Education: Government initiatives

Question 1

Compensatory education

Answer 1

Designed to address the problem of cultural deprivation specifically and material deprivation more generally by providing additional resources to schools and communities in deprived areas. Programmes attempt to intervene early in the socialisation process to compensate children for early deprivation they experience at home.

Question 2

Operation Head Start

Answer 2

Multi-billion-dollar U.S scheme providing pre-school education in poorer areas. Aimed to provide planned enrichment to improved deprived children’s environment.
Included improving parental skills, setting up nursery classes and home visits by education psychologists. The US children’s TV programme Sesame Street was initially part of OHS: providing a fun means of transmitting values, attitudes and skills needed for educational success.

Question 3

Labour government initiatives 1997 - 2010:

Sure Start

Answer 3

Aimed at pre-school children and families in disadvantaged areas providing home visits, play centres, and financial help for childcare. The aim was to promote physical, intellectual, and social development of babies and young children so they can flourish when they go to school, thereby breaking the cycle of disadvantage. Established high quality environments that promoted early learning, provided stimulating and enjoyable play and improved language skills.

Question 4

Labour government initiatives 1997 - 2010:

Education Action Zones

Answer 4

Providing additional resources and funding to schools in disadvantaged areas, replaced by the excellence in cities programme.

Question 5

Labour government initiatives 1997 - 2010:

Aim higher programme

Answer 5

To raise the aspirations of groups who are under-represented in higher education.

Question 6

Labour government initiatives 1997 - 2010:

Educational Maintenance Allowances

Answer 6

Payments to students from low-income backgrounds to encourage them to stay on after 16 at school.

Question 7

Coalition government initiative:

Pupil premium (2011)

Answer 7

Allocated additional funding for each poor pupil to be in a school and was designed to assist their education depending on their specific needs.

Question 8

Criticism of Compensatory Education Programmes:

Answer 8

Despite these programmes, the gap between the educational achievement of poor children and their more affluent peers remains. Concerns that these programmes individualise the problem of working-class underachievement and ignore wider structural inequalities in both the education system and society, that contribute to the social class gap.

Question 9

Gender policies in education:

Answer 9

Since the 1970s policies such as GIST (Girls into Science and Technology) and WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) have been introduced to try and reduce gender differences in subject choice.

Question 10

Ethnicity policies:

Assimilation policies (1960-70s)

Answer 10

Attempted to assimilate pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds into mainstream British culture by helping those for whom English was not their first language. Compensatory education was a related policy.

Question 11

Criticisms of Assimilation policies:

Answer 11

Argue that many minority groups at risk of underachieving, already speak English and that real cause of their underachievement lies in poverty or racism.

Question 12

Ethnicity policies:

Multicultural education (1980-90s)

Answer 12

Aimed to promote achievements by valuing all cultures in the school curriculum, thereby raising minority pupils’ self-esteem and achievements.

Question 13

Criticisms of Multicultural education policies:

Answer 13

Critics argue that black pupils do not fail for lack of self-esteem, so MCE is misguided. Critical race theorists argue that MCE is tokenism, it picks out stereotypical features of minority ethnic cultures for inclusion in the curriculum, but fails to address institutional racism.

Question 14

New Right criticisms of Multicultural education policies:

Answer 14

The new right criticise MCE, believing education should promote a shared national culture and identity.

Question 15

Ethnicity policies:

Social inclusion (late-1990s)

Answer 15

Policies include:
Detailed monitoring of exam results by ethnicity.
Amending the Race Relations Act to place a legal duty on schools to promote racial equality.
Help for voluntary Saturday schools in black communities.
English as an Additional language programme.

Question 16

Criticisms of Social inclusion policies:

Answer 16

Critics argue this is a soft approach that focuses on culture, rather than tackling the structural causes of ethnic inequality such as poverty and racism.
Schools are in a loosing battle when not tackling problems outside and in society.