Educational Equality, Second Edition (Key Debates in Educational Policy)

157 Pages·2010·0.5 MB·English

by  Harry Brighouse

Educational
Equality
Also available in the Key Debates in Educational Policy series
Teaching Thinking Skills 2nd edition, Stephen Johnson and
Harvey Siegel, edited by Christopher Winch
Special Educational Needs, Mary Warnock and Brahm Norwich,
edited by Lorella Terzi
Educational
Equality
Harry Brighouse, Kenneth
R. Howe and James Tooley
Edited by
Graham Haydon
Key Debates in Educational Policy
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
© Graham Haydon; © Part 1, Harry Brighouse; © Part 2 Kenneth
R. Howe; © Part 3 James Tooley 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.
Graham Haydon, Harry Brighouse, Kenneth R. Howe and James
Tooley have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-4411-8483-2 (paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Educational equality / edited by Graham Haydon.
p. cm. –(Key debates in educational policy)
ISBN 978–1-4411–8483-2 (pbk.)
1. Educational equalization--United States. 2. Educational
equalization--Great Britain. 3. Equality--United States. 4. Equality--
Great Britain. I. Haydon, Graham. II. Title. III. Series.
LC213.2.E385 2010
379.2'6--dc22
2009044097
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group
Contents
Series Editor’s Preface – Key Debates in
Educational Policy ix
Christopher Winch
Introduction 1
Graham Haydon
Why discuss educational equality now? 1
The structure of this volume 6
Meritocracy 7
The benefi t of the least advantaged 9
Notes 12
References 13
1
Educational Equality and School Reform 15
Harry Brighouse
Introduction 15
How the education systems contribute to
educational inequality 17
What is educational equality and why does
it matter? 26
Howmuch does educational equality matter? 32
Moving towards educational equality 44
Concluding comments 65
Notes 66
References 68
vi
Contents
2
Educational Equality in the Shadow of the
Reagan Era 71
Kenneth R. Howe
Introduction 71
How education systems contribute to inequality 72
What is educational equality and why does
it matter? 74
Howmuch does educational equality matter? 77
Moving towards educational equality 84
Concluding comments 90
Notes 91
References 93
3
Moving from Educational Equality to Improving the
Education of the Least Advantaged 96
James Tooley
Introduction 96
What is educational equality and why is it
desirable? 98
Middle-class families as barriers to educational
equality 101
The illegitimate self-indulgence of parental
partiality 103
The virtues of choice 106
The permissiveness of legitimate parental
partiality 120
Conclusions 126
Notes 128
References 128
vii
Contents
Afterword 130
Graham Haydon
Meritocracy revisited 131
Values as motivating factors in individual
behaviour 134
Revisiting the benefi t of the least advantaged 137
The voice of equality in the conversation
of citizens 139
Notes 141
References 141
Index 143
This page intentionally left blank
Series Editor’s Preface –
Key Debates in
Educational Policy
Christopher Winch
IMPACT pamphlets were launched in 1999 as an initiative of the
Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. Their aim was to
bring philosophical perspectives to bear on UK education policy
and they have been written by leading general philosophers or
philosophers of education. At the time of writing, 18 have been
published.
They deal with a variety of issues relating to policy within
the field of education. Some have focused on controversial aspects
of current government policy such as those by Andrew Davis on
assessment, Harry Brighouse on disparities in secondary education,
Mary Warnock on changes in provision for pupils with special
educational needs and Colin Richards on school inspection.
Others, such as those by Michael Luntley on performance-related
pay and by Christopher Winch on vocational education and
training, have been critical of new policy initiatives. Yet others
have been concerned with the organization and content of the
school curriculum. These have included pamphlets by Kevin
Williams on the teaching of foreign languages, Steve Bramall and
John White on Curriculum 2000, David Archard on sex education,
Stephen Johnson on thinking skills, Graham Haydon on personal,
social and health education, and John Gingell on the visual arts.
The launch of each pamphlet has been accompanied by a sym-
posium for policy makers and others at which issues raised in the
pamphlets have been further explored. These have been attended