Rationing Education: Policy, Practice, Reform and Equity

This case study of two secondary schools in London targets the impact of reforms that in the authors' opinion have resulted in an upward trend in measurable benchmarks of educational standards at the expense of widening gender, ethnic origin, and social class rationing of opportunities. This imbalance is weighed in the context of British education reforms of the late 1980s and 1990s that instituted a national curriculum, mandatory testing, and posting of school performance data. Despite system differences, this research has implications for US schools' obsession with accountability and funding. Gillborn and Youdell are in education at the U. of London. The former authored Racism and Antiracism in Real Schools (Open U. Press, 1995). The latter currently researches gendered youth identities. Distributed in the US by Taylor & Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR