Education Flashcards
What is meant by market values in education?
focus around two values: competition and choice.
first began with the 1988 education act
what is the marketization of education?
the addition of market values and market forces to education.
what is meant by market forces in education and name 3 examples
Market forces in education would be outsourcing to private companies motivated by profit to provide facilities like school food and cleaning. Academies also demonstrate market forced in education as they can be run/funded by profit making organisations who are subject to the demands of the economy. OFSTED and exam boards are also a further example of the presence of market forces in education.
how is parental choice a product of the marketization of education?
parental choice allowed parents to rank their local schools in order of preference. Meaning schools were in competition with each other over applicants.
Thus injecting both choice and competition
how are league tables a product of the marketization of education?
league tables allow parents to compare the performance (according to the results of government introduced standardized tests) of their local schools and use their position as a guide to their ranking in preference.
how are standardized tests a product of the marketization of education?
Due to the introduction of the national curriculum as part of the 1988 education act it became possible to introduce standardized tests. Standardized tests were then used to determine a schools ranking in the league tables
league tables, standardized tests, the national curriculum and parental choice all connect?
parental choice allows parents to rank their local schools, this places schools in competition for applicants. League tables were introduced as a means for parents to compare their local schools. A league table could be introduced thanks to the introduction of a national curriculum which allowed for standardized tests which could be used to make up the league table.
The overall impact being that parents could compare the positions of their local schools in the league tables when ranking their preference. This meant good schools received lots of applicants and could subtlety manipulate who they accepted whilst “poor” schools received those pupils leftover.
what is the funding difference between private and state education and what is the basic implication of this difference?
- Sate schools are state funded.
- private schools are funded by charities, fees and donations.
- The funding of state schools is limited by government policy (depending upon the party and the context this could be determined by either ideology or the economy) whilst private schools can essentially charge what they like. This means per child a private schools will tend to have more money.
what are the wider implications of the difference in funding between state and private schools?
-the financial disparity is increased because private schools have fewer children and have no set income obligations towards teachers.
what is the difference in autonomy between state and private schools?
- state schools are funded by the state and therefore the tax payer the state is in control. The curriculum, funding, discipline, inspection, examination and purpose of education are all down to the policies of the government of the day.
- Private schools are not controlled in this way, although they can still be inspected by Ofsted and sit the same exams they have greater autonomy because of their independent finances and therefore are not controlled by education policy in the same way. One example of an area they have greater autonomy is the curriculum.
What is the private school tendency with the curriculum and why?
Private schools, possibly because of their traditional roots, tend to favour a traditional education with a focus of academic subjects (latin). Reflect the ambitions of the parents because they believe it will increase career/university prospects.
Why does a state school need to provide a diverse range of subjects?
a state schools caters for a wide range of backgrounds,skills, ambitions and interests and therefore has to offer a variety of subjects to match.
and they have more pupils
an example of a private schools which doesn’t fit the traditional mould
Summerhill- a private schools were attendance isn’t compulsory and nor are exams. decisions and grievances are dealt with in a democratic manner.
not a traditional education however it could only be provided by a private school because of the autonomy a private school has and because of the financial pressures such a school would have.
what is blurring the difference between private and state education?
- Academies which have state funding but run their own finances and have much of the autonomy of a private school.
- poor economic climate has led some private schools to convert to academy status- the implications of this change will no doubt not be felt in the ethos and curriculum of the school but will be intended to be felt in the catchment for the school
- private schools have also been known to adopt successful state methods eg small classroom sizes
what is a comprehensive education?
all children of all backgrounds and abilities in one area are educated together in a single school. Although the class arrangements may vary from mixed classes to “sets” to “streaming”.
what is a selective education?
a selective school is one which by some means is able to select which students it would like to attend.
how was the tripartite system selective?
depended upon the results of 11+ exam-from these results children would either attend the secondary modern or the grammar school. (secondary modern for those who hadn’t, grammar for those who had)
explain how academies can be selective
academies are not meant to be selective however were there is a will there is a way.
- interview the child or parents (put off parents who haven’t experienced something similar and those who aren’t committed)
- they can be selective through their catchment- an academy can manipulate the boundaries of its catchment to include a successful primary schools whilst exclude a failing one
- selective through exclusion. Accadmies do not have to follow the same punishment process (detention, exclusion, expelling etc) thus they can indefinatley exclude pupils with bad behaviour.
how can faith schools be selective
through demanding for a levl of religious commitment faith schools are also able to weed out parents who don’t know how to play the system or aren’t committed to religious principles.
in what ways could a comprehensive education be considered selective?
parents being able to rank which school they would prefer could be considered selection as children are allocated places according to preference not area.
setting/streaming are selective
Foster’s education act
when, context, what and why
when: passed in 1870
Context: it was the first time government had taken any responsibility for education. Prior to the act education was provided privately, through the church or by charity. The act was introduced by a liberal MP from Bradford (an industrialist)
what: introducing a remedial education for all children aged 5-10.
why:
economic: this was the age of the empire and the height of the industrial revolution. An educated work force is a skilled one and an uneducated work force isn’t a skilled one. To remain economically competitive the UK needed an educated workforce. Britain was being increasingly threatened by Germany and the USA.
social control: a remedial education could prepare pupils for both their role in economy and their role in society. By introducing a remedial education the differences between work and employee could be further highlighted and embedded. Furthermore because the proposed changes came from an industrialist liberal MP the content of the education received was being determined by the likes of their employer.
compare the social control element of Foster’s education act to the present day
s
Butler’s education act
when, context, what and why
when: 1994
context: at that point in time it was widely accepted that a child had a set amount of intelligence from birth, and in many cases it was also accepted that it was hereditary.
what: introduced the tripartite system into the UK. According to a child’s 11+ results they would go to either a Grammar, Secondary Modern or a Technical school (although few were ever built)
why:
create a meritocracy were students were able to achieve according to their skills not their background. This way of thinking can come as a result of the war
economy: splitting education by ability would allow the educational content to be tailored not only to their intelligence at age 11 but for that role that intelligence meant they could play in the economy. Those in a secondary modern would be prepared for their role as workers, those in grammar schools for managerial roles and top jobs. Children were being slotted into their future roles in the economy
the role of the civil service in Butler’s education Act
c
limitations on the meritocratic element of the tripartite system
Limitations came from:
- the nature of the exam-the questions in the exam had class bias (favouring the middle class), cultural bias (favouring those with a “traditional” English heritage”) and lingual bias (favouring those for whom English was their first language).
- The primary school they attended. If they attended a goo primary school they increased their chances because of the amount of preparation they would receive.
- intelligence or nurture from an even earlier age than 11. Many schools began streaming at the age of 7 to start preparation for the 11+. At that age, or even at the age of 11, had a child really shown their true capacity? Or does it also highlight the amount of parental encouragement and supervision they received?
