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Educational policy and inequality Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is Educational Policy?

A

They are government strategies for education, introduced through legal changes and instructions to schools.

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2
Q

Untill the 19th century education was only provided by who?

A

It was only provided by church and charities ( which provided short and very basic education for a minority or the poor) and private schools ( which educated the rich and powerful)

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3
Q

What was introduced in 1870 which meant education was extended to everyone?

A

the 1870 education act, Britain had become an industrial society and people believed that a literate and numerate workforce was necessary for continued economic growth.

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4
Q

What was introduced in 1944?

A

The tripartite system

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5
Q

What is the Tripartite system from government?

A

The idea of meritocracy, led to the tripartite system, there were 2 main types of secondary school, with the selection of 11+ exam. Most MC pupils passed 11+ and went to grammar schools. Those who failed went to secondary modern schools (WC). This reproduced and legitimatizes class inequality.

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6
Q

What is A03 evaluation for the tripartite system?

A

MC were more likely to pass the 11+ due to having more cultural capital and knowledge and Economic capital (more money to pay for private tutors.

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7
Q

What is another A03 evaluation of the tripartite system?

A

Marxists would say this reproduces and legitimatizes inequality.

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8
Q

What did the labout government introduce in 1965?

A

The comprehensive system.

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9
Q

What was the comprehensive system introduced by the labour government in 1965?

A

They abolished the 11+. All pupils attended the same local comphrensive school. But some areas did not go comprehensive and there are still 164 grammar schools in England.

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10
Q

Why is comprehensive schooling a good thing? 2 reasons

A

1) No entrance exam so no child is labelled as failure and also it breaks social class barriers as educational acts as 1 size fits all.
2) Also as schools have catchment areas, local schools accept local children of all abilities.

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11
Q

What are 2 A03 evaluations of comprehensive schooling?

A

1) However, it doesn’t really mix social classes as rich people live in the rich areas and poor live in poorer areas.
2) Comprehensive schools embedded with inequality with policies such as GCSE and coursework creating disadvantage for boys?

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12
Q

What do Functionalist thing about the role of education?

A

They see all comprehensives as meritocratic because they give pupils longer to develop by not selecting at eleven. Some see comprehensives promoting integration by bringing all social classes together as one school.

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13
Q

What do Marxists think about the role of education?

A

Marxists see comprehensives reproducing inequality through streaming and labeling. They legitimate inequality by the myth of meritocracy, making it look like everyone has an equal opportunity.

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14
Q

What would sociologist argue the biggest driving factor that has been to create an education market?

A

Marketisation

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15
Q

What is Marketisation?

A

It means introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition into areas run by the state such as education, creating an educational market.

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16
Q

What perspective would support Marketisation and why?

A

New right theorists support marketisation, this is because it will help to raise standards and gives consumers (parents) more choice.

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17
Q

What was introduced in 1988?

A

The education reform act introduced by the conservative government of Margaret thatcher.

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18
Q

What was the main idea under the education reform act in 1988?

A

The main idea was to introduce competition for marketisation. She tried to promote the ‘branding, advertising and selling’ of schools so that they would run like a business, this would give parents more choice. David (1993) refers to this as parentocracy.

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19
Q

What are 2 marketisation policies were used to promote marketisation?

A

League tables

The funding formula

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20
Q

How does league tables promote marketisation?

A

Means schools with good results can cream skim the best (mainly middle class) pupils. Less successful schools end up with less able pupils. If they look good on league tables, they can attract more people for funding formula. especially high achieving pupils. However league tables can be very misleading.

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21
Q

How does the funding formula promote marketisation?

A

Schools are funded on how many pupils, so good schools get more money and can improve staffing and facilities and attract pupils. This gives parents greater choice to select schools that benefits child’s needs.

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22
Q

What is an A03 evaluation from Marxists about these marketisation policies?

A

Marxists would say rather than this promoting the aim of marketisation, such policies generate further inequality,

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23
Q

Why do these marketisation policies generate inequality?

A

This is because schools begin to focus more on trying to look good than actually care about their pupils. e.g the in order to generate A-C economy, Gillbourn and youdell show that students are sorted in education triage, whereby hopeless cases are ignored. these hopless cases get labelled generating more inequality.This benefits MC, not WC

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24
Q

Parents with greater cultural capital and economic capital benefit from what?

A

Greater parental choice.

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25
Q

Who is the sociologist that looks at parental choice?

A

Gewirtz

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26
Q

What are the 3 types of parents Gewirtz identifies in her study of 14 london secondary schools?

