Abstract
In England, thresholds for success in public examinations taken by
15/16 year-olds play a major role in the education system. Definitions of what constitutes ‘success’ change over time and have an important impact on young people’s progression to further education, training, and employment. By taking a historical view of examination thresholds at 15/16 in England, we show that thresholds are not a mere reflection of societal or economic norms, nor are changes to them simply gradual adjustments or technical modifications. Using ideas from ‘critical policy sociology’ (see Savage, Gerard, Gale and Molla, 2021), we argue that thresholds can be understood as ‘temporary settlements’ (Gale 1999, p. 401) that are the product of four separate but interlocking policy contests around educational purposes, the importance of specific subjects, the role of education in the economy, and educational governance. Analysing and decoding the production of changing thresholds over long periods through these policy contests allows us to more clearly understand the contemporary situation (where thresholds
have become very prescriptive) and to challenge the foundations of
thresholds: creating space for different conceptions of success and failure.
15/16 year-olds play a major role in the education system. Definitions of what constitutes ‘success’ change over time and have an important impact on young people’s progression to further education, training, and employment. By taking a historical view of examination thresholds at 15/16 in England, we show that thresholds are not a mere reflection of societal or economic norms, nor are changes to them simply gradual adjustments or technical modifications. Using ideas from ‘critical policy sociology’ (see Savage, Gerard, Gale and Molla, 2021), we argue that thresholds can be understood as ‘temporary settlements’ (Gale 1999, p. 401) that are the product of four separate but interlocking policy contests around educational purposes, the importance of specific subjects, the role of education in the economy, and educational governance. Analysing and decoding the production of changing thresholds over long periods through these policy contests allows us to more clearly understand the contemporary situation (where thresholds
have become very prescriptive) and to challenge the foundations of
thresholds: creating space for different conceptions of success and failure.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Journal of Education Policy |
| Early online date | 22 Nov 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 22 Nov 2024 |
Bibliographical note
We are grateful to anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We also wish to thank Suzie Clement for her assistance with the design of the figures in this paper. This work was supported by the Nuffield Foundation, an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social well-being. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation.Data Availability Statement
No data availability statement.Funding
The work was supported by the Nuffield Foundation.
| Funders |
|---|
| Nuffield Foundation |
Keywords
- Educational thresholds
- critical policy history
- policy settlements
- progression
- standards
- educational failure
Access to Document
- Thomson_etal_JEP_Creating_Thresholds_For_VoR
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