Education - Policies Flashcards
What was the 1944 Education Act?
Established the tripartite system (grammar, technical, secondary modern)
The 11+ dictated which school you’d go to and was based on the belief that the level and abilities the child had was ‘fixed’ at birth and based on inheritance
What was a technical school?
They generally prepared children to be a lower middle/skilled manual working class
What was the statistic for who got to go to grammar school
15-20%
What were the criticisms of the tripartite system?
11+ was unfairly disadvantaging children from working class homes
The self-esteem of children was damaged if they failed and were sent to second rate schools
Research in the 50s and 60s suggested talent, ability and potential of many children in secondary modern were being wasted
When was the tripartite system abolished?
1968
What schools replaced the tripartite system?
Comprehensive schools
How many children in 2005 attended a comprehensive school?
Nine out of ten
How many grammar schools remained in 2005?
164
What are the different types of comprehensive schools?
‘True’ comprehensive schools have mixed ability classes
Most comprehensive schools do have selection by ability because of streaming
What are secondary ‘specialist’ schools?
Schools could specialise in max 2 subjects
They were allowed to select up to 10% of students by ability
They would also get extra funding
This was abolished in 2011
Why are they questioning whether to return to selection?
Political leaders have a grammar school background
‘League tables’ and judging schools and colleges on results
There is a return to streaming in schools (‘tripartite under the same roof’)
What was the Butler Education Act (1944)?
It introduced free secondary education up to age 15 years for all nd resulted in the tripartite system
How was the Butler Education Act (1944) meant to be meritocratic?
All children took an 11+ at age 11 that was meant to allocate them to the school that suited them best
How did the Butler Education Act fail at being meritocratic?
Few technical schools were built The 11+ IQ test was not culture-fair and middle class students, with more cultural capital, dominated grammar schools
What are EPAs?
Educational priority areas
What inspired EPAs being formed?
Many cultural and material deprivation theories inspired it (e.g. Douglas (1964) poorer parents were less likely than middle class parents to take an interest in the education of their children)
What were the aims of EPAs?
Compensate for poverty
Why were EPAs abandoned?
‘Schools cannot compensate for society’ Bernstein
What are the benefits of comprehensive schools?
Mixed ability teaching means more intelligent pupils can help boost lower ability students
Late developers are catered for better in comprehensive systems
Children are less likely to branded as a failures at an early age
Teaches wider range of subjects
Fewer social divisions
More students leave with better qualifications
Opportunities remain open throughout a child’s school career
What are the negatives of comprehensive schools?
Brighter students are held back by a slower pace of learning
Brighter students are better ‘stretched’ by streaming and selections
Comprehensives are so big talents can be overlooked and there can be discipline problems
While grammar schools still exist, they take the most able students, so comprehensives are more similar to secondary moderns
What is pupil premium?
Extra funding to schools to improve educational outcomes of disadvantaged students which they can spend on general teaching, targeted support for disadvantaged pupils and for breakfast clubs and trips
When was pupil premium introduced and by which government?
2011
Conservative — Liberal Democrat Coalition
What are the criticisms of pupil premium?
Spent to plug gaps in general school funding (not reaching disadvantaged kids)
Lack of school funding is the problem and pupil premium doesn’t make up the difference
Money spent onLearning Assistants aren’t the best way to help disadvantaged kids
Schools aren’t specific about what they spend it on (lack of accountability)
When was Sure Start introduced and by which government?
1998
Labour
What is Sure Start?
A centre to help with childcare, parenting, early education, health and family support
What are the criticisms of Sure Start?
An evaluation of 150 Sure Start areas with over 7,000 families found that they did little to help child development
What are the positives of Sure Start?
Valued and helpful to parents
Lower levels of childhood obesity
What is Educational Maintenance Allowance?
Student funding for 16-19 years olds going onto higher education
Who and when was EMA introduced?
Labour
1999
What are the criticisms of EMA?
Costs too much money
Not many children claiming it go to do A Levels
What were Education Action Zones?
Schools, parents, businesses and community groups in disadvantaged areas brought together to attract sponsorship to help students
Who and when were Education Action Zones introduced?
Labour
1998
What are the criticisms of Education Action Zones?
Continued the marketisation of schools trend
Was a failure and didn’t attract much sponsorship
When was the Education Action Zones project dropped?
2003
What are the policies to help girls attainment?
GIST (Girls into Science and Technology)
WISE (Women in Science and Engineering)
What is GIST and when was it introduced?
A programme including visits by professionals in the field, posters, career advice, etc. aimed at getting women into science
Early 1980s by conservative government
What are the criticisms of GIST?
Positive gender stereotyping
Didn’t target primary socialisation
Didn’t make much difference
What is the only difference between WISE and GIST?
It is aimed at getting women into science and engineering, not just girls
When and by which government was coursework reduced?
Between 2013 and 2017
Conservative govvernment
Why was coursework reduced?
Help boys achieve higher grades
What are the criticisms of coursework reduction?
Coursework generates less anxiety
Disadvantages girls
Exams you can only express knowledge through writing
When and by who were changes to the curriculum for english made?
2010 onwards
Conservative
Why was the English curriculum changed?
Help boys attach to the curriculum and therefore achieve better
What are the criticisms of changing the English curriculum?
Disadvantage or off-put girls from taking these subjects
What’s the political background to marketisation of schools?
Margaret Thatcher’s conservative government went with a new right/neo-liberal thinking for schools
Why were schools marketisated?
