PRIVATE SCHOOL VERSUS STATE

SCHOOL
HNC Sociology - Education
 ADVANTAGES OF WEALTH

• All children aged 5–18 are entitled to a free place at a state school. Most
families take up this place.
• A few (around 7 per cent) choose to pay for a place at an independent
school (also called a private school or, confusingly, for the most elite,
public school).
• Parents pay fees towards the cost of running an independent school.
• There are around 2,500 independent schools in the UK, which educate
around 615,000 children.
• The debate about the existence of independent schools and state schools
continues.
• Many people believe parents should have the right to send their children
to independent schools, whereas others see them as divisive and
providing a privileged education for the rich.
 • There are smaller class sizes, meaning teachers can invest more
time in each individual child.
• Independent schools do not have to teach the National Curriculum,
which means they can place more emphasis on certain subjects or
aspects of a pupil’s education; children learn not only basic literacy
and maths skills, but also those skills that put them ahead of their
state-schooled competitors later in life.
ARGUMENTS FOR
INDEPENDENT • They generally have better facilities for pupils because of the
SCHOOLS funding received from school fees.
• It is argued that private schools have an academic culture, in which
academic achievement is emphasised, leading to good results.
Admission is normally through entrance examination, so the
average ability of pupils tends to be higher than in state schools.
• Parents have the right to choose how to spend their money. Better
level of achievement
THE EVIDENCE
 In 2018 the Sutton Trust published findings that
showed the eight top private schools had as many
Oxford and Cambridge acceptances as three-
quarters (2,894) of all schools and colleges put
together.

Only 44 per cent of applicants from

comprehensive schools receive and accept an
offer from the top 18 ‘Russell Group’ universities
ADVANTAGES compared to 71 per cent from independent
schools.

Applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds

provide fewer examples of the types of work and
life experiences that many colleges and
universities value, which they use to decide
between applicants.
 • Although only 7 per cent of the population attend
independent schools, many of the top positions in
AN INDEPENDENT government, the civil service, medicine, law, media
S C H O O L E D U C AT I O N and banking are held by privately educated school
P R E PA R E S Y O U N G pupils.
P E O P L E F O R TO P J O B S
I N S O C I E T Y.
• This directly challenges the functionalist view that
the education system is meritocratic
 HTTPS://WWW.SUTTONTRUST.COM/RESEARCH-P
APER/ELITIST-BRITAIN-2019/

• The United Kingdom in 2019 is an increasingly divided nation. The vote to leave the
European Union both reflected and accentuated deep social divisions across the country.
The nature of Britain’s ‘elite’ is higher in the national consciousness than ever, with trust
between significant sections of the population and those at the highest levels of politics,
business and the media, under strain. The latest indications are that social mobility across
the UK is low and not improving. This deprives large parts of the population, both socio-
economically and geographically, of opportunity.
 ARGUMENTS AGAINST
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Inequalities
• Private schools increase inequalities in society as a person’s position in society is based on
the parents’ ability to pay.
• Inequalities continue through to the attendance of top universities and achievement of top
jobs.
• As outlined above, it is easier for private school pupils to gain entrance to Oxford and
Cambridge universities than pupils from state schools.
Socially divisive
• Private schools are socially divisive as they split society into two: those who have gone to a
private school will often end up in top positions in later life, in comparison to those who go to
state schools.
Investment in state education
• If everyone had to send their children to a state school, then all (including the rich and
powerful) would have a vested interest in making sure that state education was first class.
 • Refers to the belief that schools and other learning
institutions are incapable of providing the best possible
education for some or most individuals.
IVAN ILLICH – DE- • Some people feel that schools do not allow children to
SCHOOLING learn at their own pace in their own way.
• It is thought by some that the teaching methods applied
in school are not suitable for every child.
According to this idea, schools stop a child’s natural curiosity because the formal environment of the school stops
children learning independently.

De-schoolers oppose compulsory attendance at school, arguing that parents and children should be free to choose
how and where learning takes place.

They oppose the way schools structure learning with an emphasis on academic achievement rather than life skills.

There is very little flexibility in the school day for children to learn in the way that suits them most.

DE-SCHOOLING
 DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS

Today, some An example would be

educationalists and They are beginning to look Montessori schools or the
families are becoming for alternative answers to many models of ‘free’ or
uneasy with this restrictive mainstream schooling. democratic schools that
environment. exist in many countries.
 • Summerhill School, on the east coast of
England. Summerhill is a private school
founded in 1921 when discipline was an
important part of child-rearing.
• It is a democratic, self-governing school
SUMMERHILL where the adults and children have equal
status. The school’s philosophy is to allow
freedom for the individual – each child being
able to take their own path in life and follow
their own interests to develop into the person
who they personally feel they are meant to be.
 The right to play.

