5.educational policies (e) Flashcards
what are the features of globalisation?
-technology devlopment- pre-internet times it could take weeks to send letters. zoom, teams, to connect around world
-economic changes- takes place on global scale, growth of transnational companies
-political changes- ohmae= borderless world, globalisation and growing interconnectingness has undermined power of nation state. gov has to think abt how their policies will play out on international stage
-cultural developments-more access to fine language films, fashion influenced by different cultures
-migration-helped push cultural developments
what is the impact of globalisation on education?
-increased competition for jobs meaning schools have to change curriculum to meet new needs
-global ICT companies creating online sources and curriculums
-increased multiculturalism in schools and decline of ethnocentric curriculum
-increased competition between school and unis for students
-globalranking used to compare & contrast systems + raise standards
-increased risk and safeguarding issues for schools
what are some views on globalisation and education?
-hyper-globalist view- ohmae= globalisation been good for education
-marxist view- spring= globalisation only provides more educational opportunities to wealthy
-neo-liberal view- globalisation means gov play a reduced role in education system and reduced funding
-new fordist view- globalisation increased competition in job market meaning gov should increase educational spending
why do we have education policies?
-ensure education remains a good standard
-ensure educational standards are competitive
-prevent risk factors damaging educational chances e.g. gender, class, ethnicity
-ensure that getting a place at school isnt impacted upon by gender, class, ethnicity
what is the history of the education system?
-children of upper and middle classes have always had option of private schooling, but state education has only been available since 1880, it was made compulsory for children up to age 10
what are some educational policies from 1870-1979?
-1870-1880 fosters education act= 1st significant piece of gov legislation on education. made education available for 5-10yr olds. state became responsible for education
-1918 fisher act= school compulsory and free up until 14. education system divided along social class lines: fee paying secondary system for m/c children who could afford it
-1944= education shaped by meritocracy: individuals should achieve in education through own hard work.
-1944 butler act= tripartite system. children selected and allocated to 1 of 3 diff types of secondary school based on 11+ exam:
*grammer schools
*secondary modern schools
*technical schools
what are some advantages of these social policies in education?
-smarter children went to grammer school so these ppl would all be working together
-gives ‘best students’ chance for better education
-more likely to reproduce children who get higher paying jobs
-based on skills not whether they fit ideal pupil: not based on who gets in so reduces prejudice
-brighter children pushed along academic route
what are some disadvantages of these social policies in education?
-too difficult for 11 year olds
-m/c and u/c could afford tutor to ensure they pass: uses elaborate code within english test which disadvantages w/c pupils
-creates labels for students who fail as not being academic
-lots of pressure
-english disadvantages EAL pupils
-not enough time
-many teachers saw children who failed 11+ as failures leading to self fulfilling prophecy
-11+ became discredited as a means of predicting potential
what were some educational policies in 1965?
-comprehensivisation-aims of:
*raising standards
*marketisation of education
*create economic efficiany
-11+ to be abolished along with grammer and secondary moderns, replaced by comprehensive schools
-left to local education authority to decide to ‘go comprehensive’
-critics claimed comprehensive system would lower educational standards
-educational qualifications of school leavers had improved, but class differences still remained
-many comprehensives set students by ‘ability’: many m/c students in top set, w/c in lower set
what are some evaluation points for comprehensive schools?
-functionalists= they promote social integration by bringing children of different social classes into one school. also see system as more meritocratic asit shows their abilities
-julienne ford (1969)= little social mixing between w/c and m/c mainly due to streaming
-marxists= not meritocratic. reproduce social class inequality through continuation of streaming and labelling
what were some educational policies in 1979?
-conservative margaret thatcher elected. aims were to:
*develop education system which meets needs of industry
*raise standards
-politicians (particularly new right)= youth unemployment high due to ‘skills crisis’: young ppl lacked right skills & attitudes required. ‘new vocationalism’ introduced aimed to equip teens with appropriate skills, work habits, positive attitudes towards paid work
what were the aims of the education reform act of 1988?
-improve standards through marketisation
-improve efficiency in schools
-ensure education equipped children with skills for work
what is the outline of the education reform act of 1988?
-most important piece of legislation since 1944 education act
-introduced by conservatives, influenced by new right
-schools to compete for gov funding
-parents were customers (parentocracy), have choice of where to send children. brought about open enrolment
-introduced school tables, ranked schools on exam performance on SATs, GCSEs, A levels
-introduced national curriculum and GCSEs and SATs
-establised OFSTED
what are the evaluations of the education reform act of 1988?
+GCSE results have improved nearly every year for last 30 years
+no successive gov has changed fundamental foundations of the act, suggests its working
+principle of competition been applied internationally
-schools increasingly ‘teach to test’
-schools pt more emphasis on core subjects rather than creative
-league tables give no indication of wider social good school is doing
-m/c have more choice due to their higher income
-m/c parents more likely to deal/negotiate with schools to gain place
-experience of schooling becomes negative for failing students
-best schools get oversubscribed so they can ‘cream skim’ the best pupils so they get better results
what is parental choice within marketisation?
-marketisation benefits m/c by creating inequalities between schools, and advantages m/c parents whose economic and cultural capital puts them in better position
-sharon gerwirtz (1995)= differences in parents economic & cultural capital lead to class differences in how they can exercise choices of secondary schools. identified 3 main types of parents:
*privileged skilled choosers
*disconnected local choosers
*semi skilled choosers
