educational policies +evaluation Flashcards
to raise standards in education/ provide equality of opportunity/diversity/competition and
choice
aimed at girls
education reform act
The national curriculum standardised
education as it raised standards to
ensure a certain level of education was
accessed. SATs were used to raise
standards for all students and act as a
way of assessing quality of education
and track progress = working at a
certain level. League tables raised
competitions between schools and
colleges so standards were raised.
Ofsted was used to check the level of
education was suitable in schools
through detailed inspections. Reports
were then published publicly for
parents to read.
to raise standards in education
aimed at w/c
curriculum 2000
revised A-level curriculum was introduced. This was an entirely modular curriculum which required candidates to take modules as they progressed through the course.
Only examined in a single session at
the end of the course. It split A-level
into AS and A2. Assessment periods
would take place in January and June of
both years of study. This was a flexible,
broken-up process of studying which
made workload less stressful and
students would understand the
content in more depth which increases
standards of education.
to raise standards in education/diversity/competition and choice
academisation 2010
proposal to convert schools into academies which began in 2010. Schools or colleges
were graded as “inadequate” by Ofsted
and forced to be academies. LEAs (local
education authorities) were removed
from the funding process which put
funding in the hands of the central
government. Local sponsors are
exonerated to provide additional
funding (for tax benefits) and schools
can become part of a multi-academy
trust (MAT) where several schools pool
resources and share good practice.
Schools gain autonomy over content
they teach and teachers they employ.
They have control to push for high
standards.
to raise standards in education
aimed at boys
GCSE and A level reform 2015
reformed A-levels, undoing Curriculum
2000. Assessments are mainly by exam
with other types of assessment used
only where they are needed to test
essential skills. Assessments will take
place at the end of the course and
courses will no longer be divided into
modules with no exams in January. AS
and A levels will be decoupled meaning
that AS results wont count towards A
level. AS can be designed to be taught
alongside. Content for new A levels has
been reviewed and updated.
Universities play a greater role in this
for new qualifications than they did
previously. With the aim of raising
standards = focus on application of
knowledge in the exams.
criticism of policies to raise standards in education/ provide equality of opportunity/ Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition
Gerwitz
Competition benefits the richest in society:
middle classes were much better able to take advantage of school choice as a result of their possession of cultural capital. Privileged school choosers = middle class parents who use economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital for their children. Semi-skilled chooser= working class but ambitious for their children. As they don’t have the cultural capital, they find it hard to understand the education market and rely on people’s opinions about schools. Disconnected choosers= working class parents who are restricted by lack of economic and cultural capital which made it difficult to understand school admission procedures and looked at safety and facilities rather than league tables. They had no money to travel to a school of their choice.
This illustrates that an increase in house competition between schools will result in the best schools forming in the most affluent areas (where privileged skilled choosers will go) which means that standards are only raised in certain areas.
criticism of policies to raise standards in education/ provide equality of opportunity
bourdieu
They raise standards but only for privileged students not all.
education is a middle class institution where this culture is rewarded: formal education was created to incorporate middle class
values as students with higher degrees of cultural capital are more likely to be successful in education. Working class children cannot contextualise their learning like middle
class children can as middle class parents can help their children through transmitting social and cultural capital.
This means that it does not matter if efforts are made to raise the standards in education without total reform, working class children simply do not have the cultural capital meaning that they are required to take advantage of the ‘opportunities’ provided to them by
new policies.
criticism of policies to raise standards in education
davis and moore
High focus on academic skills ends up prioritising
certain subjects and courses and neglects students with vocational skills:
education sorts and sifts people into the right roles based on their skills. Most skilled people are positioned for the most functionally important jobs. The less skilled people still have to receive education so that they are prepared for the less functionally important jobs but this does not mean that they are not crucial for society. Policies that aim to raise standards of education prioritise academic skills and subjects and can often neglect students with more vocational skills. Students may not utilise skills that are required to participate in the lesser (yet still important) roles of society meaning that overall, society suffers.
criticism of policies to raise standards in education
illich
Makes formal education solely focused on outcomes rather than the
value of education in-itself: we should de-school society by getting rid of formal education altogether as education has become too managerial. It has become performance based and teaching is too focused on passing exams and not enrichening a young person’s life. Young people should be taught by people with the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for a particular area as well as using learning webs which are people who want to learn something so are put in contact with relevant people and want to teach something so they could then learn together in an informal way. Other people should not dictate to us what we need to learn but we should learn what we find interesting and useful.
