educational policy & inequality Flashcards
what are education policies?
plans and stratergies for education introduced by the government
what are the 2 aims of all education policies?
- raise the quality and standard of education in the UK
- reduce the inequalities for grades and life chances
who was education available to before the industrial revolution in the late 19th century?
formal education was provided by expensive fee paying schools for boys from wealthy backgrounds
the foster education act 1870
created primary schools in Britain.
main principle was to ensure a better educated workforce.
education was focused on reading, writing, arithmetic and religion
the butler act 1944
education began to be shaped by idea of meritocracy (achieved status rather than ascribed).
It created secondary schools and the tripartite system.
what was the triparte system and how were students allocated?
chidren were allocated based on aptitudes and abilities through the 11+ exam.
grammar schools, secondary modern, technical schools.
grammar schools
- children who passed 11+
- the curriculum granted access to better higher education and job prospects
- had best teachers, facilities, extra-curriculars
- focused on traditionl academic subjects
secondary moderns
- children who failed 11+, about 3/4 students went here
- offered more vocational curriculum ideally suited to more manual w/c jobs
- limited opportunities and subjects for less academically able students
- no uniform, could leave at 15 without GCSEs
technical schools
- curriculum focused on scientific, mechanical, and engineering skills
- very few technical schools built
- only 2 or 3% children attended
briefly explain why the 11+ was not a fair way of testing ability and intelligence
- include ideas of social class, ethnicity and gender
wasn’t fair for non-white w/c girls.
* m/c students could afford private tuition meaning they reached top schools and top jobs
* culturally biased
* girls needed more marks to be able to pass so less wereable to attend grammar schools
briefly explain why the tripartite system was unfair
it was based on the myth of meritocracy that legitamised inequalities (appeared fair on surface by everyone taking same test)
- served to reproduce class inequality and discrimated against girls, by channelling 2 social classes into 2 different types of schools that offered unequal opportunities and life chances
comprehensive system 1965
-labour gov
- aimed to overcome class divide of the tripatite system and make education more meritocratic by removing the 11+ to replace it with comprehensive schools decided by Educainal Authorities (LEAs)
- comprehensive schols were mixed abilities determined by geographical catchment areas
describe the differences faced by being in an expensive or cheaper catchment area
expensive:
-best schools and teachers
-more m/c white students attending better schools due to parents economic and cultural capital
cheaper:
-worst schools and teachers with high levels of underachievement
-more w/c students attending worse schools as parents couldn’t afford houses in expensive catchments
briefly explain why the comprehensive system reproduced class ineqaulities and was still based upon the myth of meritocracy
due to catchment areas and setting/streaming recreating the tripartite system under 1 roof
sets and streams were based upon ability, but most m/c pupils were placed in higher sets/streams and w/c in lower didn’t therefore have same acces to best teachers and grades.
explain the difference between setting and streaming
setting: divide students based on ability in that 1 certain subject
streaming: divides students based on their general ability = same set for all subjects
give 3 positives of the tripartite system
- different ability students get support they need for their ability
- resources can be better targeted
- more able to not get held back
give 3 positives of the comprehensive system
- one education for all with no enterance exam = fairness
- brings together students from different social classes
- larger schools are cheaper to run
education reform act 1988
-cosnervative gov Thatcher introduced it
increased competition between schools to increase standards.
it established the principle of marketisation into education, so schools compete for pupils because funding is based on funding formula.
Introduced the national curriculum so schoosl could easily by compared
briefly explain the marketisation policy of formula funding and the impact of schools using it
funding is determined by number of students school has, they get £5000 per student.
schools work harder to attract more students which leads to more money so they can further improve, which gives parents more choice as better educated on what each one involves
briefly explain the marketisation policy of league tables and the impact of schools using it
schools performace data is published allowing parents to compare schools which creates competition by a ‘teaching to the test culture’ that priortises results
schools work harder to achieve better results leading to more students = more money to facilitate to students needs/wants
briefly explain the marketisation policy of Ofsted and the impact of schools using it
inspect and regulate schools to meet certain quality standards, which gave public acced to school ratings
schools become more regulated and better funded as they will attract more students which means more money for a better rating = competition
briefly explain the impact of schools using the marketisation policy of academies
allows schools to have more freedom of choice in the way that they run their school and will attract more students if they have better suited aspects to that student other than parents (timings of the day)
briefly explain the marketisation policy of the national curriculum and the impact of schools using it
all state schools follow same curriculum through regular assessments
means schools all operate on the same curriculum, creating equality of opportunities (meritocratic) for all students.