A

Privileged skill choosers, disconnected skill choosers and semi skilled choosers.

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27
Q

What were the prvileged skill choosers?

A

Most likely middle class with the economic and cultural capital to take advantage of school system.

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28
Q

What are the disconnected skill choosers?

A

Working class who lack the economic capital and cultural capital to take advantage of school system ( dont understand school admission procedures)

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29
Q

What are the semi skilled choosers?

A

Ambitious working class children they were frustrated by their inability to get the school they wanted.

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30
Q

What does Gewirtz study show?

A

This shows that there are clear class inequalities in parents’ ability to exercise choice.

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31
Q

What is A03 evaluation of Parentocracy by Ball?

A

The myth of parentocracy. Marketisation legitmatises inequality, by making it look as if are all parents are equally free to choose a good school. ( Mc can afford to move into catchment areas of more desirable schools)

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32
Q

What other policy was introduced by Conservative education reform act in 1988 (Margaret thracter)?

A

The national curriculum, this established new system of testing and assessment aiming to raise standards on a larger scale.

33
Q

What is A03 evaluation of The national curriculum?

A

Many ethnic minority groups were left alienated, by the ethnocentric curriculum that excluded history of ethnic groups. This shows government aim was to create market using marketisation and not to focus on equality.

34
Q

What was introduced in 1997-2010?

A

The labour government (Tony blair ) continued the conservative policy of diversity and choice, this was to overcome the inequalities in education.

35
Q

What are the policies that Tony blair’s labour government introduced?

A

EMA, academies

36
Q

What was Education maintenance allowance ?

A

This was paid to those between 16 and 18 as an enticement to remain in full time education and get A-levels.

37
Q

What is A03 of EMA? by Whitty

A

There is contradiction because they introduce EMA to encourage poor children to go to college, but then introduce uni fees which may put them off.

38
Q

How would Marxists critisce EMA?

A

They would say small payments do not change the social position of the working class and does little to tackle the root issues.

39
Q

What were academies?

A

These aimed to revamp the schools image opt give them a fresh start. They were taken away from local authority control and often funded by private companies, this was for failing schools. (they could offer bonuses to teachers to attract and keep the best)

40
Q

What are academies trying to show?

A

That the Labour government policies were trying to have a focus on equality by trying to proitise underachieving schools, therefore equalizing educational opportunity.

41
Q

What is A03 evaluation of academies?

A

Many academies were funded by private companies and will run like a business to raise standards, showing how Labour’s early education policies were influenced by new right ideas, encouraging marketisation instead.

42
Q

From 2010 to 15 what government was strongly influenced by neoliberalism ideas about reducing the role of the state through marketisation?

A

The Coalition government

43
Q

What was the clear aim of the coalition government?

A

To create an educational market and encourage separation of the state involvement in education.

44
Q

Who is the secretary of education?

A

Michael Gove

45
Q

What policy did Michael Gove heavily push for?

A

He pushed for the policy of academies which he has inherited from previous labour government adapting it to raise standards.

46
Q

What were academies like in the coalition government?

A

All schools were encouraged to become academies funded by central government and highly successful schools could be fast tracked to achieve academy status.

47
Q

What is the benefit of new style academies?

A

They would be under self control and be self funded and have ability to run like business and use their funds as they see fit. This shows a move to an education market.

48
Q

What is A03 evaluation to New style academies?

A

New style academies where able to ‘shift silt’, during admissions in order to improve the quality of pupil. Outstanding schools had an average of 9.4 % free school meal pupils, compared with 15.4 of the national average according the observer.

49
Q

What does the fact that Outstanding schools had an average of 9.4 % free school meal pupils, compared with 15.4 of the national average according the observer mean?

A

This disadvantages working class peoples as they begin to have less and less access to the higher achieving schools.

50
Q

What were Free schools?

A

These are state funded but set up and run by parents, teachers etc.

51
Q

What is A03 evaluation of free schools?

A

Critics claim free schools reproduce inequality: they take fewer disadvantaged pupils and research indicates that only children from educated families benefit.

52
Q

What one policy did the coalition government introduce to reduce inequality and not about marketisation?

A

Pupil premium

53
Q

What did the pupil premium do?

A

This helped provide schools with higher number of vulnerable students with extra funding to help cater to their needs, this will help support disadvantaged people.

54
Q

What is the problem with Pupil premium, in terms of the fact that schools have freedom?

A

As schools are given more independence. it may be difficult to track how far such funding has been used appropriately for the needs of the pupils.

