Deck 6 The Education Reform Act 1988

Question 1

What (marketisation) policies did the Education Reform Act 1988 introduce?

Answer 1

Ofsted, league tables, open enrolment, formula funding/voucher system, national curriculum, SATs

Question 2

Which theoretical perspectives would like the ERA 1988?

Answer 2

New Right - introduced ERA because it made schools compete like businesses

Question 3

Which theoretical perspectives would not like the ERA 1988?

Answer 3

Marxists - it benefits the middle class more

Question 4

What is Ofsted?

Answer 4

Service which inspects schools every 2-8(ish) years

Question 5

What is positive about Ofsted?

Answer 5

Creates a parentocracy
Encourages all schools to improve their standards

Question 6

What is negative about Ofsted?

Answer 6

Gerwitz: this benefits middle class privileged-skilled choosers the most

Question 7

What are league tables?

Answer 7

Where schools publish their results each year

Question 8

What is open enrolment?

Answer 8

Allows any student to apply to any school in the country, not just local ones

Question 9

What is formula funding/the voucher system?

Answer 9

Schools receive a certain amount of money from the government for each student that attends

Question 10

What is marketisation?

Answer 10

The process of making schools compete in the same way that businesses do

Question 11

What is the aim of marketisation?

Answer 11

If schools have to compete with others to get students then they will all have to improve their standards, meaning all students get a better standard of education

Question 12

Evaluation for marketisation: What is the A-C economy?

Answer 12

Gillborn & Youdell (2000):
Schools are more interested in accepting middle class students as they are seen as better students

Question 13

Evaluation for marketisation: What is Educational Triage?

Answer 13

Gillborn & Youdell (2000)
Middling students receive the most help to make sure they get at least a C, while lowest performing students get no help and are seen as ‘hopeless cases’. Tends to benefit the Middle Class

Question 14

What is a parentocracy?

Answer 14

Where parents have power and choice over which school they send their children to

Question 15

What are Gerwitz’s 3 different kinds of choosers?

Answer 15

Privileged-skilled choosers:
Middle class parents with cultural/economic capital, and desire, to find the best schools for their children and help get them in

Semi-skilled choosers:
Working class parents with only some cultural capital to help them choose the best schools, and the desire to do so

Disconnected-local choosers:
Working class parents with neither the cultural capital nor desire to find out which schools are best for their children

Question 16

What is positive about formula funding/the voucher system?

Answer 16

Raises standards in all schools as they have to improve to gain more students

Question 17

What is negative about formula funding/the voucher system?

Answer 17

Underperforming schools, who don’t attract more students each year, continue to get worse as they lose out on funding until they may eventually close

Question 18

What is positive about open enrolment?

Answer 18

Creates a parentocracy

Raises standards in all schools as they have to improve to gain more students

Question 19

What is negative about open enrolment?

Answer 19

Benefits the middle class the most

Question 20

What is positive about the national curriculum?

Answer 20

Benefits girls as they can now study all the same subjects that boys can

Question 21

What is negative about the national curriculum?

Answer 21

Can be critisised as a ‘one size fits all’ policy, not accounting for individual students’ needs or strengths

Testing students at 7 and 11 through SATs can lead to negative labelling from an early age