ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether or not the policy debates about parental choice in education, markets and consumerism were at all salient to particular groups of parents and families in primary schools in inner London at the time. The certain research was carried out after the passing of the 1988 Educational Reform Act (ERA), well before the 'major' changes towards more markets and consumerism in education. Parental choice can lead to increased social inequalities either by leaving some children with reduced educational opportunities in the schools that lose pupils, or else by allowing other pupils access to a superior education that is not open to all. The political rhetoric of parents as 'consumers' implies freely acting agents, collecting and evaluating information to be able to make a clear decision in the best interests of the child in the light of the available evidence.
