Educational Policy Flashcards
summarise the main 2 aims of educational policies
main 2 aims of educational policies
- to improve equality: some policies are made to try and make things more equal
- marketisation: to create competition in order to improve standards and give parents more choice
outline the timeline of the British Government
- Conservative 1988-1997
- Labour 1997-2010
- Coalition 2010-2015
- Conservative 2015-2024
give context of education before the 1870 education act
- only a small minority received formal education
- public + grammar schools educated children of the wealthy and powerful
outline the tripartite system under the 1944 Butler Act
there were 3 types of schools:
- grammar schools: intended for smartest pupils
- secondary modern schools: attended by most who were less academic / more practical. basic education
- technical schools: emphasised vocational training + technical skills
outline the comprehensive system + who introduced them
- introduced by Labour Gov in 1965, prioritised equal access to education
- one secondary school type for everyone to break down social class barriers
what are advantages of the comprehensive system
- no entrance exams or selection; more fair, no children labelled as ‘failures’
- are cheaper to run, schools facilitate more pupils, there are more subjects offered
what are disadvantages of the comprehensive system
- comprehensive system limits parental choice; each student goes to their nearest school, regardless of reputation
- streams in comprehensive schools recreates social divisions as the streams reflect the social class differences
- comprehensives aren’t actually socially diverse as they’re based off of local neighbourhood
outline the Functionalist view of comprehensives
- positive view of comprehensives
- they promote social integration by bringing kids of diff social classes together
- they are more meritocratic as it gives students a longer period to develop + show their abilities
outline the Marxist view of comprehensives
- critical view of comprehensives
- they aren’t meritocratic - they reproduce class inequalities generationally through labelling + streaming
- they legitimise class inequalities by making inequal achievement seem fair because failure is the fault of individuals
define marketisation
- marketisation = the process of introducing market forces of consumer choice to encourage competition between schools
which theory supports marketisation + why
- New Right
- marketization helps to raise standards + gives consumers (parents) more choice
outline David’s concept of parentocracy
- David; Parentocracy:
- ‘rule by parents’
- parents are consumer, schools are producers
- as consumers, parents can give funding to schools by sending their child there due to the Funding Formula
- this raises school competition and standards due to league tables, OFSTED, fee schools, specialist schools
what is an AO3 evaluation of David’s concept of parentocracy
- schools are the one who actually decide who gets in - not parents
outline league tables + cream skimming
- grades produced by the schools are the most important aspect to consumers
- grammar/ high achieving schools have the ability to cream skim (choose the best pupils)
- working class, special education BAME pupils are less likely to be chosen
outline the funding formula
- funding formula = funding per student enrolled at the school
- leads to sink schools - poorer, lower achieving schools that have less students + money and lower results
describe Gerwitz’s concept of parental choice/ the myth of parentocracy
- there is a myth of parentocracy (the idea that parents hold the power in choosing their child’s school)
- only some parents benefit from marketisation
- there are 3 types of parents: privileged skilled choosers, disconnected local choosers, and semi-skilled choosers
describe Gerwitz’s privileged skilled choosers
privileged skilled choosers:
- middle class
- they have the economic capital (money) to access catchment areas, tutors/ resources to achieve higher, appeals for school places, pay for school transport
- they also have the cultural capital; m/c values, skills to appeal for places, skillset/knowledge of the schools admission system, enrichment, understands the process
- they use these assets to gain educational capital for their kids
describe Gerwitz’s disconnected local choosers
disconnected local choosers
- working class parents
- their chocies are restricted de to their lack of economic + cultural capital
- they lack the economic capital, cultural capital and social capital that the privileged skilled choosers have
describe Gerwitz’s semi-skilled choosers
semi-skilled choosers
- mainly working class
- unlike the disconnected local choosers, they are ambitious for their children
- but they also lacked the cultural and economic capital to fully access educational capital
outline Conservative educational policy motives 1988-1997
- was heavily influenced by New Right thinking
- under Margaret Thatcher
- new vocationalism = serving the needs of the industry was prioritised over equality of opportunity
- state run institutions were inefficient as they didn’t have a profit motive
- introduction of market forces creates marketisation/ competition and thus raises standards
outline testing and examining under the Conservatives 1988-1997
- in hopes of increasing competition, there was an increased use of testing, examination and publication of exam results
- Ball: in some aspects, the promotion of standardised testing goes against New Right thinking as they are generally ‘against imposing uniformity on schools’ and ‘value diversity’
outline the 1988 Education Reform Act
