Comprehensivisation

Question 1

When did comprehensivisation begin?

Answer 1

1960s

Question 2

What are comprehensive schools?

Answer 2

Schools that don’t chose students based on academic ability.

Question 3

What schools did comprehensive schools replace?

Answer 3

Grammar, secondary modern & technical schools

Question 4

Comprehensive schools have ________ and still the _____.

Answer 4

longevity

norm

Question 5

How is it argued comprehensive schools never did what they claimed? (2)

Answer 5

Setting & streaming used to be selective.

Catchment areas.

Question 6

How have comprehensive schools increasingly become about location?
What has this resulted in?

Answer 6

Those in middle-class areas have different demographics to those in inner-city areas.

Those in middle-class areas have better results.

Question 7

What have critics of comprehensivisation argued about the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach?

Answer 7

Ignores the fact all children are different.

Question 8

How did the new right criticise comprehensivisation?

Answer 8

Prevents meritocracy.

Question 9

The new right argue comprehensivisation has prevented meritocracy.
How did they outline this?

Answer 9

People from poor backgrounds could reach top of society in post-war period (eg Margaret Thatcher) as products of grammar schools.
Now only rich reach top (eg Boris Johnson) as products of private schools.

Question 10

One of the criticisms of comprehensivisation was that it doesn’t provide the workforce needed by the economy.
Expand on this (2).

Answer 10

Crosland stated every child deserved a ‘grammar school education’ but it may not be what every child & the economy needs.
What is taught in schools doesn’t prepare students for the workforce.

Question 11

One of the criticisms of comprehensivisation was that it doesn’t provide the workforce needed by the economy.
How do Marxists counter this?

Answer 11

School teaches working-class students to go into working-class jobs (correspondence theory).

Question 12

What did the comprehensive school system seek to do?

What did the Tripartite system seek to do?

Answer 12

Educate all students of different backgrounds equally under the same curriculum.

Separate students by using a different curriculum.

Question 13

Which political party instructed all schools to become comprehensive?

Answer 13

Labour

Question 14

Why did the New-Right think mixed-ability (comprehensive) schools dragged down students?

Answer 14

They all went to the same type of school & couldn’t choose one which best suited individual abilities.

Question 15

Why did the New Right believe there was no incentive to improve amongst comprehensive schools?

Answer 15

There was no competition amongst each other as teachers had a job for life & there was a guaranteed stream of pupils.

Question 16

Comprehensive schools have been criticised for their use of streaming/setting. What has been said to defend this?

Answer 16

It is easy to move between streams/sets.

Question 17

How is comprehensivisation beneficial for the class system?

Answer 17

In forms & lessons, students of different classes are likely to mix.

Question 18

What is argued by some sociologists that teachers by unconsciously do?

Answer 18

Select students for streams based on factors such as class & ethnicity.

Question 19

The large size of most comprehensive schools offer a range of facilities. But why has it been criticised?

Answer 19

They may have a lack of funding to make use of space for facilities.
May feel impersonal, increasing discipline problems.