Privatisation of Education

Definition and types of privatisation in education

Privatisation refers to a transfer of services from being owned by the state to being owned by private companies. In the education systems, some aspects have been transferred to private companies through privatisation. The UK education system has historically been run by the state with the help of taxpayers’ money.

There are two types of privatisation of education: endogenous and exogenous. These were identified by Ball and Youdell (2007).

Let's consider how each type of privatisation works and how the education system became privatised.

Exogenous privatisation

Exogenous privatisation refers to privatisation from the outside. Aspects of the education system are outsourced to external providers and companies. There's a great market for outside providers to profit from the education system. It’s important to look at some examples to understand this process better.

This is exogenous privatisation as it influences the education system from the outside. It is a company shaping the education system for profit. There are many similar examples, as we will outline below.

Academies

Academies have become more common in recent years. Academy trusts manage several schools at once under a singular structure. This develops an educational brand, with all the schools in the trust conforming and following the brand. The New Right introduced academies.

Branding influence

Schools use particular brands in the classroom, such as Zoom, Adobe, etc. Millions of Pounds are spent in the education system each year, creating ample opportunity for brands to cater to this market.

Policies

New Labour introduced the Private Finance Initiative, in which private companies built new schools yet received contracts to repay these investments in return. The LEA (Local Education Authorities) paid the costs of this repayment.

Endogenous privatisation

Endogenous privatisation involves privatisation from within the education system. It's possible due to schools opting out of the LEA control and being able to manage themselves. Each school is different, and therefore it was seen as best to adapt budgets and contracts accordingly, without LEA input.

Schools with endogenous privatisation operate more like private businesses. Some practices they adopt include:

Efficiency and profit

Schools aim to become as efficient and profitable as possible. This often leads to larger classes, limited resources, and sponsored activities from local businesses.

Performance targets

Performance-related pay is provided to teachers and staff who are paid more based on their achievements. Reports often progress to a board of governors or the academy trust, and it's an incentive to work harder.

Marketing

Competitive markets make schools spend money on marketing to attract students. Gewirtz argued that schools put more money into marketing rather than spending it on students. In his view, this is a waste of resources.

Fig. 2 - Schools spend money on marketing to attract students.

Causes of privatisation of education

There are several causes for the privatisation of education. In particular, aspects of the system are privately owned because of their profits. The profit causes an incentive to privatise.

There are many aspects of the education system that can be privatised. This offers plenty of opportunities for profit to be made in branding, running academies and many more. Private companies see these opportunities, and they provide a cause to invest in different educational areas.

Also, private ownership helps reduce the amount of work needed from the government. If the private companies only have a few schools to focus on, they will improve from the undivided attention. The same can be said for aspects still run by the government. This incentive causes more privatisation.

Advantages of the privatisation of education

There are several advantages of the privatisation of education.

New Right

The advantages of privatisation of education are predominantly seen from the New Right perspective. They believe that the government running the education system leads to ‘bureaucratic self-interest’. This means that they are more concerned with their position in society than the work required of them. Their solution is to have the education system privately owned. They argue for both internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) privatisation.

Internally, policies and processes have made schools more competitive, increasing their performance. They want to outdo each other and consequently raise their standards, providing a higher quality of teaching. There is a focus on efficiency and profit, for example, through performance-related pay.

Externally, there is more opportunity for profit for outside providers. The private companies will be incentivised to make money and, therefore, work harder to create positive impacts in the education system. For example, this can be achieved through academies.

Disadvantages of privatisation of education

However, not everyone sees privatisation positively. There are several advantages of the privatisation of education.

Cola-isation of Education

Ball introduced the term 'Cola-isation' of education. He explored how large companies influence those in education from an early age to purchase their products and services. By placing their products in schools, they can ensure a wide advertisement reach. Therefore, these students are more likely to purchase the particular brand further on in their lives.

Cherry-picking

Private companies 'cherry-pick' the best schools to take over and improve further. This leaves the worst for the LEA to run. The best schools continue to improve and attract new pupils whilst the worst remain the same. This creates inequality in the provision of education.

Curriculum

Sociologists worry that large companies influence the curriculum being taught in the schools they oversee. Science and maths are seen as important in employment and taught more. In contrast, valuable but costly subjects, such as arts and humanities, are not seen as profitable and therefore taught less. Education may not be as rounded and fulfilling with the lack of certain subjects.

Impact of the privatisation of education

We will be looking at how privatisation has impacted education, specifically educational standards and class differences.

Educational standards

How does privatisation affect educational standards?

Teacher standards

Academies can employ untrained and unqualified teachers. This can result in lower educational standards and teaching wages, with those training for teaching roles being beaten by people with specific skills in the industry.

Curriculum shift

The National Curriculum does not have to be followed by schools which the LEA does not control. Instead, they can follow their own curriculum, with some deciding to appeal to specific technical skills. The shift in the curriculum can change educational standards, dependent on the school.

Class differences

Ball and Whitty (1998) looked at marketisation, an endogenous factor of privatisation and believed it reproduced class inequalities through two methods.

Exam league tables

Schools that were statistically better attracted more middle-class families, which increased the selectivity of the school. They want to replicate the good grades and therefore take the best pupils; these happen to be middle-class.

Formula funding

The most popular schools attract better teachers, better facilities and more funding, whereas those disadvantaged schools don't receive this. Working-class pupils attend schools in underprivileged areas and don't gain the education they truly require.

Douglas (1964) also argued that working-class parents are less interested in school, pushing their children less and encouraging their focus on activities and goals outside the school environment.