Educational Policy Flashcards
Timeline of political governments in the UK
- Labour 1964-70
- Conservative 1970-74
- Labour 1974-79
- Conservative/New Right 1979-97
- New Labour 1997-2010
- Coalition (Conservative/Liberal Democrats) 2010-2015
- Conservative 2015-present
Left wing views on Education
- Labour Party
- Focus on equality of opportunity and the raising of achievement for disadvantaged groups
- Take a Social Democratic approach
- Change the system
- Taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth
Right Wing views on Education
- Conservative Party
- Value tradition and believe shouldn’t be too much state intervention - individuals should look after themselves
- Raising standards and the marketisation of Education to encourage schools to compete
- Takes a New Right approach
- Shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s education
What are Youth training schemes?
YTS
•Conservative/New Right
Brought in because of the large numbers of young people with no qualifications. Training was offered to NEETS (young people out of education who aren’t working or being trained.)
If they refused to accept them benefits were taken off them
What are GNVQs?
•Conservative/New Right
Training in key sectors like Health, Social care, leisure and tourism. Enabled students to develop skills for the workplace before leaving school
What are NVQs?
•Conservative/New Right
Part of programme for new vocationalism. They are often on the job training.
What is The ‘New Deal’?
Aimed at unemployment of NEETS who were offered voluntary work for 6 months with training or full time education. Refusal to take part leads to removal of benefits, introduced by the New Labour scheme
What was the Butler Act?
- Introduced in 1944 by Conservative R.A Butler
- The Tripartite System split children into 3 schools: Grammar, technical and secondary modern
- Had to take an 11 plus exam
What did De Waal say about New Vocational qualifications?
Marxist
Argued they don’t teach vocational skills of any use, instead they are about occupying time. They often have little value in the outside world. They recreate the divisions that was found in the tripartite system
What did Evans argue about vocational qualifications?
Marxist
•Argued the quality of training offered in vocational education was poor
What was New Vocationalism Act?
- Introduced In 1979
- Meet needs of the economy and increase skills of the youth
- Tackle youth unemployment
- Criticised for manipulating unemployment stats
- Schools were producing students who lacked skills for the industry
What was the Education Reform Act Of 1988?
- Introduced the National Curriculum and League tables so know parents could choose suitable schools
- Raise educational standards increasing choice and competition
- Standardise Education so all schools can be compared
- Marketise the system creating ‘customers’ to raise standards
What does Althusser say about the relationship between the education and the economy?
- UK must be able to complete globally
* Having an Education with a market led approach will help raise standards and increase competition
What did Bowles and Gintis say about the relationship between the education and the economy?
Specialised skills are needed to prepare people for the economy, sufficient funding should be available to prepare all students for workplace
What did Willis say about the relationship between education and the economy?
Education provides a bridge for students between home and work, teaching universalistic skills to relate for society and the world of work
What did Rikowski say about the relationship between education and the economy?
(Marxist)
Argues that education is increasingly organised along business lines. It has become part of the capitalist economy
What did Durkheim say about the relationship between education and the economy?
Diversity is needed within the curriculum in order to meet the needs of a fast changing society in which work is fragmented and technology driven
What did Parsons say about the relationship between education and the economy?
Specialised division of labour in modern industrial society requires a specialised workforce which education should produce
What did Davis and Moore say about the relationship between education and the economy?
Schooling is Patriarchal and channels girls into gendered roles. Vocational education is gendered
What do the New Right think about the relationship between education and the economy?
School corresponds to the workplace and teaches students to be docile, conformist and obedient workers
What is the social democratic view of the relationship between education and the economy?
School prepares students for the workplace, working class boys for working class jobs.
What is the Feminist view of the relationship between education and the economy?
Education’s key function is role allocation, sorting pupils by their ability to the most important roles in a patriarchal society
What is the postmodernist view of the relationship between education and the economy?
Education is part of the ideological state apparatus which teaches pupils norms and values required for a capitalist society through the hidden curriculum
What Conservative/New Right policies from 1979-1997 helped meet the needs of the economy in education?
•1979 - New Vocationalism:
- YTS, NVQs/GNVQs
•1988 - National curriculum, City Technology Colleges (offered technical skills to prepare students for work)
What New Labour polices from 1997-2010 helped meet the needs of the economy in education?
- 14-19 Diploma
- New Deal
- Raising Literacy and numeracy standards
- Raising school leaving age to 16 years to ensure a better skilled workforce
- Curriculum 2000
What’s the 14-19 Diploma?
- Introduced by New Labour
- ’Lines Of learning’ a Range Of qualifications in different vocations
- Eg: Media, Travel, Engineering etc
What was the New Deal?
