Educational Policies Flashcards
What is educational policy?
The plans and strategies for education introduced by a government for example through Acts of Parliament, together with instructions and recommendations to schools and local education authorities
How was pre-industrial education changed?
- Pre-industrialisation there were no state schools - education was for a privileged minority e.g. private tutors
- 1833 Public Education Act made compulsory education for 5-13 years old compulsory. This increased to 16 by 1973
What are the different types of educational policy?
- Equality of Access: every child should have the same rights and opportunities to obtain access to educational provision e.g. schools of similar quality without unfair social selection
- Equality of Circumstances: all children should be of equal socioeconomic status when they start school - without this they won’t have the same chance of obtaining success due to CAGE factors
- Equality of Participation: everyone has an equal chance of participating in school processes that make up everyday school life
- Equality of Outcome: everyone has the same chances of sharing in the eventual benefits of education
What was the 1944 Butler Act?
AO1/2
- Aimed to make education more meritocratic
- Selection could occur based on ability, faith, or aptitude
- 11+ became compulsory - results would determine the type of school you went to creating the tripartite system
- Grammar schools - attended by only 20% of population, offered an academic curriculum, mainly middle class
- Secondary Modern schools - offered a non academic practical curriculum focusing on manual skills for those who failed 11+, mainly WC
- Technical schools - only 5% went, for children who had interest in technical subjects, vocational training
How can we analyse the tripartite system?
AO3
- Not relevant today as 11+ is optional and secondary schools now select based on catchment area not ability
- Only 5% of pupils go to a grammar school
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the tripartite system?
AO3
PROS:
- Gives all students ability to attend secondary school - education was now free
- Different schools were now available for different abilities - pupils can work at their own pace
CONS:
- Created greater class division between the middle and upper class
- Disadvantaged women - they had a higher pass mark
- Risk of labelling
How was the triparte system replaced?
1960s Labour Gov aimed to create equality amongst the social classes:
- In 1965 Comprehensive Schools were introduced to replace the triparte system
- Compulsory 11+ was now abolished
- Child’s schooling now based on catchment area
What is catchment area?
AO1
- Designated area around the school - those who fall within this range can attend the school
- Highest priority is given to pupils with existing siblings though
What are the weaknesses of catchement area selection?
AO3
- Changes year to year
- High piorities get unfair advantage that overrides catchment area
- If a child lives in a bad area you are forced to go to an underperforming school - more likely to be working class
- Middle class parents can afford to move to areas with good schools
How can we analyse catchment area selection?
AO3
Leech and Campos: Selection By Mortgage - study of Coventry shows middle-class parents are also more likely to be able to afford a house in the catchment area of a school that performs highly in league table rankings. This has come to be known as selection by mortgage because it drives up the cost of houses near to the successful schools and excludes working class families
What is and are the pros and cons of setting and streaming?
(Setting and streaming are different but have the same pros/cons)
AO1/3
Setting = pupils put into different ability grouping for different subjects e.g. Set 1 Maths but Set 3 English
Streaming = pupils put into ability groups for all subjects e.g. upper, middle, lower
Advantages: social benefits - encourages relations between people from different backgrounds, ability is not fixed - students can move up or down, different abilities will take different exams - some exams aren’t accessible to certain abilities
Disadvantages: lower set students are demotivated leading to lower attainment, behaviour not ability - evidence that pupils with high ability are put into lower sets for poor behaviour, setting discriminates - working class and minority students are more likely to be put in lower sets
What is marketization?
Introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state
What was the 1988 Educational Reform Act?
- From Thatcher’s conservative government
- Established principle of marketization
- Created an education market by: reducing state control over education and increasing competition between schools and parental choice
How do Chubb and Moe view schools and why did they come to this conclusion?
AO1
- Argue that America’s state schools have failed their goals and should therefore be replaced by a ‘free market’.
- Failed disadvantaged groups
- Pupils aren’t equipped with skills they need for work
Parental choice would raise standards in 2 ways:
1. schools would have to improve standards to attract standards
2. Parents would become more involved in their child’s education as they are more involved in decision making
What are the 10 factors marketization?
AO1
- Sponsers: businesses can now invest money privately into schools helping them improve
- League Tables: informattion is transparent and reliable so parents can make informed choice
- Schools can choose to opt out of LEA’s control giving them more control of their finances so they can use them to focus on their targets
- Competition: stops schools from becoming complacent as funding depends on attracting pupils
- Funding Formula: schools are paid the same per student - more students = more money
- Tuition fees: universities can charge a macimum of £9,250 - this has failed as all unis charge this amount
- Free schools: parents/companies can set up their own schools
- OFSTED: founded in 1992 - publish inspections for public to see
- Open enrolment: if a school has extra space they must accept students
- National Curriculum: ensures all schools have access to same quality curriculum
