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sociology key concepts > social policy and education > Flashcards

social policy and education Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

educational policy before 1988
industrialisation

A

before industrial revolution, no state schools and education only available to minority
industrialisation increased need for educated workforce so school compulsory for 5-13 year olds in 1880

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2
Q

What education were m/c and w/c given?

A

m/c - academic

w/c - basic numeracy and literacy skills needed for factory work

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3
Q

When was the Tripartite system

A

1944 (education act)

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4
Q

1944 education act - meritocracy

A

individuals showed achieve status through efforts and abilities rather than ascribed status

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5
Q

How and what 3 schools were children allocated to?

A

took an 11+ test

grammar school - passed exams, non manual, mainly m/c, high education

secondary modern school - failed exams, practical jobs, mainly w/c, low education

technical school - only existed in few areas, very few built, mechanics/engineering etc

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6
Q

What did separating people to different schools do?

A

reproduce class inequality

reproduced gender inequality as girls needed to get higher marks in the exams to go to grammar schools

legitimised inequality through ideology that ability is inborn and can be measured through 11+ exam

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7
Q

When was the comprehensive system?

A

1965

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8
Q

What did the comprehensive system aim to do?

A

overcome class divide by abolishing 11+ exam along with grammar schools replaced with comprehensive schools that all pupils in one area would attend

aimed to make education system more meritocratic

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9
Q

What was the problem with going comprehensive?

A

it was up to local authorities whether schools went comprehensive so not all did

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10
Q

Functionalist view on comprehensive schools

A

positive
promote social integration between classes

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11
Q

Who found little integration?
What was this due to?

A

Ford
due to streaming

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12
Q

Marxist view on comprehensive schools

A

reproduce class inequality through streaming and labelling

myth of meritocracy and legitimises class inequality

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13
Q

How were people selected in school?

A

selection by ability- now forbidden other than in grammar schools

selection by aptitude - potential in certain subjects (specialist schools can take up to 10% of pupils based on aptitude)

selection by faith - select proportion based on religion/ religion of parents

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14
Q

AO3 - issues with selection of schools

A

late developers not able to move schools
social cohesion and integration
labelling and self fulfilling prophecy
gains provided for some students cancelled out by number of disadvantaged students in secondary modern schools

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15
Q

Who identified covert selctions?

A

Tough and Brooks

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16
Q

What is covert selection?

A

cherry pick high achievers
discourage poor parents by giving impression school is better fitted for m/c

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17
Q

When was the conservative government - the new vocationalism?

A

1979 - 1997

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18
Q

What did the conservative government aim to do?

A

deal with youth unemployment as gov. felt education wasn’t adequate enough to prepare for work

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19
Q

What did the conservatives introduce?

A

apprenticeships and training schemes focusing on students gaining NVQs

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20
Q

Which theorists favour new vocationalism?

A

functionalists and new right

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21
Q

AO3 - problems with new vocationalism

A

cheap labour for employers
reduce politically embarrassing unemployment stats
lower ability students encouraged to do vocational education and w/c and ethnic minorities over represented
stereotypical gender patterns

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22
Q

AO3 - Cohen

A

argued vocational education aimed to instill good attitudes and work discipline meaning they will accept low paid and low skilled jobs

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23
Q

Who introduced 1988 education reform act?

A

conservatives

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24
Q

What became a central theme of social policy since education reform act?

A

marketisation- introduce market force and competition e.g in education

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25
Q

Who followed similar policies?

A

1997 labour government
coalition government 2010 by pushing academies and introducing free school meals

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26
Q

How has marketisation created an education market?

A

reduce state control over education
increase competition in school
increase parental choice
aim to raise standards

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27
Q

Why do neo-liberal and new right favour marketisation?

A

schools have to attract customers with what they want (exam success) and those that don’t will ‘go out of business’

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28
Q

Who came up with ‘parentocracy’?

A

David

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29
Q

How did policies promote marketisation?

A

publish league tables
business sponsorship
open enrolment
funding formula
uni tuition fees
free schools
specialist schools
national curriculum
target setting

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30
Q

AO3 - reproduction of inequality

A

despite claimed benefits of marketisation critics argue it increased inequality

31
Q

Who believes publishing league tables leads to cream skimming and silt shifting?

