Education- Topic 6 (Paper1)

Question 1

Give a brief summary of the tripartite system.

Answer 1

Children were to be selected and allocated to one of 3 different types of secondary school, supposedly according to their attitudes and abilities. These were to be identified by the 11+ exam.

Question 2

Give a brief summary of the comprehensive school system.

Answer 2

It was introduced in many areas from 1965.
It aimed to overcome class divide created by tripartite system.
The 11+ was to be abolished, along with grammets and secondary moderns.
It was left to the local education authority to decide whether to ‘go comprehensive’ and not all did.

Question 3

Give a brief summary of the comprehensive school system.

Answer 3

It was introduced in many areas from 1965.
It aimed to overcome class divide created by tripartite system.
The 11+ was to be abolished, along with grammets and secondary moderns.
It was left to the local education authority to decide whether to ‘go comprehensive’ and not all did.

Question 4

Marxist views of comprehensives.

Answer 4

Streaming and labelling still occurs which reproduces class inequality.
The ‘myth of meritocracy’ legitimates class inequality by making unequal achievement seems fair and just. Failure is blamed on the individual rather than the system.

Question 5

Functionalist views of comprehensives.

Answer 5

It promotes social integration brings children of different social classes together.
Its more meritocratic as it gives pupils a longer period in which to develop their abilities.

Question 6

Define marketisation.

Answer 6

Refers to the process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state, such as education.

Question 7

Which sociological perspectives favour marketisation?

Answer 7

Neoliberals and the New Right.

Question 8

What is parentocracy and how do these who favour it say it benefits education?

Answer 8

Rules by parents.
This encourages diversity among schools, gives parents more choice and raises standards.

Question 9

Define cream-skimming

Answer 9

‘Good schools can be more selective and choose their own customers and recruit high achieving mainly middle-class pupils. As a result, these pupils gain an advantage.

Question 10

Define silt-shifting

Answer 10

‘Good schools can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get poor results and damage the school’s league table position.

Question 11

How do league tables enable the above processes to take place?

Answer 11

The overall effect of league tables is thus to produces unequal schools that reproduce social class inequalities.

Question 12

What is the impact of the funding formula?

Answer 12

Popular schools get more funds and so can afford better- qualified teachers and better facilities.

Question 13

Explain privileged-skilled choosers parent identity.

Answer 13

These were mainly professional middle-class parents who use their economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital for their children.

Question 14

Explain disconnected-local choosers parent identity.

Answer 14

These were working-class parents whose choices were restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital.

Question 15

Explain semi-skilled choosers parent identity.

Answer 15

These parents were also mainly working-class, but unlike the disconnected-local choosers, they were ambitious for their children.

Question 16

Why parentocracy is myth

Answer 16

Not only does marketisation reproduce inequality; it also legitimates it by concealing its true causes and by justifying its existence.
Ball believes that marketisation gives the appearance of a ‘parentocracy.’ That is the education system seems as if it’s based-on parents having a free choice of school.

Question 17

List the New Labour policies aimed at reducing inequality

Answer 17

Designating some deprived areas as education action zones and providing them with additional resources.
The aim higher programme to raise the aspirations of groups who are under-represented in higher education.
Education maintance allowance (EMAs); payments to students from low-income backgrounds to encourage them to stay on after 16 to gain better qualifications.
Introduction of the National Literacy strategy.
City academics were created to give a fresh start to struggle inner-city schools with mainly working-class pupils.
Increased funding for state education

Question 18

What is the ‘New Labour paradox’?

Answer 18

Critics such as Melissa Bern (2012) see a contradiction between Labour’s policies to tackle inequality and its commitment to marketisation- something she calls the ‘New Labour paradox.’

Question 19

academics policies

Answer 19

From 2010, all schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and become academics.
By 2017, over 68% of all secondary schools had converted to academy status.

Question 20

free schools policies

Answer 20

although funded directly by the state, free schools are set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses rather than the local authority.
supporters of free school claims that they improve educational standards by taking control away from the state and giving power to parents.

Question 21

Define fragmentation

Answer 21

The comprehensive system is being replaced by a patchwork of diverse provision, much of it involving private providers, that leads to greater inequality in opportunities.

Question 22

Define centralisation

Answer 22

central government alone has the power to allow or require schools to become academics or allow free schools to be set up. These schools are funded directly by central government.

Question 23

State the two policies aimed at reducing inequality

Answer 23

Free school meals for all children in KS1
Pupil premium

Question 24

Why have these policies not been successful

Answer 24

Ofsted (2012) found that in many cases in pupil premium isn’t spent on those it is supposed to help

Question 25

Blurring the public/private boundary

Answer 25

Many senior officials in the public sector such as directors of local authorities and head teachers, now leave to set up or work for private sector education businesses.
As Allyson Pollack (2004) notes this flow of personnel allows companies to buy ‘insider knowledge’ to help win contracts as well as side- stepping local authority democracy.

Question 26

Privatisation and the globalisation of education policy

Answer 26

Many private companies in the education services industry are foreign- owned. The exam board Edexcel is owned by the US educational publishing and testing giant Pearson, and according to Ball some Pearson GSCE exam answers are now marked in Sydney and Lowa.

Question 27

The cola-isation of schools

Answer 27

The private sector is also penetrating education indirectly, for example through vending machines on school premises and the development of brand loyalty through displays of logos and sponsorships- this process has been called the ‘cola-isation’ of schools. Molnar (2005)

Question 28

Education as a commodity

Answer 28

Ball concludes that a fundamental change is taking place in which privatisation is becoming the key factor shaping educational policy.
Marxists.
Stuart Hall (2011)

Question 29

Summarise some of the policies relating to gender

Answer 29

GIST and WISE
Natural curriculum- introduce coursework quality in subjects.
Impacts of feminism
Higher education more open

Question 30

Give a summary of the following policies linked to minority ethnic children Assimilation policies.

Answer 30

Multicultural education- valuing all cultures
misguided as minion two not lacking self-esteem
critical race theorists- Tokenism
New right- keeps divisions, should learn British culture.

Question 31

Multicultural education

Answer 31

Criticisms: under arch may not be due to lack of self-esteem.
CRT argue that MCE stereotypes minority cultures
NR- should provide a single national culture and assimilate

Question 32

School inclusion

Answer 32

Detailed monitoring of results by ethnicity.
Legal Duty through race relations act amendment
Help for voluntary ‘Saturday school’ for ethnic minority groups.
Continued finding of EAL
But: These policies look at individuals rather than fewing on the wider social problems.
MIRZA- fact to tackle structural class
Gillborn- Institutional racism must be tackled too.