briefly explain the marketisation policy of specialist schools and the impact of schools using it
schools given extra funding to spend on improving facilities for these certain topic areas
gave parents and children more choice by influencing them with their better accomodating facilities through extra funding
what did David argue has come from increased competition and choice for parents
led to parentocracy due to schools being increasingly run like businesses meaning they have the incentive to raise standards due to maretisation. But this also reproduces and increases inequalities
what is the positive of the policy of publishing exam results and ranking schools in league tables in the ERA?
a huge emphasis is placed on ensuring pupils get the best grades possible
what is a negative of the policy of publishing exam results and ranking schools in league tables in the ERA, according to Bartlett and Le Grand?
leads to schools cream skimming and silt shifting students
how is cream skimming following the myth of meritocracy?
schools that do well in league tables and ofsted reports have parents fighting over places at these schools.
Therefore these schools can be selective over which pupils they take as they are over-subscribed so they usually recruit m/c high achieving pupils = m/c students get the best education
how is silt-shifting following the myth of meritocracy?
schools that do badly in league tables and ofsted enter a spiral of decline.
They lose potenital pupils to better schools so they end up taking less able pupils, so their results end up being poor so parents then perceive these as sink schools.
Leads to w/c pupils getting a poor education
formula funding
school funding is now based upon how many pupils they attract (£5000 per pupil)
according to Whitty what does he believe formula funding leads to for popular and unpopular schools?
popular schools get more funds, so they can afford better resources and better qualified teachers meaning they attract m/c students so they can then cream skim more able pupils and avoid taking less able who may damage schools results = silt shifting.
however unpopular schools get less funding and cannot compete due to less disposable income = spiral of decline continues
what are the 3 types of parents Gewirtz identifies as part of parentocracy?
- privileged skilled choosers
- disconnected local choosers
- semi skilled choosers
What is parentocracy according to Ball?
It is the result of marketisation. He says parentocracy is only a myth that makes parents think they all have the same choices when Gerwitz proves this is not true as m/c parents have the expertise to choose best schools
privileged skilled choosers
-Gewirtz
- Professional middle-class parents who use their cultural capital (e.g. being well educated) to take advantage of choices available.
- They knew the importance of putting a particular school as first choice due to their cultural capital
- Economic capital meant travel costs or moving house for catchment are purposes was not an issue.
disconected-local choosers
-Gewirtz
- W/c parents restricted by lack of economic/cultural capital.
- Distance and travel costs were an issue and restricted them.
- They placed little importance on league tables and long term ambitions from the school
- They did not know how to manipulate the system to their advantage or felt confident with choices.
semi-skilled choosers
-Gewirtz
- Mainly working-class but more ambitious for their children.
- Felt frustrated at their inability as they relied on others opinions and did not understand the education market.
What does gewirtz conclude about parentocracy and marketisation?
m/c parents process cultural and economic capital and have more choice than w/c parents because marketisation reproduces and legitimates inequality
what was the main aim of the policies introduced by the new labour government (1997-2010)
aimed at supporting disadvantaged groups by combining marketisation with social democratic principles to reduce inequality
briefly explain the New Labour policy of Education Action Zones and how this reduced inequality
Clusters of schools designed to raise school standards in poorly performing areas. They got given additional funds each year and were in partnerships with local education authorities and local businesses and organisationations (churches, football clubs).
Reduced by:
Allows w/c to have resources like those in better performing schools, gives them access to local opportunities of aprenticeships and mentors that act as role models
briefly explain the New Labour policy of Aim Higher and how this reduced inequality
Initatives that widened participation in HE for those who’s family hadn’t gone to uni and other minority and disabled groups.
Guest speakers, free residential taster sessions
reduced by:
Giving them motivation through role models and confidence to see they aren’t mariginalised.
Gave them a taste of opportunities they could have without the commitment of money and time at uni
briefly explain the New Labour policy of Educational Maintenance Allowance and how this reduced inequality
payments to students (£30 a week if income below £30810) from low income backgrounds to encourage them to stay in post 16.
Aim of keeping their attendance up to get this to use on transport and school equipment
reduced:
allows w/c to not have material deprivation and is an incentive for school engagement.
Breaks the cycle of inequality and spiral of decline.
briefly explain the New Labour policy of National Literacy Stratergy and how this reduced inequality
introduced literacy and numeracy hours every day in primary schools.
reduced:
Gave them opportunities by creating having an elaborated vocab.
All students had same opp’s of learning as tagreted w/c students who’s parents are culturally deprived and couldn’t engage in helping with these skills.
Increased general literacy and numeracy skills of population
