EDUCATION - SOCIAL POLICY

Question 1

why are policies used?

Answer 1

policies are used for different reasons:
->to raise standards
->to reate greater equality of educational opportunity
->to save money
->to introduce market based principles
->to make teachers more accountable
->to serve the needs of the industry

Question 2

1944 Butler Education Act

Answer 2

-the second world war prompted a massive investment in education
-government testing in the armed forces revealed significant illiteracy amongst the troops and the government realised that in order to rebuild the country more education was needed
->in 1944, the state took over the reponsibility for education and made it FREE for all

Question 3

Conservatives (1979-1997)

Answer 3

->1988 Education Reform Act:
–>SATs tests at 5, 7, 11, and 14
–>introduction of the key stages
–>first GCSE examinations
–>National Curriculum
–>Grant maintained schools (“opting out” of LA control)
–>CTCs established (only 15 ever opened)
–>league tables (first published in 1992)
–>parental choice and “open enrolment”
->1992 Education Act:
–>established OFSTED (Office For Standards in Education)
->1993 Education Act:
–>largest piece of legislation in the history of education
–>more specialisation for schools
–>more choice for parents (ability to withdraw pupils from certain classes)

Question 4

New Labour (1997-2010)

Answer 4

->introduced a variety of changes and additions to education in the UK:
-sure start
-book start
-free pre–school places
-EMA (1999)
-academic programme (New Labour)
-tuition fees
-Education Action Zones (1998)
-the London Challenge
-Aim Higher/widening participation (raising participation in higher education to 50%)
-raising the school leaving age (2008)
-Prevent (2006)

Question 5

Coalition Policies

Answer 5

2010 Academies Act:
->expansion of acadamies programme
->higher tuition fees (£9000)
->EMA abolishes (2011)
->pupil premium (2011)
->Sure Start funding reduced
->Free Schools
->expansion of faith schools
->Prevent (anti-terrorism)
->review of exams leading to overhaul of qualifications
->new A levels and GCSE curriculums - new “rigour” for exams
->new measure of performance (EBACC/Progress 8)

Question 6

Conservative Government 2016

Answer 6

-continuation of Free School Policy
-Progress 8 - new measure of attainment
-tax-free childcare and 30 hours free childcare
-grammar school expansion

Question 7

support/criticism of changes to the education system

Answer 7

SUPPORT OF THE EDUCATION REFORMS:
->supporters of the educational reform have said that education has improved for children in a variety of ways as a result, eg.
–>there is better teaching in schools
–>schools are more responsive to the demands of parents
->competition forces weaker schools to improve, as if they do not they will lose pupils
->there are better links between employers and universities and schools

CRITICS OF THE CHANGES TO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM:
->there are many critics of the changes to the education system who argue that:
–>changes in the funding arrangements mean there are gaps growing between schools with some lacking resources
–>the emphasis on league tables encourages schools to favour more able students. As there is a link between social class and educational success, this can disadvantage some pupils
–>schools have become so examination focused that the idea of education for its own sake has been squeezed out. The requirements of the examination drive lessons, not pupil interest
–>some of the new school types have freedom to adapt their curriculum; this has led to concerns that children may have a narrower education, eg. not being taught about scientific ideas, such as evolution
–>the ideology of equality of opportunity for all children, which characterised education up to the 1960s, has been replaced by an emphasis on competition and division

Question 8

the New Right perspectives on education

Answer 8

what do the NR think of education?
->they identified 3 strands to policy making:
-the education reforms of the 1980s, and subsequently Labour and Conservative/Liberal governments followed a broad trend of:
1. central control of assessments, the National Curriculum, examination systems and funding. These were taken away from regional centres and put in the hands of government departments
2. earmarked funding for specific projects, so governments allocate money to certain key targets and money should be spent on achieving those government aims. These have included lifelong learning, or the inclusion of deprived children. Schools and education have had to become clever at applying for and gaining funding
3. assessment by outcome, which means that target setting, performance criteria, league tables and payment of teachers by results has become the new norm

->the main aims of education, according to the NR are:
–>encouraging competition and market forces to ensure that schools are run efficiently and in a business-like manner
–>meeting the needs of employers so that there is a skilled and effective workforce to meet the needs of the industry
–>to improve educational standards for all children and to encourage a meritocratic society
–>to allow freedom of choice, so that parents can choose the education that they believe will best suit their children
–>to make teachers and schools accountable for their performance so that if children fail to progress, teachers should change their practice and improve
–>the performance of a school and of teachers can be measured by success rates in public examinations

EVALUATING THE NEW RIGHT:
-examination results appear to have improved, so if examination systems are reliable and valid, NR changes to the education system have been a success. However, there are many reasons to account for changes to results, such as the possibility of grade inflation
-Gorard and Gerwitz argue that the middle class can get their children into more desirable schools, so failing schools that became academies attracted more middle-class parents because, initially, these schools were better funded and had newer buildings
-teachers and school managers claim that the low standards of some state schools are a reflection of general poverty and poor funding. If a system has schools in competition, then in addition to winners, there will also be losing schools who attract only challenging pupils