Policies to Achieve Greater Equality of Opportunity - Comprehensive Education Flashcards
What is equality of opportunity?
The idea that every child regardless of their social class background gender or ethnicity should have an equal chance of doing well at school
What do policies to achieve greater equality of opportunity aim to reduce?
Aim to reduce inequalities and break down barriers faced by children from disadvantaged backgrounds
When was comprehensive education introduced?
Introduced in 1965
What was the aim of comprehensive education?
To provide a school for all students no matter their background or ability
Aimed to improve social mobility enabling children from all backgrounds to improve their social standing in society
What are the criticisms of comprehensive education?
Still a school divide as schools reflect the catchment area - schools in a middle class area are full of middle class students
Streaming and setting within comprehensive schools reproduce inequalities
Why does setting and streaming reproduce social class inequalities?
Working class students don’t fit ‘the ideal pupil’ teachers assume they are less able and not committed placing them in bottom sets with the worst teachers and discipline issues
What did the labour government do in 1965 in terms of education?
Abolished the tripartite system and created comprehensive education - some areas kept their grammar schools
What is a comprehensive school?
One school for all pupils regardless of ability or social class with no entrance exam
What was the aim of comprehensive education?
Aimed to create greater equality of opportunity for all
What are streams?
Where pupils are put into one group based on their ability in all subjects
What are sets?
Where pupils are put into groups based on ability in particular subjects
Who did comprehensive schools tend to attract?
Tended to attract pupils from a local catchment area - if the school was in a working-class area it attracted working-class pupils
Why might functionalists argue comprehensive education is more meritocratic than the tripartite system?
They think because the middle class and working class are in the same school and are separated they will have an equal chance of success
Why might Marxists argue comprehensive education reproduces social class inequality?
Because although they are in the same school they are separated into sets so the middle class will still do better
Why might Marxists argue comprehensive education legitimises social class inequality?
Because they have to do exams and get into their sets and the working class will blame themselves for their failure and not working hard enough which leads them not doing the high exams and getting lower qualifications keeping them in working class jobs
What is EMA?
Education maintenance allowance
Who and when was EMA introduced?
Introduced by the labour government in 1999
What was the aim of EMA?
To encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to study post-16
What we’re students from low income families given if they stayed in education post-16?
They were given money if they stayed in education post-16
Overcoming the barrier of material deprivation
What did EMA help students cover the costs of?
Travel costs, dinner, stationery and books
Encouraging equality of opportunity
What happened at the same time EMA was introduced?
The government increased university tuition fees
Why were the working class economically excluded from attending university?
Due to material deprivation
Many working class students are debt averse and reluctant to apply over fears of growing debt
Who were the compensatory education policies supported by?
Supported by the labour government in the 1990s
What was the aim of the labour government supporting compensatory education?
Aim of helping all children to achieve no matter their background
What does compensatory education refer to?
Refers to extra services and programs to helps children from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve in schools
Give an example of an extra service
Free school meals ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds eat a nutritious school dinner helping them to concentrate in lessons
How did compensatory education aim to deal with the problem of cultural deprivation?
By providing extra resources to schools and communities in deprived areas to compensate children for the deprivation they experience at home
What resources did compensatory education provide to deal with the problem of cultural deprivation?
Sure start
Education action zones
How might sure start help children from deprived households succeed in education?
The centre provide integrated education and it also works with parents to promote physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children so that they can flourish when they go to school and at home thereby breaking the cycle of disadvantage
Why is negative stereotyping an issue?
Some working class pupils do not take the free school meals due to stigma as they are worried they will be laughed at or bullied
Why do free school meals have a limited impact?
They make sure children have a healthy, nutritious meal but only when they are at school and not during school holidays and the weekend
When was excellence in cities launched and who by?
Launched in 1999 by the labour government
What was the aim of excellence in the cities?
To raise the aspirations of working class students living in inner city areas
What was excellence in the cities another form of?
Another from of compensatory education targeting deprived inner city areas
Who did schools start to work closely with?
Started to work closely with local businesses and companies who would give talks, mentor students and run outreach programmes
What was the ‘lawyers in schools’ programme?
Involves lawyers going into schools and running educational sessions to raise aspirations
Who introduced academies?
First introduced by the labour government
What was the aim of academies?
To tackle underperforming schools
What was the first type of academy introduced by the labour government?
First kind introduced by the labour government was sponsored academies
What are sponsored academies?
Failing schools are turned into academies to raise standards and improve achievement
What is the aim of sponsored academies?
Aim to encourage greater equality of opportunity, improving the education of working class students many of whom were previously stuck in failing ‘sink’ schools
Who introduced pupil premium?
Introduced by the coalition government
What was the aim of pupil premium?
Aim of helping disadvantaged children in school
Aim was not only to over come material deprivation but also give working class children opportunities to develop cultural capital
What is pupil premium?
Where schools receive extra money for students from low income backgrounds
What are schools to use pupil premium for?
To fund trips and educational experiences which they otherwise would miss out on
What is a criticism of pupil premium?
Schools often spend the money on other things like marketisation e.g prospectuses, open days etc