55
Q

Therefore what was the main aim of Coalition policy?

A

They mainly prioritized policies that further to marketisation but did attempt to make some minor improvements to inequalities.

56
Q

Since the 2015 general election what marketisation policies have the conservative government tried to push?

A

There were restructing of exams that were rolled out in 2015 with clear marketisation strategy. Controlled assements were taken away, as well as a tougher grading system in the UK, so it could compete in a global scale system and the standards could be increased

57
Q

What other policy Since the 2015 general election that has influenced WC AND Ethnic minorities?

A

30 hours free childcare for working parents of 3&4 years olds. This will encourage parents back to work.

58
Q

What effect did this have on Private nurseries?

A

They might go out of business (government intervention disliked by NR)

59
Q

What Poltiical landscape is preventing the current secertary of state for education, Darman Hines from making any significant changes? (Current policy 2019)

A

brexit, legislation cannot be passed due to being in brexit being main topic on agenda, so the conservative party want more marketisation education e.g. grammar school agenda but i cant happen.

60
Q

Who is the sociologist that looks at the privatisation of education?

A

Ball (2007)

61
Q

What is the privatization of education?

A

The transferring of educational services from public services to private businesses.

62
Q

What does Ball argue?

A

Privatisation is shaping educational policy.Policies are now moving educational services into public sector, controlled by nation state, provided by private companies. Educaton = turned into legitimate object of private profit making, a commodity that’s bought and sold.. (Possibly be A03)

63
Q

Name 2 ways education has become privatized?

A

Blurring the public/private boundary

Cola-isation of schools

64
Q

What is Blurring the public/private boundary mean?

A

Teachers move into private sector education businesses, bringing insider knowledge to win contracts. Meaning education is all about profits for the captialist structure.

65
Q

Why would Marxists critisce the blurring the public/private boundary?

A

Education becomes another sphere to benefit capitalist.

66
Q

What is the cola-isation of schools?

A

The private sector sells to pupils through vending machines in schools (covertly), to develop brand loyalty through logos and voucher schemes, however benefit to schools are limited.

67
Q

What are policies in the 19th century to aim to reduce gender inequalities in achievement?

A

GIST AND WISE (EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICIES.

68
Q

What are the stages of policies aimed to reducing the achievement of children from minority ethnic groups?

A

Assimilation

Multicultural education

69
Q

When were Assimilation polices in?

A

1950-70s?

70
Q

What were assimilation polices?

A

Minority ethnic groups to assimilate into mainstream British culture as a way of raising achievement

71
Q

What is A03 evaluation of Assimilation policies?

A

critics argue that some minority groups who are at risk of underachieving, such as African Caribbean pupils, already speak English and that the real cause lies in poverty or racism.

72
Q

What year where multi cultural policies introduced in?

A

1980s/1990s

73
Q

What were multi cultural policies?

A

teaching about different cultures to promote achievement of all groups.

74
Q

What is A03 evaluation of Multicultural education?

A

Critical race theorists argue MCE is mere tokenism. It picks out stereotypical features of minority cultures for inclusion in the curriculum, but fails to tackle institutional racism.

75
Q

What is the first point for the question Explain 2 possible effects of privatization of state education services? (don’t have to do)

A

1) Increase in Parentocracy. , the private companies may generate a brand and image of the school and decide who they are most likely to want to accept via admissions procedure This may lead to schools’ cream skimming their selection of ideal pupils, typically white middle class individuals. Gillborn and Youdell highlight how the selection process within schools favour those who they believe are likely to boost their grades in order to appear in a more positive light on league tables.

76
Q

What is the Evaluation for it increases Parentcracy (including sociologist) (dont have to do)

A

David would disagree that this process reduces parental power and suggests if anything, it increases the role of parentocracy. Parents have more choice as the sponsorship of schools is likely to only succeed if numbers of students are high. Thus, schools would want to attract as many parents as possible, putting pressure on all schools to raise standards and attract parents.

77
Q

What is the second paragraph for the question?Explain 2 possible effects of privatization of state education services? (dont have to do)

A

greater emphasis on the ‘profit motive’ of education, as opposed to the actual needs of students. cola-isation of education whereby the private sector increasingly penetrates schools through vending machines and the development of brand loyalty through logos and sponsorship’s

78
Q

What are 2 arguments against privatisation?

A

1) Education becomes more about being a profitable business than the needs of students.
2) Education becomes a source to support capitalism

Sociology revision education (7 decks)

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