Education Policy Before 1988 Flashcards
1
Q
What was the 1870 ‘Forster Education Act?’
A
- State would assume responsibility over free education
- Made compulsory in 1880 (Between ages 5-13)
2
Q
Why was the 1944 Butler Education Act introduced?
A
- WW2 Highlighted mass illiteracy of recruits which impacted Britain’s industrial performance
- Aimed to radically change the education’s structure + nature
3
Q
What was the ‘Tripartite System?’
A
- Select/allocate children to a secondary school out of 3 based on abilities
- Provide separate but equal schooling, ‘Parity of esteem’
4
Q
What were the ‘11+ Exams?’
A
- Every child at the age of 11 would be tested for their best suited school
- Educationalists believed the National test to be an accurate indicator of suitability
5
Q
What were the ‘13+ Exams?’
A
- Offered a re-assessment for pupils who believed they had been allocated to the ‘wrong’ school
- Very few were re-tested + transferred
6
Q
What were ‘Secondary Grammar Schools?’
A
- For pupils who ‘passed’ 11+ exams
- Mainly MC pupils
- Offered academic curriculum + access to non-manual job opportunities
- Less than 20% of population attended
7
Q
What were ‘Secondary Modern Schools?’
A
- For pupil’s who ‘failed’ 11+ exams
- Mainly WC pupils
- Offered non-academic curriculum + access to manual work
8
Q
What are the criticisms of the ‘Tripartite System?’
A
- ‘Socially diverse’ by reproducing class inequality
- Didn’t have a ‘parity of esteem’
- Reproduced gender inequality E.g. Girls had to gain higher marks in 11+ exam
- Regional inequalities
- Legitimated inequality that ability is inborn
9
Q
Why was the ‘Comprehensive System’ introduced?
A
- 1965 Labour government instructed LEAs to convert into a comprehensive system of secondary schooling
- Mounting criticisms of the TS
10
Q
What was the ‘Comprehensive System?’
A
- Emphasised integration + inclusion than segregation
- 11+ Exams abolished
- Left to LEAs to decide wether to go ‘comprehensive’
11
Q
What are the criticisms of the ‘Comprehensive System?’
A
- Ford; Found little evidence of social integration as a result of setting + streaming
- Marxists; Reproduces inequality into every generation based on ‘myth of meritocracy’
