Choosing the arts: the moral regulation of parents in the educational marketplace

Market “choices” or structured pathways? How specialized arts education contributes to the reproduction of inequality

“…Advocates argue that this phenomenon of increased belonging is related to students' participation in arts focused curriculum and the result of environments conducive to creativity and a greater sense of cooperation and mutual understanding (Gore, 2007). This contrasts with reports, particularly from parents, of high levels of stress related to competition as well as pressure to do well on both academics and the arts (Saifer & Gaztambide-Fernández, 2017). The evidence suggests that this sense of belonging is not, in fact, related to the focus on the arts, but to how larger forces lead privileged students through educational spaces in which they feel that they belong and where they can foster a "sense of entitlement" to educational advantages and opportunities (GaztambideFernández, Cairns, & Desai, 2015).…”

“…Cloaked underneath the banners of "talent" and artistic interests or inclinations, discourses of the arts are mobilized to justify unequal outcomes in terms of who is admitted to SAPs (Gaztambide-Fernández, Saifer, & Desai, 2013), who feels more or less "entitled" to the benefits of an arts education (Gaztambide-Fernández, Cairns, & Desai, 2013), what kinds of parents "choose" such an education (Saifer & Gaztambide-Fernández, 2017), and what sorts of future careers different kinds of students might pursue (GaztambideFernández, VanderDussen, & Cairns, 2014). This misrecognition is further entrenched by the kind of neoliberal "creativism" that enforces a narrow conception of creativity at the service of the market economy (Gielen, 2013;see Kalin, 2016).…”

“…Davis, 2005). By contrast, we build on our prior research through the Urban Arts High Schools (UAHS) project to argue that the kind of homogeneity that characterizes specialized arts education, as well as the schooling pathways that lead to them, is evidence of persistent structural inequality, rather than the outcome of individual talents and interests in the arts (Gaztambide-Fernández, Saifer, & Desai, 2013;Gaztambide-Fernández, VanderDussen, & Cairns, 2014;Saifer & Gaztambide-Fernández, 2017). We suggest that ideas about the pedagogical value of the arts and the needs of young artists reflect the neoliberal commodification of creativity and ultimately occlude the pervasiveness of racism and structural inequality.…”

Class, capital, and school culture: Parental involvement in public schools with specialised music programmes

“…In more well-off areas, specialisation may be considered a way of enriching a child's educational experiences, whereas in deprived areas parents envisaged the specialised track as a refuge that might shield their child from an otherwise risky school environment (Gaztambide-Fernández and Rivière 2019; Goldring and Hausman 1999;Vincent, Braun, and Ball 2010). It is primarily from these points of view that the specialised track is perceived as a morally preferable alternative on the educational marketplace (Saifer and Gaztambide-Fernández 2017). In either case, however, parents were attracted by a distinction between 'music students' and 'students in regular classes' that was supposed to be firmly sustained.…”

‘Other spaces’ for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) students: positioning LGBTQ-affirming schools as sites of resistance within inclusive education

“…Governments within many neoliberal countries have introduced elements of competition and choice into education systems, all in the name of driving up standards and improving social equality (Gewirtz, Ball, and Bowe 1995;Ball 2008;Saifer and Gaztambide-Fernández 2017). One of the consequences of these policies is that education systems have become fractured so that a range of school types co-exist.…”