EDUCATION - achieving equality educational policy Flashcards
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
Butler Act 1944 - what was it?
This introduced free and compulsory secondary education - this was because the ideas of meritocracy became more sought after.
Brought in the tripartite system -
Grammar, secondary modern, technical schools.
This Act brought in measures such as the 11+ to supposedly assign children into one of the three schools according to their abilities.
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Explain the Tripartite system
This was essentially an IQ exam offered to year 6 pupils to determine what secondary school they would attend.
Grammar schools offered academic curriculum and accessibility to non-manual jobs and higher education. They were for students who passed the 11+ and were mostly M.C
Secondary modern schools offered non-academic but a practical curriculum and accessibility to manual work for those who failed the 11+ - they were mainly W.C
Technical schools were scattered across the country and were fore the students who excelled in specific practical skills
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11+ system - bipartite or tripartite?
The system was more bipartite than tripartite… the 11+ reiterated and reproduced class inequality by funnelling students into two social classes and two different schools that offered unequal opportunities… this was extended to gender too because girls had to achieve higher marks than boys had to in order to go to Grammar school.
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Why did the Tripartite system fail?
Eval of the 1944
It justified and legitimised inequality through the ideology that ability was natural and not cultivated…
this led people to believing that ability could be accurately measured so early in life when actually, the child’s environment affects their successes.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
What did Labour introduce in 1965?
The comprehensive school system !!!
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Why did Labour introduce the comprehensive school?
It’s primary aim was to overcome the class divisions that the tripartite system had created and to make education more meritocratic .
The 11+ was abolished and grammar schools and secondary moderns were removed to create the comprehensive school that pupils who lived in the local catchment area would attend.
It was up to local councils to decide the comprehensives - not all local authorities went comprehensive.
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How was the comprehensive schooling system more meritocratic than the tripartite system?
This was more meritocratic because class differences or lacking opportunities prior to year 6 would not matter in determining the rest of the child’s life… if everyone received equal resources, then no one student would be more advantaged than the other.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
What do Functionalists think of comprehensive schooling?
Functionalists believe that comprehensive schooling are great for social integration though arguably there is limited evidence suggesting that W.C and M.C pupils mix because of setting and streaming.
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What do Marxists think of comprehensive schooling?
Julienne Ford
Marxists would argue that comprehensives reproduce class inequality generationally through setting and streaming which restricts opportunities of W.C children.
It’s also incredibly superficial because by abolishing the 11+, it gives capitalists an opportunity to suggest that the individual should be blamed when there may be other factors.
MYTH OF MERITOCRACY EXACERBATED.
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CONS - 1988 Education Reform Act
This brought in the national testing and league tables - this also introduced Ofsted.
It introduced open enrolment - the local Education Authority has no say so in the enrolment process.
Formula funding per student as introduced
National curriculums introduced standardised education.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
What did Blair do in 1998?
He abolished newer grammar schools because he believed comprehensives were best for social mobility.
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What did the 1997-2010 LAB government believe about education?
Education, Education, Education.
The LAB government consolidated marketisation policies but also introduced policies to ensure equality of opportunity.
When Blair was elected, the Third Way introduced a Social Democratic AND New Right way of thinking.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
Two policies that the 1997-2010 LAB government introduced that helped ensure equality of opportunity?
- AIM HIGHER 2004 Programme aimed to raise the aspirations of under-represented groups in higher education - it tried to encourage widening participation amongst kids for higher education.
- Education Maintenance Allowances 1999 to help 16-18 year olds in staying on in post-16 education - payments made out to students from low-income backgrounds to help them stay on after 16 to get higher level academic qualifications
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New Labour Paradox explained
Melissa Benn 2012
Argues that there is a contradiction between New Labour’s policies of tackling inequality and its commitment to marketisation.
Educational Maintenance Allowances to encourage students to stay on in education contradicts with the tuition fees introduced for uni (1998). It would deter students from going to university.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
2010-2015 Coalition government
‘________, competition, _________’
This mixed old with new - the old referring to Conservative principles of parental choice and independence from local authorities… something new? attempts to tackle the most disadvantaged in society.
Cameron’s policies encouraged ‘excellence, competition and innovation’
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Coalition - Pupil Premium and eval
Despite being heavily into marketisation, the coalition introduced PP policies.
This was money that schools received for each pupil from a disadvantaged background.
Ofsted did find in 2012 that the money was not used for the students who actually needed it… 1/10 head teachers believed it had dramatically changed the support of poorer children.
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Coalition - Free school meals
Introduced free school meals for all children in reception, year one and year two.
1.9 million children getting free school meals.
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Coalition - austerity
Austerity? previous investment in education was cut… spending on school buildings cut by 60%
Sure Start centres shut down and the EMAs were abolished.
Uni fees increased to 9000 in 2010.
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CONS 2015 onwards
What was the agenda?
The election of a Conservative only government, meant there was a move towards entrenching free schools and academies and exam reform.
The manifesto in 2015 promised 500 extra free schools over five years.
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CONS 2015 onwards
A-Level reform? Why?
In 2017, the government reformed A-Levels.
Students had to sit all their exams at the end of the two year course rather than through modular exams.
AS levels no longer counted towards A-Level grades and no subject was meant to have more than 20% of coursework.
This change was brought in by Michael Gove… who wanted to make exams more fit to purpose.
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CONS 2015 onwards
Other reforms (not A-Level)
First new grammar schools in 50 years opened.
Requires secondary school pupils to take GCSEs in English, Maths, Science and a language, and a humanities.
Ofsted would be unable to award its highest ratings to school that refuse to teach these core subjects.
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CONS 2016 onwards
Tuition fees
Theresa May encouraged lowering tuition fees from £9250 to £7500 after a review of higher education.
‘REDUCE UNI STUDENT TUITION FEES FROM £9250 - £3000’ received 581,000 signatures, and the topic was debated in Oct 2021, but the govt was response was that the money wasn’t going to change because universities needed it.
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CONS 2016 onwards
League Table reform
From 2016, secondary league tables will no longer use the very blunt measure of A*-C (getting 5 of them) but rather, based on Progress 8, or how much progress has been made by a student over the time of the school.
This policy was introduced in 2015
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CONS 2016 onwards
Reinvestment in grammar schools
Cameron believed that grammar schools were pointless and sterile but support for grammar schools was strong under May.
In 2017 - Chancellor Phillip Hammond ploughed through £320 million to expand the govt’s free school programme - offering 70,000 places FREE OF COST in selective education.
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CONS 2016 onwards
Funding crisis
During 2019, Bojo promised to level up school funding and ensure there are no ‘winners and losers’
The 2019 manifesto committed itself to providing an ‘arts premium’ to secondary schools to fund enriching activities - Schools minister Nick Gibb in 2021 Sep had to confirm there would be no such premium (due to Covid)
Institute for Fiscal Studies (report published in 2020 Sep) found that state schools in England have suffered their worst decline in funding since the 1980s, with secondary schools.
ACHIEVING EQUALITY
CONS 2020
Vocational courses
T-Levels launched in Sep 2020 - they are equivalent to 3 A-Levels.
Mixture of classroom learning and on-the-job experience through industry placement.