Raise standards of education by making schools compete
Increase parental choice
Greater government control over what’s taught in schools
Reduce the influence of Local Education Authorities (LEAs)
Introduce more vocational education
What was the 1988 Education Reform Act?
Introduced a National Curriculum
National Assessments
School’s could ‘opt out’ of LEA and become Grant Maintained Schools
Open enrolment (parents could choose where their child went)
Formula funding (funding depends on number of pupils)
Vocational education initiatives
Why was the introduction of a national curriculum important?
Could compare students and schools results
Pupils who moved schools wouldn’t be disadvantaged
LEAs lost power
How were LEAs weakened?
Schools could ‘opt out’ of their control
Local Management of Schools (LMS) meant schools had greater control of their budget, previously held by LEAs
Reduced proportion of school governors appointed to LEAs
Setting up Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) which compete with local authorities in providing training and business links
1992 Education Act?
Further Education Colleges made independent of LEAs
School Curriculum and Assessment Authority established to oversee examination system
Government can take over running of failing schools
League tables established
OFSTED reports
Expansion of higher education and reduction of student grants
Schools allowed to specialise
Which policies tried to increase competition between schools?
Open enrolment
National testing
‘League tables’
The creation of different types of schools
How did they increase parental choice in education?
Creation of new schools
‘Open enrolment’
The decision to ‘opt out’ of LEA control was given to parents of pupils at the school
National testing and ‘league tables’ so parents know how good it is
Criticisms of national testing?
Doesn’t take into account socio-economic characteristics of school intakes
Too much testing can prematurely label children as ‘failures’
Not all subjects covered by these tests which could penalise students who are better at other things
Criticisms of the national curriculum?
Doesn’t have to be taught in independent schools and is different in Scotland and NI (academies can adjust)
‘Minority’ subjects (drama, dance, arts, music, etc.) forced to compete
Political interference in what’s taught in schools
Strongly academic content, not suitable for all pupils
Criticisms of league tables?
Doesn’t take into account socio-economic intakes
Statistics contained in ‘league tables’ can be manipulated (attendance figures, challenged grades aren’t taken into account)
Criticisms of the ‘new vocationalism’?
Marxists argue its an attempt to blame the education system for the failure of British businesses in the 70s and 80s
Real divide in training available
Young people on vocational training aren’t registered as unemployed
Feminists say it has reinforced traditional gender roles
Training people doesn’t create jobs and may result in the temporary storage of young people
Criticisms of change in education?
Good exam results = over-subscribed schools and other schools loose pupils and money
Only a few CTCs were created so much parents couldn’t send their children there
CTCs and GM schools run a selection system
Open enrolment hasn’t give more choice (limited numbers, catchment)
Middle-class pupils have benefited as their parents can ‘play the system’
Education market, and like all market, the result is inequality
What does Miriam David (1993) say about marketisation?
It establishes a parentocracy (parents are in charge of the education system)
What are some of the commentary and research evidence about marketisation?
Stephen Ball (1994) and Geoff Whitty (1998) formula funding and league tables cause inequalities Will Bartlett (1993) good league table ranking encourages cream-skimming and silt-shifting Sharon Gerwitz (1995) middle class parents understand and can manipulate the school system better than working class parents
What are cream skimming and silt shifting?
Cream skimming - selecting higher ability students who gain the best results and cost less to teach.
Silt-shifting – offloading students which learning difficulties who are expensive and get poor results.
When was privatisation introduced and what ideology is it driven by?
1979
Neoliberal
What is privatisation?
Services owned by the state are transferred to the private sector
Ball and Youdell (2007) on privatisation?
Privatisation of education
Privatisation in education
How has privatisation changed the way schools are run?
Have the values and practices of a business including:
- local management of schools (fewer external control)
- competition between schools for students (more money for more students)
- performance related pay for teachers
- consumer (parent) choice of schools
- independently managed schools
What aspects of education provision formerly run by state are now run by private-profit making businesses?
- schools services (administration staff, maintenance, catering, supply teachers, etc.)
- management of schools (privately managed chains of administrative schools)
- running the examination system (Edexcel run by Pearson PLC, publishing company)
Advantages of privatisation?
More efficient schools
More choice for parents
Private companies can intervene and improve schools in areas where education is of poor quality
Disadvantages of privatisation?
Money drained from the education system
Cherry-picking (projects must have ‘appeal’)
What if mis-management occurs
Privatisation not a guarantee of quality (2014 Ofsted stopped using private contractors to carry out school inspections)
Equality and quality of education under threat (educational triage formed (Gillborn and Youdell (2000)))
What are PISA rankings?
OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (15 year olds)
UK Ranking 2021 - joint 11th (7.8 out of 10)
Top three - Singapore (9.1), Iceland (8.4),
What are TIMSS rankings?
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
UK ranking - 7th (Northern Ireland, 8th England)
Top three - Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of Korea
What are PIRLS ranking?
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
UK ranking - joint 8th
Top three - Russian Federation, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR
Positives of globalisation?
Access to global markets (textbooks, foreign students, education systems, etc.)
Positives of globalisation on policy?
They provide information about what works educationally to help all students (Michael Gove)
It holds education systems to account and can spur reform (Germany’s PISA-shock 2001)
Negatives of globalisation of educational policy?
You can ‘game’ the system (PISA practice booklets, etc.)
It only tests a narrowed curricula (misses art, etc.) and emphasises maths and English are required for success
Encourages copy-paste education systems in countries where the cultures don’t match
Ignores teachers effect on achievement
Privatisation of education is driven by profit, not ‘moral goals of human development’
Politicians miss information on equality and equity
Doesn’t take into account any extra tutoring, etc.
