New Right and Marketisation of Education

John Chubb and Terry Moe (1990), in Politics, Markets and America’s Schools, argued that the US education system underperforms because public schools are overly bureaucratic and unresponsive to parents. Their solution was to introduce market principles through a voucher system:

  • Parents receive a voucher (public funding per pupil) and can use it to send their child to a school of their choice—public, private, or charter.
  • Schools then compete for students. Good schools expand, poor schools close.
  • Schools should have autonomy over staffing, curriculum, and admissions to innovate and respond to parental demands.

This reflects a neoliberal perspective: education should operate more like a free market.

How Voucher Systems Work in Practice (US Examples)

  • Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (Wisconsin): Vouchers allow students to attend private schools. Some evidence of improved graduation rates, but little sustained effect on test scores (Carnoy, 2017).
  • Florida Opportunity Scholarships: Students in failing schools could move elsewhere using vouchers. The threat of losing pupils encouraged some public schools to improve (Figlio & Rouse, 2006).
  • Indiana & Louisiana voucher programs: Research shows mixed results; in some cases, voucher students performed worse in maths than public school peers (Dynarski, 2016).

Strengths:

  • Parental choice and empowerment.
  • Encourages competition and innovation.
  • Poorly performing schools face pressure to improve.

Limitations:

  • Achievement gains are small or inconsistent.
  • Risk of greater inequality: wealthier/more informed families benefit most.
  • Public schools may be weakened if funding drains away.
  • Private schools may select students, leaving disadvantaged pupils behind.

Application to the UK

Although the UK does not have a national voucher system, Chubb & Moe’s ideas influenced UK policy under Thatcher (1988 Education Reform Act) and New Right reforms:

  • Parental choice and competition: Parents can choose schools; schools compete for pupils and funding.
  • League tables and Ofsted: Create a market‐like accountability system, similar to the competition Chubb & Moe wanted.
  • Academies and Free Schools: These resemble the autonomy element of Chubb & Moe’s model, with freedom over curriculum, staffing, and management. Free Schools in particular echo voucher logic: new schools funded by the state but run independently, set up to meet parental demand.

Exam application:

  • In 10-markers on education and policies, you could use Chubb & Moe as an example of New Right/neoliberal thinking about education.
  • In 30-markers, evaluate the extent to which marketisation (e.g. league tables, academies, parental choice) has improved standards in the UK.
  • Contrast with Marxist critiques (e.g. Ball, 1994: parental choice benefits the middle class who use their cultural and economic capital).

Example Exam Paragraph

“Chubb and Moe (1990) argued that marketisation through a voucher system would raise standards, as schools would compete for parents and funding. In the UK, similar ideas were introduced through parental choice, league tables and academies. These policies aimed to drive up standards by increasing competition, echoing Chubb and Moe’s argument. However, evidence suggests middle-class parents benefit most from choice (Ball, 1994), while working-class pupils are left behind. Therefore, while marketisation policies reflect Chubb and Moe’s theory, they may reinforce inequality rather than improve education for all.”

References

  • Chubb, J. E. & Moe, T. M. (1990) Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.
  • Carnoy, M. (2017) School Vouchers Are Not a Proven Strategy for Improving Student Achievement. Economic Policy Institute.
  • Figlio, D. & Rouse, C. (2006) Do Accountability and Voucher Threats Improve Low-Performing Schools? Journal of Public Economics, 90(1-2), pp. 239-255.
  • Dynarski, M. (2016) On Negative Effects of Vouchers. Brookings Institution.
  • Ball, S. J. (1994) Education Reform: A Critical and Post-structural Approach. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Here you can find my commentary for Tutor2U on the New Right view of Education

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