Educational Policy And Inequality

Question 1

What are educational policies and what issues are they a response of?

Answer 1

It refers to the plans and strategies for education introduced by government

• equal opportunities
• selection and choice
• control of education
• Marketisation and privatisation

Question 2

When did the state make schooling compulsory from ages 5 to 13 and why?

Answer 2

1880

Industrialisation increased the need for an educated workforce

Question 3

What education act brought in the tripartite system?

Answer 3

1944 education act/Butler Act

Question 4

Why was the tripartite system introduced?

Answer 4

Education began to be influenced by the idea of meritocracy- individuals should achieve their status and not have it ascribed to them at birth

Question 5

What was the tripartite system?

Answer 5

Children were to be selected and allocated to one of three different types of technical schools according to their aptitudes and abilities in the 11+ exam

Question 6

What was a grammar school?

Answer 6

Offered an academic curriculum and access to non manual jobs and higher education. They were for those who passed the 11+ exam, usually middle class

Question 7

What were the secondary modern schools?

Answer 7

Offered a non academic, practical curriculum and access to manual work for those who failed the 11+ exam. Mainly working class

Question 8

What was the third type of school in the tripartite system?

Answer 8

Technical schools

Question 9

How did the tripartite system reproduce class inequality?

Answer 9

By channeling the two social classes into two different types of schools that offered unequal opportunities. Reproduced gender inequality by requiring girls to get higher marks in the 11+ to pass. It legitimated inequality through the ideology that ability is inborn. A child’s environment greatly affects their success and they shouldn’t have their future decided at 11

Question 10

When was the comprehensive system introduced?

Answer 10

1965 onwards

Question 11

Why were comprehensive schools introduced?

Answer 11

Aimed to overcome the class divide of the tripartite system and make education more meritocratic

Question 12

Why does a grammar-secondary modern divide still exist in some areas?

Answer 12

It was left to local education authority to decide whether to ‘go comprehensive’

Question 13

What do functionalists think of comprehensives?

Answer 13

Argue that Comps promote social integration by bringing children of different social backgrounds together in one school. Although it’s argued that there is little social mixing between classes because of streaming.
They see comps as more meritocratic because it gives children a longer period to prove their abilities

Question 14

What do marxists think of comps?

Answer 14

They are not meritocratic. They reproduce class inequality through generations through streaming and labelling. Comps appear to be more equal- myth of meritocracy. Failure seems the fault of the individual not the system

Question 15

What is marketisation?

Answer 15

The process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state

Question 16

What act helped marketisation become a central theme of government education policy?

Answer 16

1988 Education Reform Act introduced by Thatcher

Question 17

What happened from 1997?

Answer 17

The New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown followed marketisation policies, emphasising standards, diversity and choice.

Question 18

What happened to marketisation from 2010?

Answer 18

The conservative lib dem coalition government took marketisation further by creating academies and free schools

Question 19

What were some of the policies to promote marketisation?

Answer 19

Publication of league tables and ofsted reports
Business sponsorship of schools
Formula funding 
Academies 
Tuition fees
Free schools

Question 20

What did Miriam David describe marketise education as?

Answer 20

Parentocracy- rule by parents. Power shifts from producers to consumers.

Question 21

What does Will Bartlett argue league tables create?

Answer 21

Cream skimming- good schools can be more selective, recruiting high achieving middle class pupils
Silt shifting- good schools can avoid taking less able working class pupils that would damage their results.
=inequality

Question 22

How does formula funding create class inequality?

Answer 22

Good schools attract more pupils which means they can afford better teaching and equipment which means middle class students do better

Question 23

Who researched parental choice and what did they find?

Answer 23

Sharon Gerwitz in a study of 14 London secondary schools.
In theory the education market gives everyone a fair choice but but in practice middle class capital gives an advantage

Question 24

What is a privileged skilled chooser according to Gerwitz?

Answer 24

Professional middle class parents who used their cultural and economic capital to gain educational capital for their children. Cultural capital meant they knew how school admissions worked and had time to visit schools. Their economic capital meant they could afford to get their children around the system eg paying extra travel costs so they could go to better schools out of their area

Question 25

What are disconnected local choosers according to Gerwitz?

Answer 25

Working class parents. They found it difficult to understand school admissions, less confident, less aware of the choices and less able to manipulate the system. Attached more importance to the safety and quality of school facilities than league tables. Travel costs meant they were restricted to their local school

Question 26

What are semi skilled choosers according to Gerwitz?

Answer 26

Mainly wc but were ambitious for their children. They lacked knowledge of procedures so had to rely on others opinions. Frustrated at their inability to help.

Question 27

What does Ball think about parentocracy?

Answer 27

It is a myth that legitimates inequality

Question 28

What policies did the New Labour introduce to reduce inequality during 1997-2010?

Answer 28

Education Action Zones- providing them with extra resources 
Aim Higher 
Educational Maintenance Allowance EMAs
National Literacy strategy
City academies
Increased state ed funding

Question 29

How is New Labour’s compensatory policies criticised?

Answer 29

‘New Labour Paradox’
Brought in marketisation at the same time as these policies
Introducing EMAs and tuition fees

Question 30

What happened to education in the 2010 coalition government?

Answer 30

Influenced by neoliberal and new right. Reducing the role of the state through marketisation and privatisation. Cuts were made to the education budget.

Question 31

What did 2010 government do about academies?

Answer 31

Encouraged all schools to become one and leave local control.

Question 32

What are free schools?

Answer 32

Funded by the state but set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses. Gives parents the opportunity to create schools if they are not happy with the schools in the area.

Question 33

How are free schools criticised?

Answer 33

They take in fewer disadvantaged children. 20% of schools in Sweden are free schools and their education ranking has lowered in recent years because of this.

Question 34

What did Ball argue about promoting academies and free schools?

Answer 34

Increased-
Fragmentation- the comp system is being replaced with a patchwork of diverse provision= greater inequality in opportunities
Centralisation of control- only the central government funds and decides who becomes academies and free schools

Question 35

What were the 2010 compensatory policies?

Answer 35

Free school meals
The pupil premium- more money given to schools with disadvantaged pupils. Although it has been found that schools don’t use the money on those it is supposed to help.

Surestart and EMAs are cut and closed down

Question 36

What is privatisation?

Answer 36

The transfer of public assets to private companies. Trend towards this. Private companies are involved in everything from building schools, supply teachers, careers advice, ofsted inspections

Question 37

Gender policies

Answer 37

GIST and WISE

Question 38

Ethnicity policies

Answer 38

Assimilation
Multicultural education
Social inclusion