An Investigation into the Rise of Academies and the Decline of Comprehensive Schools - Literature review Example

of the of the Concerned Sociology 6March An Investigation into the Rise of Academies and the Decline of Comprehensive Schools: Who Benefits within Society? Almost ninety percent of the students within the United Kingdom study in the publically funded schools (Franklin & McCulloch 2007). In a traditional context, the onus for quality schooling in the UK was born by the Comprehensive Schools (Franklin & McCulloch 2007). The Comprehensive Schools admitted all the children within a locality, irrespective of their individual aptitude and abilities and imparted education to them collectively (Franklin 2007). However, in the recent times, the trend has been to convert Comprehensive Schools managed by the local authorities into Academies, thereby giving way to an intense debate on the nature and scope of the education within the United Kingdom. The rise of the Academies followed from the state objectives of ushering in a new type of leadership in school education (Ball 2008). However, it still remains to be conclusively established whether the Academies are serving the purpose, which they were expected to serve? One main objective that was envisioned was that Academies will improve the quality of education within the United Kingdom, thereby propitiously improving the academic performance of pupils (Ball 2008). However, many studies are pointing towards the glaring fact that such expectations are grossly misplaced. As per a recent study mentioned by Danny Brierley in one his articles published in the London Evening Standard, the GCSE results furnished by Academies are not much different from the academic results furnished by other schools (2009). Though it is quite different that that the ministers are vociferously claiming that the results originating from the Academies are way ahead of the results furnished by Comprehensive Schools (Brierley 2009). The state officials with the objective of supporting their ambitious five billion pound education program claim that with the coming into existence of Academies, the GCSE scores have registered an improvement which is four times that of the national average (Brierley 2009). However, the reality is far from being so. As per a study conducted by the London School of Economics, under the aegis of The Centre for Economic Performance, focusing on the GSCE results of twenty seven academies initiated in the period 2002-2006, the GSCE results have certainly improved, yet, they are fairly comparable to the GCSE scores of many other so called poorly performing schools (Brierley 2009). As per Joan Wilson affiliated to the London Institute of Higher Education and Professor Stephen from University College London, “Overall these changes in GCSE performance are statistically indistinguishable from one other (Brierley 2009).” However, the critics of comprehensive schools are putting forward the argument that the academies being institutions of recent origin, didn’t get enough time to register a marked improvement over the weak comprehensive schools that they were meant to replace (Ball 2008). On the other side the Unions and the Left Wing MPs are starkly defining the coming into existence of academies as an onset of the privatization of the school education in the United Kingdom (Franklin & McCulloch 2007). Still, there seems to be existent, conclusive evidence corroborated by the relevant bodies of opinion that the results extended by academies are certainly not dramatically way above those furnished by the Comprehensive Schools. Even if there is a tinge of fact in the studies that claim that the results given by academies are far from being impressive, as they were expected to be, then the question that gains prominence is that who are the people who are actually benefitting from the coming into existence of academies in the United Kingdom? In the recent times have emerged many media reports which to some extent settle the doubts as to the true beneficiaries of the money being doled out to the academies by the state (Franklin & McCulloch 2007). As per a report by Jessica Shepherd published in The Guardian, the charities that have been given the onus of running Academies are inappropriately using the public money to extend massive remunerations to their senior staff (Shepherd 2011). Since the academies are to a great extent impervious to the dictates of the local authorities, there is hardly anybody who could restrain them from doing so (Ball 2008). The very same report also claims that the academies were extending meagre wages to their lower staff (Shepherd 2011). This report supports its conclusions on the basis of the surveys conducted on three prominent Academy Chains that are Ark Schools, the United Learning Trust, and Harris Federation (Shepherd 2011). As per this report, most of the Academy Chains desisted from answering the questions as to who were the staff members who benefitted most from their salary structure and remuneration packages (Shepherd 2011). This inhibition from being above board and an aversion to be accountable about the spending of public funds certainly give way to much doubt and questions. Such aspersions to a great extent support the doubts that in the current times marked by constrained resources, the academies are using the scarce public funds to benefit a small number of people. While doing so they are taking the money away from the classroom into the pockets of a few select beneficiaries. As per Freedman, though the performance of academies is under a cloud of doubt irrespective of the huge sums spent by the Labour government, the new government has made a promise to open two thousand more Academy Schools (2010). Ultimately the objective of opening Academies was to extend quality education “to reach the significant minority of school children leaving school without basic qualifications” (Freedman 2010). The aim of Academies was meant to target the seriously under-performing schools to get over the vicious cycle of under-performance and miniscule expectations (Freedman 2010). Whether they have actually done so is a question that is still far from being answered. The hallmark of Academies is their imperviousness to the local authorities. However, this should not mean that the Academies ought to be sans any accountability mechanisms and should be free to benefit a privileged few by misusing the public money. The state should go a bit slow on the expansion of Academies and must keep a keen eye on their actual performance, before leaping in to push in more public money into these academies. Reference List Ball, Stephen J 2008, The Education Debate, Policy Press, London. Brierley, Danny 2009, ‘Academies no Better for GCSE Results than Comprehensives’, London Evening Standard, 4 June, viewed 6 March 2012, . Franklin, Barry M & McCulloch, Gary 2007, The Death of the Comprehensive School, Palgrave Macmillan, London. Freedman, Lisa 2010, ‘Do Academy Schools Really Work’, Prospect, 24 February, viewed 5 March 2012, . Shepherd, Jessica 2011, ‘Academies Pay ?200K Salaries’, The Guardian, 14 November, Viewed 5 March2012,. Read More