Education Policies Flashcards
The tripartite system 1944
By 1944 the education system began to be shaped by the idea of meritocracy
The Butler Act introduced the tripartite system
Different aptitudes and abilities were identified by the 11+ exam which was taken by every child at 11 and would be used to allocate pupils to their appropriate school
Secondary grammar
For people who passed the 11+
Mainly middle class
Offered an academic curriculum and access to non manual jobs and higher education
Less than 20% of the population attended these schools
Secondary modern
Offered a non academic ‘practical’ curriculum and access to manual work for pupils who failed 11+
Mainly working class
Technical schools
Only 5% of population attended
System was more of a bipartite than tripartite
Evaluation of tripartite system
The school didn’t have parity of esteem
TS reproduced gender inequality by requiring girls to gain higher marks in 11+
Legitimated inequality from the ideology that ability is inborn and that it can be measured in a single test
Rather than promoting meritocracy it reproduced class inequality by channelling the two social classes into two different types of school offering unequal opportunities
Comprehensive system 1965
Aimed to overcome class divide of TS and make education more egalitarian
Emphasised integration and inclusion 11+ abolished and all pupils within the same catchment area would attend a mixed ability comprehensive
However it was left up to the LEAs whether they go comprehensive or not
Evaluation of comprehensive system
Marxists argue that comprehensives aren’t meritocratic
The reproduce class inequality through setting and labelling
By not selecting pupils at 11 is contributes to the myth of meritocracy by making failure look like the individuals fault
CS did not radically alter the education system because ‘tripartism continued under one roof’
Conservative education reform act 1988
Marketisation has become a central theme in education since the 1988 ERA introduced by the conservative government of thatcher
Marketisation refers to the introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state such as education
National curriculum
The government laid down a standardised national curriculum to ensure that schools and pupils concentrate on what they saw as the core and foundational subjects
Parental choice
Parents were given the choice to send their children to the school of their choice to facilitate this schools produced prospectuses including comparisons of their SATs and exam results with the national average
Grant maintained schools
Schools were encouraged to opt out of LEA control and become self governing, funded directly from the government. These schools had the right to select pupils through entry exams
Criticism of national curriculum
Lawton argued that NC undermined local democratic control of education and the independence of the teaching profession by centralising power in the hands of government
Content of NC was very traditional and unimaginative in its exclusion of certain subjects
Johnson criticised it in the grounds that it defined certain types of knowledge as worthy of study while excluding others
Ball and Gewirtz
Privileged skilled choosers
Privileged skilled choosers: mainly professional middle- class parents were able to exploit the new market place in education more effectively than working class parent. Because of their cultural and economic capital they can ensure their children go to their school of choice
Ball and gewirtz disconnected local choosers
Working class parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of cultural capital and economic capital
Ball and gewirtz semi skilled choosers
Mainly working class parents but more ambitious than disconnected local choosers. However they to lacked the cultural capital and found it difficult to make sense of the education system
Funding formula
As a result of popular schools gaining more funding they can attract and afford better qualified teachers and better facilities and can select more able middle class pupils
Unpopular schools lose income and find it difficult to match the teacher skills to their more successful rivals
Labour education policies
The educational policies of the new labour governments of tony Blair and Gordon brown were influenced by NR and social democrat ideas. Labour retained and modified NR policies such as marketisation, however at the same time, committed to reducing inequality and aimed to improve working class opportunity
Specialist schools
I’m 1997 Labour inherited 196 specialist schools from the conservatives and by 2007 there were over 2500
These intended to be centres of excellence and raise standards of teaching and learning in their particular specialist subjects
Fresh start programme
Failing schools were closed because they failed to meet targets and reopened as city academies. They had new teachers, names and sometimes buildings. The key objective was to improve standards particularly in disadvantaged areas
1998 teaching and higher education act
Labour introduced tuition fees across the uk for undergraduates and postgraduates at £3000 per year
Educational maintenance allowance EMA 1997
aimed to increase number of young people from low income backgrounds to stay in school and progress to university
Sure start 1999
Aimed to give preschool children a better start in life
Brought together a range of educational and other services to support poorer parents to tackle cultural and material deprivation which disadvantages pupils
Gifted and talented initiative 2002
Identified top 5% of students aged 11-18 in inner city secondary schools and provide them with extra study support
Criticisms of Labour policies
The synthesis of NR and social democrats contradict eachother undermine their efforts to make eduction egalitarian
Free schools coalition 2010-15
All ability state funded schools set up in response to what local people say the want and need in order to improve education for children
Business leaders, charities, parents and teachers are able to open schools and address problems within an area
Supporters of free schools claim they give parents the opportunity to create a new school if they are unhappy with state schools
Criticism of free schools
Allen argues that research from Sweden where 20% of schools are free schools shows that they only benefit children in affluent areas
Free schools are socially divisive and they lower standards as swedens international ranking has fallen since their introduction
Vocational subjects
January 2012 Gove ordered 96% of gcse equivalent vocational subjects to be striped from school league tables
Practical training course were axed despite recognition from teachers that they have value for pupils
Nick clegg policies in coalition
FSMs extended to all children in reception and KS1
Pupil premium- money that school received for each pupil in disadvantaged backgrounds
He tuition and EMA
in 2010 coalition increased university tuition to 9000 per year
They also scrapped EMAs for 16-18 years old but due to protest replaced these with the bursary
Conservative Privatisation
Involves making services previously provided by the government into the private sector
Education has increasingly become a source of profit for capitalists