This means that policies that aim to raise standards only raise standards from the point of the government. This does not mean that young people are more educated.
to provide equality of opportunity/ aimed at w/c
sure start 2000
to work with parents-to-be, parents and children to provide for the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and
young children. This consisted of ‘sure start’ centres which target families from lower class backgrounds. The idea was to compensate for children who may find themselves academically behind already by the time they reach school. By giving them opportunities to
be more school-ready, these children may be able to harness their potential and do better in school.
to provide equality of opportunity/aimed at w/c
pupil premium 2011
a grant that provides schools with increased funding to help improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. For students eligible for free school meals
or have been in the past 6 years, including children looked after by local authorities, referred to as looked after children. It currently works out between £1000-£1500 (more provided in primary education than secondary).Its two main purposes = give schools
extra funding that can be allocated to the PP students by the way of bursaries to give them better access to educational resources and to
financially incentivise schools enrolling students from poorer backgrounds.
to provide equality of opportunity/diversity,competition and choice/ aimed at w/c and ethnic minorities
city academies 2000s
created by Labour but popularised by the coalition. Was funded directly by the central government, removal of LEAs, additional funding from local businesses and organisations. It was originally intended to only apply to failing schools which would often be in
cities and were designed to help improve lower-income and ethnic
minority student performance. This is because academies have a degree of autonomy which allows them to teach a curriculum which is more relevant to their learners.
criticisms of policies to provide equality of opportunity
wragg
Education remains a system of social division, not social mobility:
education system as a ‘Victorian railway carriage’. There is a set pathway and depending on your social class your ‘route’ is predetermined and cannot be altered. 1st class = to oxford and
cambridge. 2nd class = ‘outstanding’ schools then onto russell group
universities. 3rd class = poor performing schools = no further
education colleges and polytechnic universities at best. Education is
therefore a system of social closure that by its very nature excludes people from poorer social backgrounds, regardless of policies in place in an attempt to make it inclusive. Just 1% of people from low socioeconomic backgrounds are granted scholarships to independent schools, so equality of opportunity cannot be achieved
regardless of policies put in place to try and lessen the gap between the rich and the poor.
criticisms of policies to provide equality of opportunity
murray
providing equality of opportunity will make education worse
for those who are gifted, ‘society (and education) is meritocratic’ : education has lost its sense of meritocracy and is therefore failing those who are most gifted. In assuming that less intellectually gifted students could achieve the same outcomes as those who are, those who are will suffer. Education asks too much from students at the bottom of the intellectual pile, asks the wrong things from those in the middle and asks too little for those at the top. This culminates in too many people going to uni which devalues higher education
degrees. This is very bad as Murray feels society is fundamentally
dependent on how well educated the academically gifted are. We should simply accept that not everyone has the potential to be anything they want to be, and divert our resources away from trying to provide equality of opportunity = prioritise best possible standard of education for those most able
To Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition/ aimed at w/c
new vocationalism 1980s
YTS (youth training schemes) training offered to NEETS: one year course for those who had just left school. If young people did not accept this training their benefits (job seekers allowance) were
taken away from them. YOP (youth opportunities programme in 1978 - 6 month programme that included elements of work experience and ‘off the job’ training, using in FE colleges. NVQs - on the job training, not seen in the same light as academic qualifications, popular with trades jobs: plumber, electrician, carpenter. GNVQs
- training in key sectors such as health and octal care, leisure and tourism. Enables students to develop skills for workplace and these were gained in schools and colleges
To Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition
specialist schools 2002
empowered secondary school comprehensives to become specialised in a specific area of academic interest. This application would have to be supported by a statement as to why this area was an area of specialism in the school and would then result in a formal status and increased funding for resources and facilities in those
subjects. this would therefore give parents increased choice over the kind of school they sent their children to, possibly wanting to prioritise one area area over another
criticisms of policies to Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition
green
Vocational training does not prepare students for work.
