Educational Policies 😍 Flashcards
What is the Education Reform act (1944)?
> Education Reform Act (1944)
— Introduced by wartime coalition government, by education secretary Rab Butler (aka. Butler Act).
— Made secondary education free and compulsory
— Introduced selective education and the tripartite system
— Pupils took a test at 11 (the 11+) and this would determine which of these types of schools they should attend. This test would include Maths and English (comprehension and composition) and verbal and non-verbal reasoning (like an IQ test). Where 11+ exams still exist, they tend to just have the verbal and non-verbal reasoning elements today.
— Based on an educational theory that people had three different types of intelligence (academic, technical or practical). The schools were intended to be “equal but different”.
What is the tripartite system?
> Tripartite System (introduced by Education Act 1944)
- Grammar schools
— Pupils who were deemed academic would go to the grammar schools.
— Pupils would receive a formal, traditional education and be prepared for qualifications and university applications. - Technical schools
— Pupils who were deemed to have a technical intelligence were meant to go to these schools which would focus on mechanics, engineering etc. and prepare pupils for working in certain trades. - Secondary Modern Schools
— Other pupils were deemed to have a practical intelligence and attended these schools which did not prepare all pupils for qualification and would expect school leavers to go straight into the job market.
What was selective education? (1944)
> Selective education
— There is still a debate today about selective education
— Grammar schools and the 11+ exam still exist in several education authorities
— Politicians on the right tend to argue for more grammar schools (Eg. UKIP and some current Conservative policy) while those on the left tend to critics them as being unfair.
— Despite grammars being replaced by comprehensives since the 1960s there was never any legislation removing grammar schools. New Labour introduced the option of a local referendum where parents could vote to end the 11+ in the area. Some referendums have taken place but they did not remove the test.
— Grammar schools tend to be locally popular because they get good results (although most pupils do not attend them).
EVALUATION : Education Act 1944
+ Educational psychological theory about different intelligences has been discredited.
+ Considered unfair: pupils can develop at different ages, pupils might excel in some subjects and not others (rather than being “academic” or not).
+ Very few technical schools were built, so most pupils went to Secondary Modern Schools. This turned the test into a pass/fail test rather than “equal but different”.
+ Grammar schools were overwhelming middle class. While defenders say it enabled social mobility, its main effect was to reproduce the inequality of the previous generation.
+ The 11+ was accused of favouring white pupils and therefore being ethnocentric.
+ Many on the political left wanted to get rid of selection altogether and replace with a more egalitarian system.
What is comprehensivisation? (1960s & 70s)
> Comprehensivisation (1960s & 1970s)
— Local schools that did not select on the basis of ability
— Introduced in the 1960s and was intended for all local pupils to attend the same secondary school.
— By the middle of the 1970s most education authorities has comprehensives and no 11+
— It was pushed forward by Labour education secretary, Anthony Crosland. He said he wanted “a grammar school education for every child”.
— Although there have been many reforms since this time, the vast majority of pupils in the UK still attend comprehensive schools.
EVALUATION: Comprehensivisation
+ Never did what was claimed: some say it just moved selection under one roof (because of the widespread use of streaming). Others criticise mixed-ability teaching for failing to meet the needs of those at the top and the bottom.
+ There was still social division between schools, but tended to be based on location rather than selection: schools in rich areas were overwhelmingly middle class, those in inner cities overwhelmingly working class.
+ The New Right argued that comprehensivisation prevented social mobility. While working-class pupils could pass the 11+ and go on to elite universities and top jobs, they are less likely to take this path in a comprehensive (there has yet to be a comprehensive-educated prime minister); two of those young enough to have sone so - Blair and Cameron - went to elite private schools).
+ Some argued that it failed to produce the workers that economy needed. Lots of pupils learnt about Shakespeare and algebra, most would never use it, and they didn’t learn vocational skills.
What is vocationalism? (1960s & 70s)
> Vocationalism : James Callaghan’s famous Ruskin College speech (1976)
— Argued that the education system needed to be reformed so people learnt the skills needed to operate in the modern economy.
— This led to the development of vocational courses, such as GNVQs, BTECs, etc.
— Pupils were taught for qualifications in a wide range of subjects such as construction, childcare, hairdressing, tourism etc.
— There have also been higher-level vocational qualifications, equivalent to university qualifications.
— In recent years, vocational education has been increasingly delivered in the form of apprenticeships with English and Maths alongside.
— BTECs are set to be replaced with T-levels.
What is the Education Reform Act (1988) and what does it consist of?
> Education Reform Act (1988)
+ Margaret Thatcher’s government, influenced by the New Right, introduced a number of reforms, many of then designed to create a market in state education.
- National Curriculum - All pupils to be taught the same things at the same time. Introduced to make comparisons between schools easier (along with other reasons).
- SATs - Regular standardised tests to compare how schools were performing.