- Introduced by New Labour
- Large piece of legislations with great investment that aimed to get unemployed NEETS back into work
- Here they gained skills and if they refused the opportunity their benefits were removed
What was Curriculum 2000?
- Introduced by New Labour
- Split linear qualification into AS and A2
- All AS and A2 students had to complete Key Skills in IT
- This helped make a better technologically proficient workforce
What Coalition (Lib Dems & Conservative) policies from 2010-2015 helped meet the needs of the economy in education?
- More apprenticeships - ‘earn while you learn’ trained in ‘skills employers want’
- Changes to A-level and GCSE’s to make it ‘harder’ to create a better skilled workforce
- Raised school leaving age to 18 - had to be in education or training for a better qualified workforce
What Conservative policies from 2015-present helped meet the needs of the economy in education?
- Linear A-levels to make them harder for a better skilled workforce and raising competition
- GCSE’s moves to 1-9 system
- Expansion Of Apprenticeships
What’s the Functionalist view on vocationalism?
•Support it as it can provide specialised skills for the division of labour
What’s the Marxist view on vocationalism?
•Critical Of it as believe it provides cheap, exploited workers
What’s the Feminist view on vocationalism?
- Critical Of it’s patriarchal nature
* ’Female’ courses lead to low paid work
What’s the Postmodern view on vocationalism?
•It’s outdated, doesn’t provide skills for a contemporary labour market
What did Finn say about vocationalism?
Marxist
•Vocational qualifications prepare young people to accept low paid, low skilled work instead of training in specific vocations
What did Green say about vocationalism?
Marxist
•Vocational qualifications teach ‘basic’ skills like shelf stacking
What did Cohen say about vocationalism?
Marxist
- Vocational qualifications deskill not reskill workers
* Create Attitudes in young people to accept their exploited positions
What did Thompson say about vocationalism?
Marxist
- Function Of youth training is to produce a low-skilled, cheap labour workforce for capitalism
- Creates a reserve army of labour
What did De Wall say about vocationalism?
Marxist
•Vocational qualifications are led by poor training which results in low skilled workers
What was EMA?
- New Labour policy
- £30 a week was given to FE (further education) students after secondary school from deprived backgrounds
- Expensive policy
What was Sure Start?
- New Labour policy
- Additional funding to provide a ‘sure start’ to young children from deprived backgrounds
- Criticised by Conservatives
What is a parentocracy?
- System Of Education where parents are given the power to choose which school to send their child to and also gives them more say about what they learn
- Are able to influence through Open Evenings and league tables
What is Marketisation?
- Idea that schools compete with each other for customers (pupils)
- This will raise standards
- Get funding based on per pupil
- Driven by New Right who believe schools should be free from central control and run based on market principles
What is Competition?
•schools should compare with each other through league tables and subject tournaments (debating, maths)
What Conservative/New Right policies from 1979-1997 helped create diversity and choice in education?
- 1988 Education Reform Act
- Open enrolment/league tables (assess quality of schools and allow parents to choose schools)
- SATs (standardise testing)
- 1979 New Vocationalism
- City Technology Colleges
What New Labour policies from 1997-2010 helped create diversity and choice in education?
- City Academies (Introduced in areas of deprivation to offer more choice to parents)
- Curriculum 2000
- 14-19 New Diploma
What Coalition (Lib Dems & Conservative) policies from 2010-2015 helped create diversity and choice in diversity?
- Increasing Academies - schools that Ofsted declared ‘Outstanding’ could become an Academy which was partially state funded and partially sponsored
- Free Schools - opened in more deprived areas, state funded and helped set up by parents
What Conservative policies from 2015-present helped create choice and diversity in education?
- Revival and expansion of Grammar schools
- Expansion Of Free Schools
- Academies expanded - all schools to become Academies by 2022
- ’Academy chains’
What are Academy chains?
- Links between schools in the same areas
* Borrowing teachers and ideas
What did Miller say about diversity and choice in education?
- Poorer pupils cannot exercise ‘choice’ as can’t move house or afford far travel
- Choice is an illusion as everyone is taught and examined the same way
- The Which Survey showed 40% Of parents didn’t feel they took an active choice in deciding their child’s school
What did The Schools Lottery show?
- Choice is easier to access with more material wealth
- Renting a house that fell within catchment of an ‘Outstanding’ school
- Have the money to afford travel every day if not close by
What did Bourdieu say about diversity and choice in education?
(Marxist)
- Cultural, Economic and Social capitals may limit ability to exercise choice
- Social capital would be networks with other parents who may be governors
What did Gerwitz say about diversity and choice in education?
(Marxist)
- Middle Class parents are the ‘privileged skilled choosers’
- Working Class parents are ‘disconnected choosers’ as they don’t have the knowledge to make informed decisions about schools
- ’Cultural capital’ impacts upon ability to choose schools effectively
What did Byrne say about diversity and choice in education?
