Do free schools create “competitive threats”? The perceptions of neighbouring schools

Abstract

ABSTRACT A central policy claim for opening free schools in England was that these new schools would create competitive threats that incentivise nearby schools to improve. Where comparable policies have been pursued, notably charter schools in America, research has often measured competitive effects quantitatively. The perceptions of local actors assumed to experience competition can be overlooked. Responding, this article develops the first qualitative analysis of a sample of 28 schools neighbouring 14 free schools. The analysis evidences the importance of market contexts, with perceived competition mediated by supply and demand for places, choice geographies and school status hierarchies. Resulting diversity does not support simplistic assumptions nearby schools perceive competition or respond by seeking to improve. Just under half the schools studied perceived free schools created few competitive threats. Where competition was perceived, headteachers reported taking actions on promotion and national performance indicators, but rarely classroom practices. Where competition was strongest, headteachers reported intensive social selection, with free schools perceived to increase inequalities. The influence of school status on competitive logics of action was also revealed. Unequal material and symbolic resources afforded by status positioning informed headteachers’ perceptions of their relative capacity for effective action. Nine ideal types of logics of action are outlined, identifying how the context of competition and a school’s status influenced orientations to action. These logics are shown to be important in how intensive competition increased socio-economic inequalities by concentrating the negative effects of opening free schools, where these existed, in lower status schools serving more disadvantaged students.