An informal atmosphere.

The use of first names.

There is not always a clear line between learning inside and outside the classroom. For example, a group
of teenagers sitting together and discussing topics of their choice is seen as a valuable learning experience.

There is a wide choice of subjects up to GCSE level, but pupils do not have to take any.

SUMMERHILL A new timetable is created each term when the older children ‘sign up’ for classes, though there is no
compulsion to attend.

ADVOCATES There is free access to art, woodwork and computers.

There are open areas where pupils not in classes can hang out, amuse themselves, socialise, play games
and be creative.

Adults are not there to create things for the pupils to do. Pupils need to create things for themselves.

Lessons are optional.

There is no pressure to conform to adult ideas of growing up, though the community itself has
expectations of reasonable conduct from all individuals.
 WHAT IS HOME SCHOOLING?

• Although the vast majority of children attend some type of formal education,
some parents decide to home school their children.
• Almost 60,000 children in England were being home educated at any one time
in 2018 (out of a school population of 9.5 million pupils).
• It’s perfectly legal in the UK to educate a child at home, with the agreement of
the head teacher, and parents do not need to be qualified teachers to do so.
• Children who are home schooled receive all their education from their parents
or carers, sometimes with the help of outside tutors. #
• There are no formal rules about how children are taught or what they are taught.
 Why do people choose home schooling?

Parents may have philosophical or religious reasons.

Parents may have been home schooled themselves or raised in situations in

which education was not focused on a traditional school environment.

A child may have special needs.

DISCUSS
A child may be unhappy at school.

Sometimes parents feel that the methods of teaching in school are not right for
their child and that they can provide a better education for them at home.

Parents sometimes home school because they cannot get a place for their child
in a school of their choice
FACTORS OUTSIDE SCHOOL CAN HAVE A HUGE
INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL
SUCCESS

Socialisation

Parents and the wider family are important in socialising children and passing on the
norms, attitudes and values of society. This takes place in early childhood and the main
influence is usually the family (primary socialisation).

It is within the family that children usually learn things, such as how to communicate with
others, how to eat, the differences between right and wrong and how to share with others.
There are many differences in socialisation between families and this might have an
impact on children in later life, especially in school.
 Lack of money can mean cold, overcrowded homes, an inadequate
level of nutrition as well as a lack of books and equipment that
children need in school. Material deprivation can make it difficult to
study at home and may lead to poor school attendance through ill
health.
Activities

MATERIAL 1 Think of the ways in which early socialisation may differ between:
DEPRIVATION • middle-class and working-class children • girls and boys •
different ethnic groups.

2 Does material deprivation affect all social groups in society?

Think about this question in relation to: • middle-class and working-
class children • different ethnic groups.
 ADULTS’ ATTITUDES

The degree of interest and encouragement parents show in their children’s education can be a significant
element in educational success.

In addition, Diane Reay (2006) has researched the impact teachers’ expectations have. She found teachers
often held stereotypical views on social class and achievement, which could have a negative impact for
working-class children, resulting in a self-fulfilling outcome.

This often resulted in their underachievement, undermining the notion of meritocracy and limiting their
social mobility.
 This is an important factor in educational success among all groups
of children.

Children from different social classes understand and use language

in different ways.

LANGUA This is also the case with children from different ethnic groups
where English may not be their first language.
GE
They can be at a disadvantage when they start school because their
studies are in a ‘foreign’ language, but research shows this does not
necessarily result in disadvantage when they leave school.

In the case of gender, girls are often more advanced in their language
skills than boys and this gives them a head start in school.
 CONSIDER

• Think about material factors, cultural

factors and language and how these might
influence access to the best schools.
 The coalition government (the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) 2010–
2015 introduced further changes. The Conservative governments (2015 and
2017) have continued these:
• 1 Educational maintenance allowance (EMA), giving financial support to
poorer students to encourage them to stay in education until they were 18,
was removed.
• 2 University tuition fees were increased up to £9,250 per year.
EDUCATION • 3 A student premium for disadvantaged pupils was introduced to schools
POLICIES SINCE to help them provide the additional classroom support and resources
needed.
2010 • 4 Free school meals were extended from 2014 so that every child in the
first three years of school was eligible to receive one.
• 5 The A level system was changed and two-year A level courses were
reintroduced.
• 6 The structure and grading of GCSEs was changed.
• 7 Academies were promoted in favour of comprehensives and free
schools introduced