Social Policy

Question 1

What are the main reasons for social policies in education?

Answer 1

To ensure a good standard of education, maintain competitive standards, and prevent inequality.

Question 2

What was the 1944 Education Act (Butler Act)?

Answer 2

It introduced free secondary education and the Tripartite System, where students were divided into grammar schools, technical schools, or secondary moderns based on the 11+ exam.

Question 3

Why was the Tripartite System criticised?

Answer 3

• Middle-class students dominated grammar schools.
• Technical schools were rare, leaving most students in secondary moderns.
• Working-class children were labelled as failures.
• Girls had a higher pass mark than boys.

Question 4

What did the Labour government introduce in 1965?

Answer 4

Comprehensive schools to end selection at 11 and improve meritocracy.

Question 5

What were the problems with comprehensive schools?

Answer 5

• Catchment areas meant schools were still dominated by one social class.
• Streaming led to middle-class students in higher sets and working-class in lower sets.
• Marxists argued meritocracy was a myth.
• New Right critics claimed comprehensive schools lacked discipline and failed to prepare students for work.

Question 6

What was the New Right approach to education?

Answer 6

Applied free-market principles to education, believing competition between schools would improve standards.

Question 7

What was ‘New Vocationalism’?

Answer 7

A focus on vocational training (e.g., apprenticeships) to tackle youth unemployment.

Question 8

What were the criticisms of New Vocationalism?

Answer 8

• Finn (1987): It created cheap labour and kept youth wages low.
• Cohen (1984): It taught discipline rather than real skills.
• Vocational courses were low status and reinforced class and gender inequality.

Question 9

What were the key elements of the 1988 Education Reform Act?

Answer 9

• Marketisation (competition between schools).
• Testing (SATs, GCSEs, A-Levels).
• National Curriculum (standardised subjects).
• League Tables (school performance rankings).
• Diversifying school choice (grant-maintained schools, city technology colleges).

Question 10

What were the criticisms of the 1988 Act?

Answer 10

• Increased stress on students from frequent testing.
• League Tables led to schools excluding weaker students.
• Middle-class advantage (Ball et al. 1994 – cultural and economic capital helped middle-class parents choose better schools).

Question 11

How did New Labour combine New Right and Social Democratic influences?

Answer 11

• New Right influence: Specialist schools, academies, private sector involvement.
• Social Democratic influence: Sure Start, Education Action Zones, focus on reducing inequality.

Question 12

What was Sure Start?

Answer 12

A programme to give disadvantaged children better early education, including free nursery places.

Question 13

How did vocational education change under New Labour?

Answer 13

• Expanded apprenticeships and vocational GCSEs.
• New Deal for Young People (NDYP) provided job training.

Question 14

What were the criticisms of New Labour policies?

Answer 14

• Tomlinson (2005): Middle-class still benefited most.
• Chitty (2014): Privatisation made education less democratically accountable.
• Vocational qualifications still seen as lower status.

Question 15

What New Right/neoliberal policies did the Coalition introduce?

Answer 15

• Expanded academies and free schools.
• Introduced the EBacc (focus on ‘academic’ subjects).
• Increased tuition fees to £9000.

Question 16

What social democratic policies did the Coalition introduce?

Answer 16

• Pupil Premium (extra funding for disadvantaged students).
• Maintenance grants for low-income university students.

Question 17

What were the criticisms of Coalition policies?

Answer 17

• Free schools and academies took funding from other schools.
• Pupil Premium often used for general school costs instead of targeted support.
• Scrapping Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) led to fewer disadvantaged students staying in education.

Question 18

How has globalisation impacted education?

Answer 18

• Marketisation of education (Ball, 2012 – education as a commodity).
• Multinational companies involved in education (Buckingham & Scanlon, 2005).
• Increased emphasis on global competitiveness (Kelly, 2009).

Question 19

What is cola-isation of schools?

Answer 19

Private companies advertise in schools (e.g., vending machines, branded promotions), but provide limited real benefits (Molnar, 2005).

Question 20

What is the “myth of parentocracy”?

Answer 20

The idea that parents have equal school choice, when in reality, middle-class parents benefit from economic and cultural capital (Ball et al. 1994, Gerwitz 1995).