- established a national curriculum + a national system of testing and assessments
- league tables
- OFSTED
- funding formula
- MATs
- the aim of this reform was to increase diversity, choice + competition/ to raise standards
what was the aim + impact of the National Curriculum
- aim: to inc diversity, choice, competition + to raise standards
- impact: gender parity; removal of gendered subject bias
what was the aim + impact of League Tables
- aim: to provide info for parents, to help them make an informed choice, to inc parentocracy
- impact: top league tables attract m/c families (privileged skilled choosers), increased competition
what was the aim + impact of the Funding Formula
- aim: to inc competition in schools, to force a profit motive, to get as many students as possible
- impact: better quality education + better results, schools in deprived areas lead to sink schools
what was the priorities of the Labour Educational Policy 1997-2010
- top 3 priorities: ‘education, education, education’
- some policies demonstrate the principle of equal opportunities, whereas some seem to be based on New Right thinking of marketisation
outline the stance of the Labour Gov 1997-2010 on comprehensives
- Blair: rejects ‘ one size fits all’ idea of comprehensive education - schools should reflect the diversity of young people
- comprehensives should be ‘modernised’; thus, the introduction of specialist schools to raise standards
outline the Labour Gov’s 1997-2010 stance on equality policies
- they intended ‘to overcome economic and social disadvantage and to make equality of opportunity a reality
- they wanted to motivate young people in deprived inner city areas
what were the new educational policies introduced in the Labour Gov 1997-2010
- academies (failing schools taken over by Gov/ private funding)
- beacon schools (‘centres of excellence’)
- EMA/Education maintenance Allowance (paid those 16-18 to remain in full time education)
- EAZs/Education Action Zones (maximised educational opportunities in deprived areas)
- vocational qualifications
- raised school leaving age to 18
what is OFSTED
- OFSTED = the regulatory body that inspects schools and gives them a rank
- these ranks are then published online which gives parents further knowledge about the quality of education in schools, thus informing their decision
by _ nearly _ of secondary schools had become _
- by 2021, nearly 86% of secondary schools had become academies
define academisation
- academisation = the movement of operation + ownership of schools from being under local councils to private organisations
- also known as privatisation
outline Sure Start
- centres that provided education and aimed to give children the best start to life through improved healthcare, education, family support etc
what did the Coalition 2010-2015 government introduce / further implement
- free schools/ academies
- pupil premium
- increased university fees
- Ebacc
outline the Coalition 2010-2015 Govs academies/ free schools
- from 2010, schools were encouraged to leave local authority and be funded by central Gov
- Ac. also given control over their admissions
- these schools boost marketisation + parental choice but feed into cream skimming
outline the Coalition 2010-2015 Govs pupil premium + an evaluation
- PP is an amount of money that schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background
- it aims to close the gap between them and their peers
- AO3; PP has been criticised as there is no sure way of knowing if the money is being spent on its intended purpose in schools
outline the Coalition 2010-2015 Govs increased uni fees + an evaluation
- uni fees inc from £3,000 per year to £9,000 per year
- this aimed to promote marketisation through inc profit making
- AO3; has negatively impacted the w/c due to fear of debt
outline increasing education funding in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto
- increased school funding by £14 billion - with areas previously underfunded receiving the greatest increase
outline the Coalition 2010-2015 Govs Ebacc
- English Baccalaureate isn’t compulsory
- students must pick the core subjects as well as a humanities and language
- aims to promote a more ‘academic’ stream of education
what were the main promises in the 2015 Conservative election manifesto
- creating a further 500 free schools by 2020
- zero tolerance for failure; immediate support to turn around failing/ coasting schools
- 30 hours free childcare
- restructuring exams; from A-C to 1-9
outline improved classroom standards in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto
- every school ranked Outstanding by OFSTED will receive regular checks
- investing £10 million in Behaviour Hubs
outline creating more great schools in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto
- to create more high quality schools; they will continue to support innovation
- give more school places to children with severe Special Educational needs
- intervening in underachieving schools
what’s a criticism of the Conservative 2015-present Gov
- the Conservative Gov was inefficient from 2015-2020 due to Brexit in which they focused majority of their time on
- then there was a large focus on how to deal with Covid-19 (e.g. how schools should deal with it)
outline open enrolment
- introduced under 1988 Conservative education reform act
- part of ‘parentocracy’ - parental choice increased
- allowed parents to select multiple schools as options to send their children to
- only had to specify 1 as their first choice
outline MATs / academy chains
- charities that run chains of academies
- are the funding body for academies
