‘Modernising the comprehensive principle’: selection, setting and the institutionalisation of educational failure

Abstract

This paper examines issues of selection, merging an analysis of policy with data from a qualitative case study. It focuses on the ‘modernisation of the comprehensive principle’ proposed by New Labour, in which selection within schools (through setting ‘by ability’) is increasingly encouraged. Data collected at an inner‐city, multi‐ethnic comprehensive school are used to illustrate how discourses on selection are being reworked locally. The school was largely supportive of setting, despite some teachers acknowledging that the practice prioritised high‐achieving pupils with perceived ‘good attitudes’. In the form under study, setting involved disadvantaged pupils from ethnic‐minority backgrounds, particularly those who received support in English as an Additional Language. It is concluded that setting did not contribute to an inclusive agenda for education, in spite of government claims of increased ‘standards for all’.