Educational Policy Flashcards
What was the education system like in the late 1800s?
There were no state schools and the very rich could pay to go to private schools. Some churches gave education to the poor
In what year did school become compulsary?
1880 for between 5 and 13
When was the tripartite system introduced?
1944
What law introduced the tripartite system?
1944 Education Act
What was the tripartite system?
Students were allocated to 3 types of school based on the 11+ test.
Grammar schools offered access to higher education and academic careers
Secondary modern schools offered access to manual work
Technical schools were only avaliable in a few places
How does the tripartite system reproduce class inequality?
It channels the two social classes into two types of schools as rich people do better on the test
How does the tripartite system reproduce gender inequality?
Girls were required to do better on the 11+ test to get into grammar school
When was the comprehensive school system introduced?
1965
What was the comprehensive school system?
Schools where all children could attend
How do functionalists see the comprehensive system?
Helps to promote social intergration and allows education to be meritocratic
How do marxists see the comprehensive system?
Legitimising class inequality and reproducing class underachievement as there’s still streaming
When were marketisation policies first introduced?
1988
When were academies introduced?
2010
What is the aim of marketisation?
Increase competition and parental choice
What is parentocracy?
Where parents are given more choice over schools due to marketisation
What policies have promoted parentocracy?
Publication of legue tables and Ofsted reports Open enrollment Academies Formula funding Free schools
How does David describe marketisation?
He describes it as parentocrasy where parents are given control which encourages diversity and raises standards
What do Ball and Whitty argue about marketisation?
It reproduces class inequality and creates inequality between schools
Who came up with the idea of cream-skimming?
Barlett
What is the impact of marketisation according to Barlett?
Cream skimming where good schools are attractive to middle class parents and the schools can then be selective over pupil intake. Working class students are not accepted and they go to sink schools which become unequal
How does the funding formula lead to inequalities between schools?
Popular middle class schools attract more pupils so gain more funding. They spend this on better facilities and teachers. Unpopular schools have less money so they lose money and can’t deliver the same quality of lessons
What does Gewirtz argue about parental choice?
It mainly benifits middle class families as they have the economic and cultural capital to take advantage of the system Skilled choosers: Middle class parents who know how admissions work and can take advantage of the system Local choosers: Working class parents who find it difficult to understand admissions and are less aware of their choices Semi-skilled choosers: Ambitious working class parents who are frustrated they can't get their children into a better school
What types of choosers did Gewirtz identify?
Skilled choosers: Middle class parents who know how admissions work and can take advantage of the system Local choosers: Working class parents who find it difficult to understand admissions and are less aware of their choices Semi-skilled choosers: Ambitious working class parents who are frustrated they can't get their children into a better school
Which sociologists discuss the myth of parentocracy?
Gewirtz
Leech and Campos
What does Gewirtz argue about the myth of perentocracy?
Middle class parents can take advantage of the system
What do Leech and Campos argue about the myth of perentocracy?
Middle class parents can move to the catchment areas of better schools
When was the New Labour government?
1997-2010
What were some of the policies introduced by the New Labour government?
Education Action Zones
Aim Higher Program
EMA
Adademies
What are education action zones?
School in working class areas given additional recourses Created by New Labour
What was EMA?
Created by New Labour
Education Maintenance Allowance giving money to poor children to get them to stay in education past 16
Who critices New Labour’s policies?
Benn
How does Benn critisize New Labour?
There’s a contradiction between their commitment to changing inequality and their marketisation
How did Adademies change under the coalition government?
All schools were encouraged to become academies which took the focus away from reducing inequality
What are the disadvantages of free schools?
Less likely to take in working class students
What is fragmented centralisation?
Balls: Promoting academies leads to diverse provision and more inequality as the government don’t have central power
Who came up with the idea of fragmented centralisation?
Balls
What policies did the coalition government introduce aimed at reducing inequality?
Free school meals
Pupil premiums
What are pupil premiums?
Money is given to schools who take children from disadvantaged backgrounds
What is the effect of senior officials leaving to work in the private sector?
Pollack: It allows companies to buy insider knowledge and side-step local authority
