The positions of primary and secondary schools in the English school field: a case of durable inequality

Abstract

In interviews as part of a research study of structural reform in England some tension between primary headteachers and their secondary peers was evident. This was symptomatic of a long standing difference in status between the two phases. At a time when relations between stakeholders in local systems are subject to change, we seek to understand anew why that might be the case and how the tension we found was evidence of a current difference of power within interactions between representatives of the phases. We analyse differences of size, resources, workforce, pedagogy and history and how they have resulted in different, and differently valued, practices and professional identities. We explore how attributes of the two phases have been counterposed and how , in complex interaction with wider discourses of politics, gender and age, this process has invested the differences with meanings and values that tend to relegate attributes associated with primary school. By focusing on the activation of cumulative inequality in interactions we contribute a complementary perspective to studies of perceived relative status and highlight the implications for understanding school positioning in local arenas as the role of local authorities is reduced.

Emerging schooling landscapes in England: How primary system leaders are responding to new school groupings

“…Despite this, much that has been written about emerging landscapes has focused on the secondary sector. As part of this project we have explored the different positioning, power and interests of primary and secondary schools in the school field (Coldron et al, 2015). In this latest phase we sought to deepen our understanding by interviewing primary school leaders to identify in their reported actions, reasoning and concerns and what was determining their responses.…”

“…The remaining 75% of primary schools (some 12,600 schools) are still maintained by their LA (DfE, 2017a). Primary schools are positioned in the school field differently from secondary schools and consequently their institutional and vocational habitus differs and they have distinctive educational and institutional practices (Braun, 2012; Coldron et al, 2015). These differences make academisation, and the kind of autonomy it offers, less congenial or attractive to many primary schools, and leads them to have a much stronger identification with, and commitment to, their LA than is typically the case with secondary schools.…”

Local authorities as actors in the emerging “school-led” system in England

“…Secondly, there is the limited presence of large national multiple-academy trust chains, increasing emergence of local school-centred groupings and a significant proportion of academies remaining freestanding. A third feature is the different responses of secondary schools and primary schools to the policy of academisation because of the way they are differently positioned in the school field (Coldron et al, 2015). Fourthly, a key role is being played by well-positioned headteachers who exercise considerable influence in shaping local education arenas (Coldron et al, 2014).…”

Tests as boundary signifiers: level 6 tests and the primary secondary divide

“…There are differences in status and pay, with secondary schools seen as having higher status than primaries. Coldron et al (2014), drawing on Bourdieu's (1977Bourdieu's ( , 1990 concepts of capitals and Habitus and Schatzki's (2002) conceptualisation of practice, present an analysis of how the differing sizes, contexts and institutional practices of primary and secondary schools emphasise the differences between the two and lead to systematic and durable inequalities between them. These differences become sharper during the crucial time of crossing from primary to secondary schooling for pupils, when primary and secondary schools have to work together, and can become extremely pointed in relation to assessment of pupil attainment and progress.…”