- Migrant parents are less able to access info about schools and are restricted by application dates and lack of local knowledge
- They cannot make informed choices over where to send their children
What did Raey and Lucey say about diversity and choice in education?
- Found ethnic minority pupils were more likely to attend schools with high proportions of ethnic minority pupils as this felt ‘safe’ even if it was a worse performing school
- Limiting their choices
What did Wragg say about diversity and choice in education?
- ’Victorian railway carriage’
- 1st Class - Eton - Oxford/Cambridge - Grammar/private schools
- 2nd Class - ‘Outstanding schools’ into a Russell Group University
- 3rd Class - Average state schools
Give information about Academies:
- Creates by PM Tony Blair
- Established In Lower Class deprived areas
- I’m was to raise standards and increase aspirations for children
- ’Outstanding’ schools could become Academies which received greater funding but are also sponsored
- AIM to have all Academies by 2022
Give information about Free Schools:
- First Free schools opened in September 2011
- Set up by Michael Gove in the Coalition Government in response to parental demand
- Set up in more deprived areas
Give information about Faith Schools:
- Religious Schools often perform better than others
- Wanted by Conservatives
- Created by a community push - state support and private funding
- By Education one religion it could promote religious intolerance and divide communities
- Caused More divisions after ‘race riots’ and 9/11
Give information about Specialist Schools
- Only 10% Of students who apply are chosen
* Creates a two tier system selection by mortgage rather than by ability
What is Compensatory Education?
•Additional funding/programs to help children at risk of low educational achievement reach their full potential
What is Equality Of Opportunity?
•Fair choices within the public sphere and equal chances for achieving in the education system
What is Widening Participation?
•Attempt to increase the amount of young people entering HE and the proportion of under represented groups (lower income families, people with disabilities and some ethnic minorities)
What Conservative/New Right policies from 1979-1997 helped create equality of opportunity in education?
- 1988 Education Reform Act - National Curriculum
- New Vocationalism - YTS, NVQs and GNVQs
- Open enrolment/league tables
- Marketisation Of Schools
What New Labour policies from 1997-2010 helped create equality of opportunity in education?
- EMA
- Education Action Zones
- Sure Start
- Raising school leaving age
- New Deal
- 14-19 Diploma
- Curriculum 2000
- City Academy Schools
What were Education Action Zones?
- New Labour Policy
- Schools divides into ‘zones’ Of 15-25 Schools
- Shared good practice to improve the less successful students
What Coalition and Conservative policies from 2010-present helped create equality of opportunity in education?
- Pupil Premium
- Expansion Of FSMs in September 2014 to all infant school pupils
- Raising school leaving age
- However they began phasing our Sure Start and completely withdrew EMA due to economic cuts
- Changing the criteria for access to FSM (free school meals)
What was Pupil Premium?
- Introduced by Coalition
- Given to children from low income families who are eligible for FSM and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months
- Money given directly to schools to support students
- Post 16 these students can access Bursaries
What studies argue against equality of opportunity in education?
- Wragg - ‘Victorian carriage’
- Miller - ‘illusion of choice’
- Cohen - vocationalism no skills
- Green - vocationalism no skills
- Gerwitz - privileged/disconnected choosers •Bourdieu - no cultural/Social/economic capital. •Gillborn and Jasper - institutional racism
- Raey et al / Byrne - migrant parents
- Coard - Ethnocentric Curriculum
- Kelly/Colley/Heaton and Lawson - patriarchy
- Callender and Jackson - ‘fear of debt’
- Smith and Noble - financial barriers
What Conservative/New Right policies from 1979-1997 helped raise standards in education?
- 1988 Education Reform Act: National Curriculum, SATs, League Tables
- 1979 New Vocationalism: YTS, GNVQ, NVQ
What New Labour policies from 1997-2010 helped raise standards in education?
- Curriculum 2000
- City Academies
- 14-19 Diploma
- More time dedicated to literacy and numeracy
What Coalition (Lib Dems & Conservative) policies from 2010-2015 helped raise standards in education?
- Free Schools
* Expansion and adaption Of Academies
What Conservative policies from 2015-policies helped raise standards in education?
- 1-9 GCSE’s and Linear A Levels introduced
- Academy Expansion
- Grammar Schools
What studies argue against the raising of standards in education?
- Wragg - Victorian railway
- Gillborn and Jasper - institutional racism
- Coard - Ethnocentric Curriculum
- Kelly/Colley/Heaton and Lawson - patriarchal
- Davis and Moore - Education is meritocratic but ethnic minorities and Lower classes don’t work hard
- Usher et al - Education too standardised
- Cohen/Green - vocationalism doesn’t teach skills
