Educational policies & marketisation Flashcards
Education
What did the 1944 Education Act introduce?
It made secondary school free for all and raised the leaving age to 15. An 11+ exam is taken and children were placed into grammar schools, secondary modern schools or technical schools.
The 11+ exam was _________ ________, and if you passed it you would go to a __________ school (around ___% of kids). Those who failed the 11+ were labelled as __________.
culturally biased
grammar
20%
failures
What year were schools made comprehensive by the labour government?
1965
What is meant by comprehensive schools?
This means it is ‘universal’ so that everyone gets the same deal and they have equality of opportunity.
What are some benefits of the comprehensive system?
1= The removal of the 11+ stopped the labelling of pupils as failures.
2= Low-ability students did better in this system than the tripartide system.
What are some drawbacks of the comprehensive system?
1= Setting and streaming replaced the role of the 11+ exam.
2= Despite being ‘equal’ schools in working-class areas still did worse.
What is vocationalism?
Policies aimed at creating a closer link between school and work.
What were some examples of vocational reforms?
1= Youth Training Systems started in 1983 training school leavers for work.
2= NVQs and GNVQs - practical qualifications introduced.
3= New Deal (1998) people on benefits had to attend courses if they didn’t accept work.
What are some problems with vocational education?
1= Teaches disipline not skills.
2= Provides cheap labour.
3= These qualifications aren’t regarded to the same level by unis.
4= Force girls into ‘girly’ jobs.
What did the 1988 education reform act change?
These New Right changes were focussed on widening choice within the education system and encouraging more competition to create a ‘market’ in schools.
What are some features of the education system after the Education Reform Act?
1= More Vocational Choices
2= National Curicculum
3= OFSTEAD
4= Choice & Competition
5= League Tables
6= SATs
What are some criticisms of the 1988 Education Reform Act?
1= Middle-class advantage
2= Stressful for students
3= Outdated curriculum
What did Whitty (1998) say about the Education Reform Act?
Whitty argued that middle-class parents had an advantage as they are more likely to have the attitudes and knowledge (cultural capital) anf the financial capacity to move to areas with better schools.
What did Ball say about the Education Reform Act?
Ball (1995) claimed that the national curriculum was the ‘curriculum of the dead’ because of its emphasis on the core subjects was outdated.
What were the ideas of New Labour (1997-2010)?
New Labour wanted to do something about educational inequality but also wanted choice and diversity. They continued marketisation while also promoting privatisation.
What did New Labour do to promote marketisation?
New Labour promoted marketisation by allowing schools to specialise in one subject to try and create diversity and increase choice for parents. They also allowed faith schools to be set up.
What did New Labour do to promote privatisation?
New Labour promoted privatisation by allowing agencies to improve reading and writing, with the aim of improvinh efficiency and standards, but some people claimed it took too much control away from schools.
What was a New Labour policy aimed at promoting gender equality for boys?
In 1999 the governemnt gave grants to primary schools to hold extra writing classes for boys to help push up their SATs scores.
What was a New Labour policy aimed at promoting gender equality for girls?
The 1988 Ed. Ref. Act gave all pupils entitlement to do any subject they wanted to.
WISE and GIST have encouraged girls to study subjects they did not usually try to get into.
What are some New Labour policies which were aimed at reducing class inequality?
1= Sure Start
2= Education Maintenance Allowance
3= Education Action Zones
4= Free School Meals
5= The Academies Programme
Tell me about Sure Start.
Sure Start (1999) was a programme which offered up to two years of free childcare and early education to all three and four year olds.
Tell me about the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).
The EMA gave up to £30 a week to students who stayed on in education post-16. A series of bonusses were available for good attendance and progress. It was means-tested so only children from poorer families could benefit from it.
Tell me about Education Action Zones.
Education Action Zones were where local public, private and voluntary organisations worked together and combined their resources to raise standards.
Tell me about Free School Meals.
Free School Meals and breakfast clubs (which were means-tested) aimed to reduce class inequality, specifically material deprivation.
