How does the idea of ability relate to inequalities?

Abstract

This chapter focuses on inequalities, and how the idea of ‘ability’ relates to their maintenance and reproduction. It begins with an outline of current educational inequalities in England, from early years to secondary education, and the most prominent debates in the field of race and class in education. Then, data from a research project on grouping and other research are used to examine how ability interacts with inequalities, at all levels of the schooling system. Then the resurgence of ideas which link intelligence levels with different social groups, known as the ‘new eugenics’ are considered, along with the challenges posed by epigenetics to deterministic accounts of merit. Finally, the chapter explores how debates about inequalities in education have shifted and continue to change during the COVID-19 crisis.