Education under New Labour, 1997-2010

Abstract

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Towards social justice in education: contradictions and dilemmas

“…Nor, indeed, can evidence of recent progress. In the UK, since the late 1990s, there has been evidence of a narrowing of socio-economic gaps for educational attainment (Heath et al 2013), although: the gap remains especially wide for higher levels of attainment (Jerrim 2012;Blanden and Macmillan 2013); the socio-economic gap indicated by free school meals has narrowed slightly in primary schooling but not in secondary (Lupton & Thompson 2015); and there are pronounced regional differences, with particular progress being made in London (Burgess 2014;Greaves et al 2014; CfBT 2014).…”

Capturing habitus: theory, method and reflexivity

“…A New Framework (DfE, 1991), has brought with it an increase in the level of participationrising from 6 per cent in the 1960s (Brooks & Everett, 2009) to 47 per cent in 2012 (Heath, et al, 2013). A major consequence for graduate employment was that the expansion of UK higher education flooded the market with graduates at a speed and volume incompatible with the requirement of the graduate employment market.…”

Socio-economic inequalities in English schooling under the Coalition Government 2010–15

“…The extent to which these improvements were attributable to policy is disputed (Whitty and Anders, 2014;Lupton and Obolenskaya, 2013;Heath et al, 2013). Certainly, Labour had substantially increased spending on schools, resulting in lower pupil-to-teacher ratios and new buildings, particularly in the poorest areas (Lupton and Obolenskaya, 2013).…”