youth trainees in vocational education were being taught basic skills related to unskilled, insecure, low paid jobs in the retail sector such as supermarket shelf filling rather than craft skills. the hidden curriculum of youth training and vocational courses transmits the
message that ‘ good attitude’ and discipline are more important than the acquisition of skills. YTS and GNVQs legitimise traditional class divisions as they were based on the idea that the m/c should be educated (by A-Levels) and the w/c and ethnic minorities should be trained in basic vocational skills creating a new ‘bipartism’.
criticisms of policies to Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition
national education union
Academies are not really providing diversity, they are a way of cutting costs. common criticism of academisation is that it is a policy implemented for financial reasons, disguising itself as a policy and that tries to provide diversity, choice and raising standards. likelihood is that academisation is a stern measure used to limit governmental funding of state education. as by removing LEA involvement, central government has more control over spending, encouraging schools to join MATS allows for the removal of individual. support staff departments e.g finance and NEU found in academies that less
money was spent on teacher salaries and student support. Students are not more likely to have higher attainment, students are more likely to be taught by an unqualified teacher.
criticisms of policies to Provide Diversity, Choice and Competition
millar
poorer people are less able to exercise ‘choice’ because they cannot
afford to move house or travel to better schools. There is a lot of
standardisation in educational provision which does not benefits all
students. Most parents want a good school so choice creates uneasy
conceptions (structural obstacles). Government is focussed now on
academies and free schools. Selection of schools = reduces ability to exert actual free choice and many schools have partial selection. Academically selective and faith schools take less FSM and EM pupils than other comprehensives.
policy aimed at girls
GIST+WISE
designed to raise awareness of gender
inequalities in education and
encourage women and girls to study
science and technology subjects which
are typically male dominated. This
included arranging female scientists to
visit schools, create work experience
opportunities for girls in science and
engineering fields, provide better
career advice and revise curriculum to
be less excluding girls.
criticise policies aimed at girls
Heaton and Lawson
Patriarchal values are still transmitted
via the hidden curriculum.
The hidden curriculum is a major
source of gender socialisation and
operates in 5 ways. Books and
textbooks (women portrayed as
dependent on men and there’s an
absence of women in textbooks).
Female students being uncomfortable
in certain subjects. Teacher
expectations, patriarchal curriculum
and lack of positive role models with
more teachers being female but more
managers in education being male.
policy aimed at boys
playing for success
a national out-of-school-hours initiative
in partnership with sports clubs, set up
to raise literacy, numeracy and ICT
skills in children who have unrealised
potential, using the motivation of sport to improve young people’s attitudes to
learning and motivation in school.
Pupils attend the centres after school
for around 20 hours during a period of
around 10 weeks aimed at year 6-9
students.
criticise policies aimed at boys
epstein
It doesn’t matter if
efforts have been made to improve
outcomes for boys outside of school if
boys remain disadvantaged within
school
More policies need to be put in place to
challenge labelling and challenges boys
face within school to improve their
achievement
criticise policies aimed at boys
burns and bracey
- However,
girls still outperform boys at A-Level
and so more needs to be done to
narrow this gap
Changing the design of the course does
not impact the amount of time girls
and boys spend revising outside of
school. Girls put more effort into
homework and unlike boys are
prepared to draft and redraft
assignments. Girls mature earlier, work
harder and are more motivated than
boys - will revise more. = policies don’t
look at the amount of work boys do
and therefore fail to fully close the gap.
criticise policies aimed at boys
frosh et al
Not successful as
despite policies being implemented to
make education more relevant to
them, boys may deliberately not do as
well as they do not want to be excluded
by their peers.
Boys felt they risked being labelled as
‘gay’ by male peers if they work hard
leading them to act masculine and
anti-school. Underachieve in school to experience inclusion amongst peers.
Therefore, it does not matter if the
policy changes as societal norms
around education being seen as ‘girly’
need to change for policies to have an
impact.
