Church schools, educational markets and the rural idyll

Abstract

Researchers have begun to explore the role that faith schools play in contemporary educational markets but the emphasis to date has been on urban rather than rural contexts. This article approaches the issue of marketisation through a qualitative case-study comparison of two Anglican primary schools in contrasting rural localities in England and Wales. Engaging with a range of stakeholders, including parents and pupils, the article explores reasons why the schools were valued, drawing on wider constructions of childhood, religion and rurality. The consequences of the schools’ popularity on factors such as traffic, parking, school ethos and local community ties are also considered. The findings of the study problematise some of the prevalent assumptions about marketisation, including the role of social class and geography in these processes. As such, the article makes an important contribution to the sociological literature on faith schools, rural schools and educational markets.

Keywords:

• Faith schools
• markets
• rural idyll
• rural schools
• social class
• school choice

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers [IBG]) for a small research grant that helped fund this research. Thanks go to Hannah Solomon, Richard Taulke-Johnson and Fiona Williams for their contribution to data collection and analysis. The authors also sincerely thank all of the research participants for their helpful contributions.

Notes

1. Voluntary Controlled schools refer to faith schools that are fully funded by the state but maintain a distinctive religious ethos and character. Voluntary Aided schools raise 10% of their own capital funding costs but enjoy a greater degree of autonomy in relation to school governance, religious education and admissions policies.

2. At the time of the relevant inspections, the school inspectorate in Wales – Estyn – used a four-point scale consisting of excellent, good, adequate and unsatisfactory, whereas the school inspectorate in England – Ofsted – used a four-point scale consisting of outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate.

3. These inspections are also referred to as Section 48 (England) or Section 50 (Wales) reports and deal exclusively with those aspects of school life that come under the religious remit of church schools.