SP432 Half Unit
Education Policy, Reform and Financing
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Sonia Exley
Availability
This course is compulsory on the MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Education). This course is available on the MSc in International Social and Public Policy, MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Development), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (LSE and Fudan), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Migration), MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Non-Governmental Organisations) and MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Research). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
All Social Policy Courses are ‘Controlled Access’.
Other than for students in the first category below, when applying for a course all students are required to provide a written statement explaining why they wish to take that course.
Statements are considered by the Course Convenor and, where merited by the statement, places are offered in the following priority order:
1. Students for whom the course is a ‘core course’ on their Programme Regulations (these students should already be allocated to the course in LSE for you – i.e. no written statement is required).
2. Students for whom the course appears as an ‘optional core course’ on their Programme Regulations (where students have to choose between a small number of core options).
3. Students for whom the course appears as an optional course on their Programme Regulations.
4. Other Social Policy students.
5. LSE students from Departments other than Social Policy.
Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated on most courses is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Convenor’s discretion, based on student statements. Therefore, you are advised to have an alternative course in mind in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.
If offered a place on a Social Policy course, please accept the place as early as possible. NB: Offers will ‘time-out’ after 48 hours and the place will be offered to another student. If you wish to reject an offer, please do so as early as possible so that the place can be offered to one of your fellow students.
Close of Course Selection is on the 10 October 2025 (dependant on availability of course places).
Please Note: No places will be offered on Social Policy courses UNTIL 1pm on 29th September 2025.
For queries contact: socialpolicy.msc@lse.ac.uk
Course content
This course considers education policy, reform and financing across a diverse range of countries. It uses concepts and tools from a number of academic disciplines – social policy, sociology, economics, politics and philosophy – to scrutinise education. Throughout the course, there is a particular focus on equity, social justice and the distribution of resources.
Issues to be addressed include: the aims of education systems; the impact of social characteristics on educational outcomes (e.g. socio-economic status, gender, race and ethnicity) and related policy reforms; accountability and market-oriented reforms in education; privatisation; power and the politics of educational policy making; global policy transfer in education; early years education; school-based education; vocational and higher education. Not all of these issues are covered as separate weekly topics – some are ‘cross-cutting’ and will be discussed throughout the course.
Teaching
15 hours of seminars and 15 hours of lectures in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
All teaching will be in accordance with the LSE Academic Code which specifies a minimum of two hours taught contact time per week when the course is running in the Autumn Term (AT) and/or Winter Term (WT). Social Policy courses are predominantly taught through a combination of in-person lectures and In person classes/seminars. Further information will be provided by the Course Convenor in the first lecture of the course.
Formative assessment
Essay in Autumn Term Week 9
One formative essay in AT.
Indicative reading
Specialist lists for each topic will be provided. The following books are recommended as a general introduction to the course content:
- Apple, M.W., Ball, S.J., Gandin, L.A. (2010) The Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Education. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Ball, S.J. (2021) The Education Debate - Fourth Edition. Bristol: Policy Press.
- Grek, S., Maroy, C., Verger, A. (2021) World Yearbook of Education 2021: Accountability and Datafication in the Governance of Education. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Hogan, A., Thompson, G. (eds) (2021) Privatisation and Commercialisation in Public Education: How the Nature of Public Schooling is Changing. Abingdon: Routledge.
- McGrath, S. Gu, Q. (eds) (2015) Routledge Handbook of International Education and Development. London: Routledge.
- Mundy, K., Green, A,. Lingard, B., Verger, A. (eds) (2016) The Handbook of Global Education Policy. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
- Wolf, A. (2002) Does Education Matter? Myths about Education and Economic Growth. Penguin.
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 180 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Students will sit a 3 hour in-person Exam in the Spring term. Students must answer 2 questions from a choice of questions. The recommended word count is 2400 (approximately 1200 per question).
Key facts
Department: Social Policy
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 50
Average class size 2024/25: 13
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication