enterprise based on competition between businesses is the most efficient way to run any service.
  • They believe that services run by the state tend to be inefficient because, without competition, the service producers have less incentive to work hard.
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Competition

  • They believe that, because there are no customers paying for the service, state education is unresponsive to its customers.
  • They believe that competition is essential to raise standards and higher standards will create a more educated workforce that can better contribute to the economy.
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Changes

  • They believe that the main purpose of education is to train a workforce, so there should be a greater emphasis on vocational training.
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Influences UK

  • The New Right has had an important influence on education policy in the UK, including:
    • Allowing schools to be run more independently (e.g. academies and free schools).
    • Wider parental choice and competition between schools (e.g. league tables and marketing).

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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