ESRC
ECONOMIC
& SOCIAL
RESEARCH
COUNCIL

LEARNING SOCIETY
PROGRAMME

PRINCIPAL
RESEARCHERS

Professor Stephen Ball
King’s College London

Dr. Meg Maguire
King’s College London

Dr Sheila Macrae
King’s College London

CONTACT
ADDRESS

Professor Stephen Ball
Dr Meg Maguire
Dr Sheila Macrae
School of Education
King’s College London
Cornwall House
Waterloo Road
London  SEl 8WA
Tel:  0171 872 3163
Fax:  0171 872 3182

Email:	stephen.ball@kcl.ac.uk

Duration
24 months
EDUCATION MARKETS IN THE POST-16 SECTOR
OF ONE URBAN LOCALE

OBJECTIVES

The central aim of the study was to investigate various aspects of the operation of one local, post-compulsory education and training market (ETM). In particular, the study explored:
(i)	the dynamics of post-16 ETMs in an urban context;
(ii)	choice-making (by parents and young people) within post-16 provision and the role played by educational intermediaries who give advice and support in this process;
(iii)   the role played by differences in material, cultural and social capital in the processes and      possibilities of choice, particularly as these relate to ‘race’, class, and gender;
(iv)	the nature of what we refer to as the ‘informal’ learning society: that is, the experiences and prospects of those young people post-16, who fall outside education, training and paid employment;
(v)	the market behavior of the main providers in a post-16 ETM.

APPROACH

The methods have been primarily but not exclusively qualitative and ethnographic.  The study was an attempt to investigate the workings of one local ETM as experienced by key participants; young people and their carers, local post-16 providers and intermediaries (those responsible for giving advice and support). The study was initiated in an inner-city comprehensive school in London with a wide and diverse intake.  Students were included from the local Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) to increase sample diversity.  A cohort of 59 was constructed which included representations of difference e.g. destination, course, ‘race’, class and gender. These 59 young people were followed for two years through repeated interviews.  Providers, parents and intermediaries were also interviewed.

MAIN FINDINGS

1.	Post-16 ETMs in an urban context
a)	From interviews with local providers of post-16 education and training, it is clear that the local competitive arena is relatively small and tightly circumscribed.   This is despite the good rail, bus and train routes which potentially open up the whole city as part of the post-16 ETM
b)	The use and conceptualisation of space by choosers appears to be related to social class.  Middle-class young people tended to be more knowledgeable, confident and wide-ranging in making their choice.  Working-class young people tended to choose locally, partly to defray travel costs but also because they knew less about non-local provision.
c)	For both black and white students spatial practices within the local ETM are imbued with racial and class meanings.  For some, the ETM provides the possibility of escape, while leaving untouched, and indeed reinforcing, the racialised categorisation of and separation between institutions.  Colleges are evaluated in terms of their racial/ethnic profile.
d)	Niche marketing is being used by some providers (colleges for special needs, vocational training or ’A‘ level/University entry).  For some providers this works to counteract the debilitating effects of top slicing and selection undertaken by others.

2.	Choice-making and the role of educational intermediaries.

(i)     Choice
A market rhetoric of choice, diversity and competition disguises the ways in which stratification, hierarchy and exclusion influence choice-making.
a)	In practice, student choice is constrained in two ways.   Some routes will be more or less available in relation to student academic profile at GCSE.  Popular and successful institutions will actually do the choosing.  Some students are highly valued and strongly competed for, while others are ‘less desirable’ and find their choices constrained.

b)		Class, race and gender constitute part of the students’ complex topography of choice-making and choice-getting.  For most choice is embedded in their personal social geographies, social stereotypes and their general fears about the future.

(ii)    Parents

a)	Parents were influential in choice-making. The practical involvement of mothers in the choice process emerged as particularly significant, e.g. obtaining brochures, telephoning local colleges.
b)	While middle-class young people are involved in discussing their post-school destinations with parents, work done in the family over time had laid down values which sculpted classappropriate choice-making.
c)	Interviews with senior managers in higher status institutions indicated that the concerns of white middle-class parents were carefully attended to.  This was reflected in marketing materials constructed to appeal to parents.

(iii)  Educational Intermediaries (advice givers)

A significant mis-match became evident between the rhetoric of professional careers advice and the practice as experienced by the clients.  Families and friends provided the most valued advice.

a)	The majority of students reported dissatisfaction with the support they received from the Careers Service and their school, but a small group reported that career interviews had made them concentrate on their post-16 transition.
a)	 The students from the PRU appeared to be better served.  Generally they received more consistent support.

3.	Choice and difference

The majority of the young people, regardless of sex, class or race, relied heavily on their families for support and advice.  It was these local family-friendship networks which led to employment or the pursuit of particular courses. Thus, choice is rooted in particular socio-cultural systems of behavior and perception and educational inheritances.  The ability of parents to direct or support the choices made by their children varied according to class differences in terms of imagined futures and familiar strategies of social and economic reproduction.
4.	The informal learning society

The rhetoric of the Learning Society is inclusive in its aims and intentions but some young people fall outside its framework of possibilities.
a)	For some young people, staying in the formal learning process does not match their needs, interests or current identities. They have had enough of education and want a job. For many of these students there is an informal learning society, a local grapevine where social contacts, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of the local market, sustain potential employment prospects or other ways of getting by.
b)	A minority of our sample just stayed at home taking each day as it came and were clearly detached from any form of the learning society.

5.     Market behavior of main providers in one locale

The market form has influenced the tactics adopted by providers, relations between providers and the recruitment and admission of students.
a)	Mis-information is commonplace and providers are allocating considerable resources to impression management and promotional exercises.  The new ethical framework created by the Further Education market is also affecting the practice and values of managers and recruiters.
b)	The co-operation which used to exist between providers has disintegrated.  Failure to mention suitable courses provided elsewhere was commonplace.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

	The relations between post-l6 providers and the organisation and structure of the sector as a whole needs thorough review.
	Education 5 to 16, and the role of GCSE examinations in particular need to be fundamentally re-thought to address failure and increase participation post-16.
	Training, industrial and education policies need to take more account of the patterns of youth employment in the ‘real’ economy.
	The government needs to address the short-term relevance to young citizens and the general educational role of education post-16

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Ball, S.J., Maguire, M & Macrae S., 1998 “Race, Space and the Further Education Market Place” Race Ethnicity and Education 1 (2), 171-189
Macrae, S., Maguire, M. & Ball, S.J., 1997 “Competition, choice and hierarchy in a post-16 education and training market” in S. Tomlinson (ed) Education 14-19: critical perspectives, London Athlone Press
Macrae, S., Maguire, M. & Ball, S. “Whose ‘learning’ society? A tentative deconstruction” Journal of Education Policy 12(6) 499-510