The New Meritocracy by Mark Peel
Independent schools have always attracted controversy. Many in society take issue with the high level of privilege they enjoy. Yet in recent years what was formerly a scarcely regulated field with sharply varying standards, has seen a revolution in methods and results. Independent schools now exert an extraordinary reach and influence upon Britain's professional and political elites. The fact that many of these schools are wealthy and privileged goes without saying; less understood is the vastly superior level of education they now offer. In The New Meritocracy Mark Peel examines how independent schools have benefited from competition, and raised their game in manifold ways. He is also candid about the new problems facing these schools, from the sad decline of sportsmanship on the field (arising from a 'win-at-all-cost' attitude that has migrated across from professional sport) to the issue of mental health problems resulting from high pressures placed on students. In this remarkably thoroughly researched analysis of an under-examined topic, Mark Peel offers a multi-faceted portrait of the state of the sector over the last thirty years.He evaluates its many considerable strengths, its future challenges, and shows how what was once seen as an outdated wing of the Establishment has transformed itself into a formidable engine of modern education.
'A timely and important assessment of the role private schools now play in public life in Britain.. Essential reading for anyone interested in the development of education in Britain today' -- Magnus Linklater, columnist, The Times; 'The best things in education cannot be measured. They can be described though, and Mark Peel has done that well in his account of late twentieth-century schools' -- Sir Eric Anderson, former Head Master and Provost of Eton College; 'A definitive account of the contemporary independent schools, both in their educational context and in the wider psyche of the nation' -- D.R. Thorpe, leading political biographer; 'An apt description and evaluation of the last thirty years within the sector by a man who really knows it from the inside [...] As ever with Peel the book is cogently written and describes its subject with not only sympathy ... but in addition with a cutting assessment of what will be required of it in the future.' - Limping Towards the Sunrise, blog
Mark Peel attended Harrow School and Edinburgh University before teaching History and Politics at Fettes School in Scotland for more than twenty-five years. Besides contributing to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography he is the author of eight books on cricket, politics and independent schools, one of which, England Expects: A Life of Ken Barrington, won the 1993 Cricket Society Literary Award.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781783961757 |
| ISBN 10 | 1783961759 |
| Title | The New Meritocracy |
| Author | Mark Peel |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Elliott & Thompson Limited |
| Year published | 2015-09-03 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |