Education as a tool of social equality?

Gingrich, Jane and Giudici, Anja 2023. Education as a tool of social equality? Social Policy and Administration 57 (2) , pp. 172-188. 10.1111/spol.12878

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Abstract

Do political parties approach education with different social policy aims? We argue that while parties have adopted a common language of equality as an aim of education, they draw on different conceptions of it linked to diverging social projects. To make this argument, we first normatively distin- guish education as a tool for creating equal opportunity, equal outcomes, and representational diversity. We then draw on an original dataset coding the educational content in the political manifestos of the largest center-left and center-right party across 19 Western democracies from 1950 to present. The analysis shows that left parties emphasise more equality of outcome than rightwing parties and pay less attention to equality of opportunity, and that they associate equality-related aims more extensively with promises of resources. These findings suggest that there remain critical differences in parties' understanding of edu- cation as a tool of social policy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LA History of education
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0144-5596
Funders:	European Research Council
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 September 2024
Date of Acceptance:	21 November 2022
Last Modified:	18 Sep 2024 11:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/171723

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