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SecEd: On Your Side
Why do we demonise Homogenisation
the admission cheats?
Last week’s SecEd covered the
report into school admissions,
vs diversification
which concluded that around Dr Bernard
3,500 parents lie every year in
Trafford
order to gain entry to “popular”
schools (Admission controls,
issue 230, November 12, 2009). It focused on the fact that a
number of heads said they would like to see legal penalties
imposed on admissions cheats.
I work in the independent sector, so on this issue some
people might say I should just shut up and mind my own
business. What do I know about it, they might ask.
Well, in my world, I do know something about parents
exercising choice: that’s what the independent sector is
all about. Moreover, comments on the admissions issue
frequently highlight the extent to which many parents only
opt for private schooling in desperation because they cannot
get the local maintained school they want. So here are my
subjective, purely personal views.
Isn’t it time we stopped kidding ourselves? In the past 20
AS EDUCATORS, we bear the
years both Tory and Labour governments have insisted that
responsibility to help prepare our
Professor Yong Zhao is renowned for his views on the
children for a successful life in
parental choice, and a kind of “free market” in education,
the future. And this future, by all implications of globalisation for our schools. On Wednesday,
are the best way to drive up standards. So league tables
accounts, is being drastically altered
tell parents where schools stand in relation to one another by something generically referred
speaks at the Special Schools and Academies Trust national
(so we’re told), and parents naturally opt for the most
to as “globalisation”.
conference. Here he offers a preview of what he will say
successful. Why would they do anything else?
In a technical sense, globalisation
is the result of shrunk physical
The introduction of specialist status made some schools
distances and decreased artificial developed nations, there are two compete others so as to hold on to Moreover, workers in developed
more desirable than others: and, even though just about
barriers that used to separate questions to ask. existing jobs, as if we are training a nations cost more than those in
all secondary schools now have a specialism, this kind of
human communities. Advances The first is a moral one: do national army of soldiers to defend developing ones, thus they should
badging – let alone the fact that some schools are allowed
in information and transportation they, as human beings, have the the national economy. offer different talents and skills to
to select up to 10 per cent of their pupils – means the
technologies have significantly right to desire better? The second, Schools in a nation are viewed deserve the higher salaries.
shortened the distance between a practical one: should we blame as factories of one national industry Furthermore, schools in the
competitive marketplace is still alive and well.
different parts of the world, others for outsourcing, which in that produces the product to compete developed nations have more
Even in the context of increasing co-operation between enabling fast movement of goods, my view is a natural process of with that of other nations’ education resources, thus they have the
schools, and of “superheads” running several at once,
information, and people across vast economic development? systems, and henceforth should be responsibility to teach the students
some kind of curious doublethink continues to promote
distances. Political changes have The message is based on an held to the same standards and something more than what can
competition between schools and allows the concept of
achieved similar outcomes, making erroneous assumption that the number produce the same values. be learned in sometimes very
it possible for interaction to exist of jobs is finite. Thus as the millions Further, schools are considered impoverished settings.
parental choice to remain the driving force.
between human societies that used of people in developing nations enter as businesses and test scores on a In the globalised world, as new
Parents want the best school for their child. To want to be closed to each other. the global labour force, jobs in the few subjects represent their profit technologies and industries emerge
anything else would be perverse. Why wouldn’t they? They
Businesses are among the first world will be taken away, leaving margin – the bottom line to judge constantly, we cannot predict where
see an unfair system out there, and feel obliged to play it.
to take advantage of globalisation. our children will live and work, and
They now have access to a global for whom, when they grow up.
We hear stories of parents who can’t get their child into
market: they can now segment
the school 100 yards from where they live, and have to
their business process and locate
send them a couple of miles away instead. In that situation each part of the production process
the concept of choice has surely gone mad.
anywhere on the globe as if they
Look at newsreels of famines, and you see parents fighting
were all located in the same place,
and they can now find employees
‘
Education systems should
But we know that they will
be highly mobile – either through
physical travels or telecommuting
work on helping students
– and they will certainly be working
with people from other cultures.
tooth and nail over limited food handouts so they can feed
from, and locate them to, anywhere
develop different talents and
And so it is of paramount
significance that they know how
their children. It is the basic, unalterable parental instinct: the
in the world.
mother tiger kills to protect her young. In the UK, parents
But business is not the only
skills instead of the same. Rather
to interact with those who are
different from them. It is also of
don’t have to fight to feed their family. But they do have to
sector that has been globalised. great significance that they develop
fight for education for their children under the current regime.
