New Labour 1997 Flashcards
What policies did New Labour introduce?
Academies
Specialist schools
Faith schools
Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
Aim Higher
Raising of School Leaving Age (ROSLA)
Which theoretical perspectives would like New Labour’s changes?
Marxists - creates more opportunities for the working class
Postmodernists - allows more variety and choice of subject for students
Functionalists - creates more sifting and sorting
Which theoretical perspectives would not like New Labour’s changes?
New Right - different schools for different students goes against social solidarity
What are academies?
Failing schools which became part of an academy chain with better schools to share resources. Also received new facilities, government funding, and control over their curriculum
What is positive about academies?
Benefits the working class as most academies were in deprived areas
Creates more diversity and choice in education
What is negative about academies?
Businesses sponsoring schools can be seen as them becoming privatised for profit
Can pay their staff more, disadvantaging other schools by ‘stealing’ their teachers
What are specialist schools?
A school that is an expert in a certain subject. By 2007, 85% of secondary schools were specialists
What is positive about specialist schools?
Increases choice for parents and raises standards
What is negative about specialist schools?
Some created selection policies, disadvantaging the working class
What are faith schools?
Schools that cater specifically to one faith, e.g. Islamic or Catholic schools
What is positive about faith schools?
Increases choice for parents
Increases diversity of schools in the education system
What is negative about faith schools?
Could be seen as segregating students from different faiths/cultures
What is the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)?
£30 per week to low-income students over 16 if they attended all their lessons. Bonuses for achieving targets
What is positive about the EMA?
Helps low-income students buy books, transport, meals etc.
What is negative about the EMA?
Didn’t encourage enough students to stay in education, so the Conservative Coalition scrapped it
Benn (2012): this was meant to help the working class, but New Labour also introduced tuition fees for university which disadvantages them
What is Aim Higher?
A program to encourage social mobility, sending representatives into schools to talk to students about the benefits of university, or taking them on trips to universities
What is positive about Aim Higher?
Encourages social mobility
What is negative about Aim Higher?
There has been an increase in working class students going to university since it was scrapped in 2010, suggesting it wasn’t effective
What is ROSLA?
Raising Of School Leaving Age. New Labour raised the school leaving age from 16 to 18
What is positive about ROSLA?
Aims to reduce the number of NEETs by giving them more education
What is negative about ROSLA?
Reduces choice for students, meaning they can’t get straight into work
Prolongs childhood and dependency on parents
