Eductaional Policy Flashcards
What is the tripartite system 1944?
Introduced through the Butler Act 1944 which meant children up to age of 15 got free secondary education. The tripartite system was brought in to improve equality of opportunity children were selected for one of 3 schools; Grammar, Secondary modern or technical.
What is a Grammar school?
These schools were made for pupils who were deemed to have academic ability as they passed the 11+ test. In these schools the academic curriculum was taught enabling students to access professional occupations and to attend university.
What is a secondary modern school?
Taught a non-academic curriculum as the pupils that attended were those who failed the 11+ test. The curriculum taught allowed pupils to access manual occupations instead of professional occupations as these pupils were seen as non-academic.
EVALUATION: Tripartite system
Failed to tackle inequality between social class as middles class pupils passed the 11+ and attended grammar schools. This system failed to promote meritocracy instead it reproduced social class inequality as it offered unequal opportunity. Middle class pupils more like to pass the 11+ due to them being brought up using the elaborated language code which is the speech code taught within education. Legitimised inequality through the ideology that ability is fixed at birth as the test measured early life ability but ignored how ability can change. Reproduced gender inequality as girls had to achieve a higher mark than boys to pass the 11+ test.
What is the comprehensive school system?
Replaced the tripartite system in 1960s aiming to create equality among social classes. The system did this by getting rid of the 11+ test and allowing all pupils to attend the same local comprehensive school in which all different abilities were accommodated. This gave working class and middle class equal opportunity.
EVALUATION: The comprehensive system
Some areas didn’t go comprehensive, the grammar and secondary modern divide still exists.
Parents had very little choice.
Hargreaves and Ball - inequality created as setting and streaming was introduced.
Some schools don’t have an adequate social mix of children.
Private schools still exist although comprehensive schools were facilitating pupils from a working class background.
How functionalists see education.
Comprehensives as being meritocratic as they give all pupils longer to develop by not selecting at age 11 and they say that comprehensives bring all social classes together.
How Marxists see education
See comprehensives through streaming and labelling. Legitimise inequality through the myth of meritocracy making it seem like everyone is given equal opportunity.
What is new vocationalism?
Caused by the education system not producing pupils with the correct skills needed for employment. Comprehensivisation was an attempt to provide all pupils with academic qualifications, however many jobs required practical or technical skills.
Vocational education is an alternative to academic education producing qualifications such as BTECs or GNVQs in subjects such as bricklaying, hairdressing or childcare.
EVALUATION: impact of vocationalism
Essentially brought back 2 tier system that comprehensives tried to eradicate. Vocational qualifications tend to be taken by working class students.
Vocational qualification not as highly valued as academic qualifications.
Level 3 BTECs now have exam units added to them as well as coursework to increase the level of challenge.
What is marketisation?
Process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition into areas that are run by the state.
The idea that education should be run like a business in the aspect that schools should have to compete with each other for the top positions in the league table.
What are the marketisation policies?
LEAGUE TABLES - ranking of performance in GCSEs, SATs, A-Level.
OFSTED INSPECTIONS - reported on quality of teaching and learning experiences.
BUSINESS SPONSORSHIPS - business takes over the school.
OPEN ENROLMENT - allows successful schools to recruit more pupils.
NATIONAL CURRICULUM - all students taught the same SATs and GCSEs making it easier to compare schools.
FORMULA FUNDING - funded on the basis of the amount of students they attract.
OPTING OUT OF LEA CONTROL - schools can opt out of local authority and become an academy in which the school look after their own budget.
What would New Rights educationalists argue?
More competition that was faced in schools the more of an incentive there was for improvement as it is believed that competition led to an expansion of successful schools.
EVALUATION: impact of marketisation
Critics - league tables increase inequality as schools with good results can cream-skim, leaving the ones with less ability (working class) in the less successful schools. Only an advantage to middle class parents as they are able to move to the school of their choice. GERWITZ - parentocracy is a myth as parental power is not equally distributed as middle class parents have more economic, social and cultural capital. The amount of choice parents have is questioned as to whether it is an illusion. Most parents have restricted choice. Pressure is put on pupils and teachers to perform well.
What is the new labour policy?
Came into power in 1997.
City academies were introduced giving former comprehensives with poor results a second chance and a boost of the funding they received to help them to compete and improve.
Ensured there was equality of opportunity.
SURE START - tackle disadvantaged working class children offering a wide variety of support services such as free childcare.
EMA - help students from low income backgrounds attend further education.
AIMHIGHER - targeted groups that were under-represented in higher education such as working class and ethnic-minority backgrounds.
THE GIFTED ABD TALENTED INITIATIVE - providing the top 5% of students aged 11-18 in inner cities with extra study support.