Public services, education, religion,
than having everyone competing
a global perspective so they can
entertainment, and almost all other successfully view other lands and
Any of us working in schools would say that education
aspects of our society are now
is one of the most important gifts – if not the most conducted on a global scale.
for the same job, we should help
other people as their potential
markets, customers, resources and
important – that they can give to their children.
The consequences of this
So why do we demonise those who cheat? We’re not in the
process are widespread and far-
our students develop the talents
partners.
In conclusion, the globalised
spirit of the Blitz any more. We don’t queue up to get our food
reaching, causing all sorts of world is essentially an expanded
ambivalent feelings in different
and skills to create new jobs and
space for action with a lot more
rations, waiting our turn in that uniquely British, courteous
parts of the world. For example, players. It is quite similar to the
way. In the school race, standing back and old-fashioned while the developed nations enjoy
enter new professions
case when a mountain between two
courtesy get you nowhere.
cheap products and cheap labour villages is removed. The villagers
So I find this idea of blaming and suggesting legal
from developing countries, they are can now reach each other very
not happy about jobs being sent easily. They can decide to stay
penalties for cheating parents pretty obnoxious – and I don’t
to other places. The developing nothing for those in the developed their performance. As closed to each other, attack each
think it’s the role of the school to act as investigator, judge
countries, while happy about the nations. This is simply not true. other, or interact with each other.
or jury. I don’t agree with much that schools secretary, Ed economic opportunities, are worried Human history clearly shows that
’
a result, it
narrows the curriculum to a few
subjects considered essential for To interact with each other, which
Balls, says nowadays, but, commenting on this situation, he
about being westernised culturally every society goes through different competing with others. seems more desirable, the villagers
managed a flash of honesty when he admitted the only way
and taken advantage of by foreign stages, when certain industries Globalisation certainly brings need to learn how to do so and have
corporations. disappear and new ones emerge. As challenges, but the rise of some different things to offer instead of
out of the problem would be to make all schools as good as
Education systems around the a result, certain jobs cease to exist nations does not necessarily spell the competing for the same resources
one another.
globe have begun to interpret the and new ones are created. demise of others. One country’s gain with the same skills. SecEd
That’s true, and it’s a right and noble aspiration. But it
implications of globalisation and The digital revolution, for does not have to be another’s loss.
is government that perpetuates the concept of winners and
form strategies. But unfortunately, example, has led to the creation of Thus, a more productive • Prof Yong Zhao is Distinguished
losers in education through a hostile inspection regime,
so far, the prominent message has millions of new jobs that did not interpretation would be that instead of Professor of Education at Michigan
been disappointing, disturbing, and exist even 30 years ago. In addition, treating others as enemies, we should State University and the author of
league tables and the delusion of freedom of choice in an
distracting. globalisation has created the need consider them as partners to address Catching Up or Leading the Way:
educational marketplace. That’s where the blame should The essence of the message for many new jobs in the areas of common problems, collaborators in American Education in the Age of
lie, and politicians, educators and the press should stop
is that education systems in the cross-cultural consulting, translation business endeavours, and customers Globalization.
demeaning and characterising as cheats those parents who
West must prepare their students and interpreting, international law, of products and services.
are simply doing what any good parent would in getting the
to compete with students in the global supply chain management, Following this interpretation,
Further information
developing nations. and many others related to global education systems should work Prof Zhao will address the 17th
best for his or her child. SecEd
This message stirs up business and migration. on helping students to develop national conference of the Specialist
unnecessary negative emotions Furthermore, the message sends different talents and skills instead Schools and Academies Trust
• This guest editorial has been written by Dr Bernard
toward children in other countries education down the wrong path. of the same. next week in Birmingham, the
Trafford, headteacher of the Royal Grammar School in
by projecting them as “job robbers”. The underlying competitive and Rather than having everyone theme of which is The Globalised
While it is true that the millions of “us versus them” mentality turns competing for the same job, we Challenge. He will speak on
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Contact the editor of SecEd, Pete
Chinese, Indian and people in other education into a business that trains should help our students develop Wednesday (November 25). For
Henshaw, at editor@sec-ed.co.uk or visit www.sec-ed.co.uk
developing countries have and will economic beings, providing only the talents and skills to create new details of the event, visit http://
continue to “take jobs away” from the skills deemed useful to out- jobs and enter new professions. nationalconference.ssatrust.org.uk/
6 SecEd • November 19 2009
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