- League Tables - Tables showing how schools compared with each other
- Formula Funding - Schools were funded based on how many pupils they had 0 parents has some choice over school places.
- Local Management of Schools - Head teachers had to control budgets rather local authorities.
- OFSTED - Introduced a little later; more data for parents to make informed choices on the school.
What is marketisation of education (1980s)?
> Marketisation
+ The key reasoning behind this reform is to create a market
+ The process of running educational institutions like businesses began with the Conservative government.
— Parents could choose which school they send their child to (up to a point) and had information from league tables, OFSTED etc. to base their choice upon (parentocracy).
— Those schools that attracted the most parents got the most money, so there was a clear market incentive to drive up standards.
— Because schools places are limited, there was less parental choice in the system than there appeared to be (myth of parentocracy = marxists).
— Researchers concluded that marketisation benefited middle-class children, whose parents took advantage of the system to reinforce their advantage.
There has been further marketisation since, especially in higher education. High, variable tuition fees were intended to create a higher education market, although most universities immediately charged the most they would (to put pressure on the government to life the cap on fees).
EVALUATION : Education Reform Act (1988)
+ The National Curriculum was criticised for being too restrictive and proscriptive (it has been loosened up considerably since 1988).
+ SATs put pupils under too much pressure (especially the younger pupils) so may have more performed as well as they could have.
+ SATs and the importance of SATs meant pupils were taught just to pass the tests rather than recovering a rounded education.
+ League tables only gave academic performance information, not other information that parents might find useful (distance travelled, support for special educational needs, support for the arts, bullying policies etc.)
+ Not as much parental choice as there appeared to be (limited places, and some schools had other restrictions, eg. entrance exam or religion).
+ Some say that it’s just an illusion of a “parentocracy”; others say too much power to parents and not enough professional freedom for teachers.
+ Concern that schools that performed less well and attracted fewer pupils for less funding and therefore could not improve.
What were the New Labour reforms in the 1980s?
> New Labour (1980s)
New Labour government introduced a mixture of more equality of opportunity and outcome, and continuation of marketisation policies.
- Continuing Marketisation
— Introduced academies : New Labour Academies tended to ba lifelines for “failing” schools, whereas today the government encourages all schools to become academies).
— Introduced university tuition fees - Equality
— Surestart centres : A compensatory education designed to close pre-school attainment gap.
— Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) : A means-tested grant to encourage pupils to stay in education post 16.
— Education Action Zones
They also increased diversity in state education through more specialist schools.
What was the purpose of “Equality of Opportunity” and the “Equality of Outcome”?
> Equality of opportunity
— The idea that everyone should have the same opportunities there should be a level playing field.
— Access to education should be equal; nobody should have unfair advantages.
— However, the outcomes will still be unequal because of natural inequality. Policies to ensure equality of opportunity are designed to facilitate meritocracy, social mobility and fairness.
> Equality of outcome
— The idea that society should be as equal as possible; there should be as small of a gap between rich and poor as possible.
— Polices should not just try and ensure a level playing field but also to promote more equal outcomes.
— This includes finding ways to reward and value a range of skills and aptitudes, and providing additional support to those who need it.
What is privatisation? (1980s)
> Privatisation : Ball and Youdell (2007) identified
+ Endogenous privatisation
— Schools are privatised from within.
— The impact of marketisation policies has meant that schools increasingly operate like private companies, advertising against their competitors, paying by results, treating parents like customers, even taking over rival schools.
+ Exogenous privatisation
— The increased role of private companies within education.
— Academies and Free Schools are often run by companies (even chains of companies).
— There has also been a growth in private companies providing educational services (eg. Tutor2U).
What is the relationship between globalisation and education? (1980s)
> Globalisation and education
+ Globalisation is the process where the world is becoming more interconnected: economically, culturally and politically.
— Globalisation has changed the UK economy in various ways, meaning schools need to prepare people for different roles (more service sector roles and fewer manufacturing jobs) and operate in a global marketplace.
— The UK education system now competes globally with other counties (Eg. OECD international league tables).
— Many countries are ahead of the UK in international league tables, so the UK government borrows policy ideas from successful education systems elsewhere (eg. free schools borrowed from Sweden).
— However, successful systems are often very different (eg. Finland and Singapore) so it is difficult to know what would work in the the UK’s educational culture.
Globalisation has had many effects on educational technology and communication systems changed the way education is delivered as well as roles played by both teachers and students.
— The development of this technology is facilitating the transition from an industrial based society to an information-based on.
— Globalisation in education increases mobility of students and teachers across the world, and the need for educators to be more inclusive.
What are conservatives policies today? (contemp society)
> Conservatives : Grammar schools
— One of the proposals at the 2017 general election was to greatly expand the number of selective grammar schools.
— This manifesto also proposed ending free school meals for all infant (returning to the means-tested meals that existed prior to these being introduced by the coalition government) and introducing free breakfasts for primary school children.
