商品詳細

This text argues that the faith in educational markets is misplaced. Throughout the English speaking world and now Western Europe and parts of East Asia, parental choice and educational markets are being seen by politicians and policy advisors as the apanacea to problems of low educational standards and social exclusion. This volume systematically tests the assumptions underlying the faith in markets by linking an analysis of parental choice to flows of students between schools and their impact on school effectiveness. The results suggest ability to realise choices is dependent on social class, gender and race, and that this can have a negative impact on some school's performance. Rather than raise standards the impact of markets is to polarize them, leading to an impoverished education for many students.