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sociology > 2.4 educational policies > Flashcards

2.4 educational policies Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What was education like before 1944?

A
  • confined to a small minority
  • after the IR, many believe that a literate and numerate workforce was required to continue economic growth
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2
Q

What act introduced the tripartite system?

A

The Butler Act (1944)

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3
Q

What was the basic aim of the Butler Act?

A
  • to give every pupil a chance to develop their abilities to the full within a free system of state education
  • children took a test at the age of 11, which would measure their intellectual ability and determine which one out of three schools they were most suited to
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4
Q

What three types of schools were part of the tripartite system?

A
  1. grammar = academic education
  2. secondary modern = basic education
  3. technical = vocational schools
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5
Q

What are some criticisms of the tripartite system?

A
  • secondary moderns were regarded as inferior = students received a lower standard of education
  • persistence of class inequality = no real equality of opportunity, MC went to grammar and WC to secondary modern
  • persistence of gender inequality = girls had to achieve a higher score in the 11+ because they were thought to mature earlier
  • the 11+ determined the next 5 years of schooling = ‘late developers’ had no chance of getting an academic education
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6
Q

What is a positive evaluation point of the tripartite system?

A
  • there were many children, particularly WC boys, who were given the opportunity to attend grammar school and achieve success within the system
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7
Q

When was the 11+ abolished and grammar and secondary moderns were replaced?

A

in 1965 they introduced the comprehensive schools

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8
Q

What did the introduction of comprehensive schools mean for education?

A
  • there was a ‘one size fits all’ approach to education where all students, regardless of ability are educated at the same school
  • education should have equality of opportunity
  • students went to the school nearest to their house
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9
Q

What are some advantages of the comprehensive system?

A
  • equality of opportunity
  • parity of esteem = all students attend the same type of school
  • breaking down class barriers
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10
Q

What are some criticisms of comprehensivisation?

A
  • class inequalities were just reproduced under one roof
  • there was very limited choice over where parents could send their children to = selection by mortgage
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11
Q

What happened in The Great Debate, 1967?

A
  • Labour PM, James Callaghan made a speech calling for a ‘Great Debate’ on education, he emphasised how important it was for schools to do 2 things:
    1. contribute to improving the state of the economy by providing training courses for young people in different areas of work = new vocationalism
    2. schools needed to get back to basics and raise overall standards
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12
Q

What was the rationale behind the 1988 Education Act?

A
  • the New Right believed that parents should have more say in what school to send their children to = parentocracy
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13
Q

What did the act introduce?

A
  • league tables
  • a national curriculum
  • standardised testing
  • formula funding
  • open enrollment
  • later on: introduction of OFSTED
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14
Q

What were the aims of the 1988 Educational Reform Act?

A
  • parentocracy = because of more competition and choice, parents hold the power in the education system
  • marketisation = consumer choice and competition between suppliers
  • these should, according to the new right, improve efficiency in schools
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15
Q

What does Gerwitz argue about parental choice?

A
  • there are class differences in the ways parents choose where to send their children:
  • privileged skill choosers = MC parents use their cultural capital to take advantage of the opportunities available to them e.g moving house to better catchment areas
  • disconnected local choosers = WC parents who lack economic and cultural capital
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16
Q

What are some general criticisms of the 1988 Education Reform Act?

A
  • focusing on exam results and league tables causes stress
  • ‘teaching to the test’ = teachers may stifle children’s creativity
  • MC have more effective choice : selection by mortgage and transport costs
  • schools become more selective
  • inequality of education opportunity increases = the best schools become oversubscribed and can cream-skim the best pupils, meaning they can get better results
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17
Q

When were New Labour in power?

A

1997-2010

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18
Q

What were the aims of New Labour?

A
  • raising standards
  • improving equality of opportunity
  • increasing diversity
  • new vocationalism
19
Q

What was the new labour policy on the introduction of academies?

A
  • primarily aimed at failing schools
  • academies were no longer controlled by local councils and can set their own term dates, admissions policies; staff pay levels and so much more
20
Q

How many academies were there by May 2010?

A

203

21
Q

What was the new labour policy of introducing sure start centres?

A
  • are responsible for delivering services for children under 5 and their families
  • to provide high quality and affordable early years education and childcare
  • to raise parenting aspirations, self esteem and parenting skills
  • to improve child and family health, primarily through providing education and information
22
Q

What other policies did New Labour introduce?

A
  • Education Maintenance Allowance(EMA) = paid to students aged 16-19 from lower income families, it was designed to help with the hidden costs of education and there was a progressive approach
  • reduction in class sizes = promising to reduce the vast majority of primary class sizes to 30 or less, which was broadly achieved
  • introduction of literacy and numeracy hours = schools were required to spend at least one hour a day on both literacy and numeracy skills
23
Q

What are some criticisms of academies?

