Ability, Inequality and Post-Pandemic Schools: Rethinking Contemporary Myths of Meritocracy

Front Cover -- Ability, Inequality And Post-pandemic Schools: Rethinking Contemporary Myths Of Meritocracy -- Copyright Information -- Dedication -- Table Of Contents -- List Of Figures And Tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- Why 'ability' And Inequality? -- Merit And Ability In Recent Political Debate -- Government Perspectives Since 2010 -- The Opposition View: The Rejection Of Caution -- Theoretical Perspectives -- Discourse And Power -- Discipline And Regulation -- Micropractices Of Power: Classification And Normalisation -- Inequality And Inequity Contemporary Educational Discourses: Data And Neuroscience -- Researching Ability -- An Outline Of The Book -- 2 Ability And Its Use In Schools -- Introduction -- The Historical Context -- The Meritocratic Neoliberal State -- Merit And Ability In The Postgenomic Age -- A Note On Ability And Dis/ability -- Current Discourses Of Ability In Education -- Ways Of Describing Ability: As Innate -- Ability As Intelligence, Skills Or Talents -- Ability As Potential -- Ways Of Describing Ability: As Positional -- Ability As A Set Point -- Ability As Attainment -- Ability In Relation To A Norm Ways Of Describing Ability As Something Some Children Possess -- Ability As Readiness -- Ability As Knowledge -- Ability As Background -- Combinations Of Different Perspectives -- Alternatives And Challenges -- The Implications Of Ability -- Grouping Practices -- Interactions Between Teacher And Pupil -- Children's Identities As Learners -- Conclusion -- 3 How Does The Idea Of Ability Relate To Inequalities? -- Introduction -- Educational Inequalities -- Attainment In Early Years -- Attainment In Primary Schools -- Attainment In Secondary Schools -- Exclusion Figures The Frames Of Debate About Education And Inequality -- Institutional Racism -- 'model Minorities' -- The Focus On The 'white Working Class' -- The Interaction Of Ability With Inequality -- The New Eugenics? -- The Epigenetic Challenge To Determinism And Race -- Inequality And Education In The Era Of Covid-19 -- Conclusion -- 4 The Influence Of Neuroscience -- Introduction -- The 'new Neuros' -- The Neuroturn In Education -- The First Three Years -- The Doubts And Dangers -- The View From Early Childhood Education -- Understanding The Attraction Of Neuroscience The Influence On Discourses Of Ability And Inequality -- The Biological/psychological Connection -- The Irreparable Brain -- The 'damaged Brain' And Race -- Conclusion -- 5 Data And The Solidification Of Ability -- Introduction -- The Growth Of Data In Schools -- The Datafication Of Education -- The Five Ps Of Datafication -- Data-based Ability Practices -- Data And Ability: The Growth Of Progress Measures -- The Ability Spectrum And Inequality -- The Shift On From Data? -- Conclusion -- 6 Challenging Ability, Inequality And The Myth Of Meritocracy In The Post-pandemic Era -- Introduction Alice Bradbury. Brains And Data: Tensions And Commonalities. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web.