A
  • they are a type of exogenous privatisation as they involve private companies running schools on behalf of the govt
  • the trusts aren’t supposed to make a profit but some have been accused of doing just that
    e.g. The Adventure Learning Academy Trust and The Bright Tribe have been accused of misusing govt funds
24
Q

What is an example of an academy misusing govt funds?

A
  • Whitehaven Academy in Cumbria - parents and teacher claim that Bright Tribe has starved the school of funding since 2016 + as a result some of the buildings are literally falling apart
25
Q

When was the coalition government in power?

A

2010-2015

26
Q

Why did the coalition govt introduce spending cuts?

A
  • so they can cut taxes
  • been cut by 15% since 2010
27
Q

What else did the coalition government cut?

A
  • the EMA -> cost the govt £550 million a year and was replaced by a £180 million bursary scheme, targeted at those in the very lowest income households
28
Q

What did the coalition government increase?

A
  • the number of academies = schools with an OFSTED rating of satisfactory or below were forced to convert to academies
  • there are 1,346 MATs in England as of 2023
29
Q

What did the coalition government introduce for pupils on FSM?

A
  • schools have received additional funding for pupils on FSM - this funding has increased gradually over the last decade
  • in 2019, schools received an additional £1320 per annum for FSM pupils from reception to year 6 and £935 per pupil from years 7-11
30
Q

What are free schools and why did the coalition govt introduce them?

A
  • free schools are academies, but with even more freedoms than other academies
  • ## they are non-profit making, state-funded schools that are free to attend
31
Q

Between 2010 and 2015 how many free schools were set up?

A

more than 400

32
Q

What’s the difference between free schools and local authority schools?

A
  • don’t have to follow the National Curriculum
  • funding comes straight from the govt
  • free to set school days and term times
  • teachers don’t have to be qualified
33
Q

What are the different types of free schools?

A
  • studio school = small free school, usually with around 300 pupils, using project-based learning
  • university technical college = a free school for the 14-18 age group, specialising in practical, employment focused subjects, sponsored by a university, employer or further education college
34
Q

What are some arguments for free schools?

A
  • they create more local competition
  • they allow parents to have more choice in the type of education their child receives
35
Q

What are some criticisms of free schools?

A
  • they benefit primarily middle-class parents with the time to set them up, fuelling social segregation
  • free schools divert money away from existing schools = relatively less money for the Local Education Authority maintained schools
  • they are not actually needed and have lead to a surplus of school places = where free schools are fully subscribed, regular LA schools have surplus capacity
  • people dont actually want free schools
36
Q

What is meant by exogenous and endogenous privatisation?

A
  • Ball and Youdell (2007) = distinguish between exogenous privatisation (privatisation from outside) and endogenous privatisation (privatisation within the education system)
37
Q

What are some examples of exogenous privatisation?

A
  • the setting up of academies = increases the influence of private interests over running of the school
  • the building and maintaining of school buildings = private companies did the building, but in return were given contracts to repay the investment and provided maintenance for 25-35 years
  • running examination systems
  • the expansion of the education services industry = more international corporations involved in education than ever before
38
Q

What is meant by endogenous privatisation?

A
  • the introduction of free-market principles into the day to day running of schools - basically marketisation, including the following:
  • making schools compete for pupils so they become like businesses
  • giving parents choice so they become consumers
  • linking school funding to success rates
  • introducing performance related pay for teachers
  • allowing successful schools to take over and manage failing schools
39
Q

What are some arguments against privatisation?

A
  • Stephen Ball = the cola-isation of schools - the private sector also increasingly penetrates schools through vending machines and the development of brand loyalty through logos and sponsorships
40
Q

What is meant by globalisation?

A
  • increasing amounts of people, money, technologies and ideas flowing across national borders
41
Q

What are the consequences of globalisation for Education in the UK?

A
  • **increased competition for jobs abroad meant the New Labour govt increased spending on education ** = new labour wanted 50% of children to enter HE
  • establishment of global ICT companies such as google and apple are now involved in online learning materials
  • increasing migration has meant education is now more multicultural
  • increasing cultural globalisation challenges the relevance of a National Curriculum
  • global media challenges the authority of traditional schooling
  • post-fordism and globalisation meant that many manufacturing jobs were sent abroad to developing countries
42
Q

What are PISA tests?

A
  • sat by a random sample of 15 year old students every 3 years + measures their ability in reading, mathematics and science
  • more than 3 million students in over 90 countries have participated in the PISA tests since they started in the year 2000
  • they asses whether what students have learned in school can be applied to real life situations
  • stands for Programme of International Student Assessment
43
Q

Are the PISA tests damaging education?

A
  • increased the pressure on national govts to rise up the rankings
  • encourages a 3 year improvement cycle, rather than longer term development
  • PISA tests are designed to assess
44
Q

Are the PISA tests damaging education?

A
  • increased the pressure on national govts to rise up the rankings
  • encourages a 3 year improvement cycle, rather than longer term development
  • PISA tests are designed to assess

sociology (31 decks)

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