A

Bartlett

32
Q

What is cream skimming?

A

‘good schools’ have more selection and choose high achieving, mainly m/c

33
Q

What is silt shifting?

A

‘good schools’ can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get low results

34
Q

What is funding formula?

A

schools allocated funds based on how many pupils/how popular the school is

popular schools get more funds so have more selection over pupils - more funds=more attraction

unpopular schools loose income so can’t match teachers skills or facilities than better schools
causes ‘bad schools’ to get even less funding and worse results

35
Q

What does Gewirtz say about parental choice and inequalities?

A

differences in parent’s economic and cultural capital leads to how far they have a choice in secondary schools - found 3 types of parents when choosing

36
Q

What were the 3 types of parents found when choosing secondary schools by Gewirtz?

A

privileged skilled choosers - m/c, cultural and economic capital, professional

disconnected local choosers - w/c, restricted by their lack of capital, less confident with admission policies, less aware of choices etc

semi skilled choosers - mainly w/c, determined for their children but lacked capital and relied on others opinions

37
Q

AO3 - Ball - legitimatising inequality and myth of meritocracy

A

marketisation gives appearance of parentocracy giving them the choice but it is a myth

38
Q

AO3 - what do Leech and Campos show?

A

m/c parents can afford to move into the catchment area of better schools

39
Q

When was New Labour government?

A

1997 - 2010

40
Q

What did new labour gov. do to reduce inequalities from marketisation policies?

A

aim higher programme
increase funds for state education
sure start centres
city academies introduced
introduced national literacy strategy
education maintenance allowances
designate deprived areas as education action zones

41
Q

Who did they pay the most attention to?

A

groups in society who were seen as disadvantaged e.g w/c, ethnic minorities

42
Q

AO3 - who was a critic of new labour?

A

Benn

43
Q

Why was Benn a critic of new labour?

A

saw contradiction between labours policies to reduce inequality and its commitment to marketisation
e.g despite introducing policies encouraging w/c to get further education, they introduced tuition fees at uni

44
Q

What was it called when there was a contradiction e.g encourage w/c to do higher education but introduced tuition fees?

A

new labour paradox

45
Q

When was coalition gov. (con and lib dem)

A

2010-2015

46
Q

What change did the coalition government. introduce

A

national curriculum (made more demanding)
changes to GCSEs and A levels - no longer coursework or modular exams

47
Q

Who were con lib dem influenced by?
Why?

A

neoliberal and new right ideas

reduce role of state in education and move away from schools run by local authority
done through marketisation and privatisation

48
Q

coalition gov - academies

encouraged to do what?
what happened to curriculum?

A

from 2010, schools encouraged to leave local authority and become academies
funding taken from local authority given to central gov.
academies got control of own curriculum

49
Q

statistic of how many secondary schools converted to academies

A

by 2012 over half had converted

50
Q

coalition gov. - free schools

run by who?
seen to do what?

A

run by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses rather than local authorities

seen to raise standards by giving parents power and meeting local demand

51
Q

What did Allen find in his study?

A

found research from Sweden
20% of schools in Sweden are free
found they only benefit children from highly educated families

52
Q

What did DoE find about free schools?

A

free schools take fewer disadvantaged pupils than nearby schools

53
Q

AO3 - What did Ball argue about fragmented centralisation?

A

promoting academies and free schools has led to
fragmentation of education system
centralisation of control

54
Q

What is fragmentation of education system?

A

system replaced by patchwork of diverse provision, much involving private providers that leads to greater inequality in opportunities

55
Q

What is centralisation of control?

A

central gov. alone has power to allow or require schools to become academies or allow free schools to be set up
schools funded by central gov. and reduce role of elected local authorities in education

56
Q

What did coalition gov. introduce to reduce inequality?

A

free school meals
pupil premium - money school receives for disadvantaged pupils (encouraged better schools to recruit lower achieving pupils)

57
Q

What did Ofsted find about pupil premium?

A

in many cases pupil premium was not spent on those it was supposed to help

58
Q

What did coalition gov. do further (austerity policy)

A

cut spending in many areas of education
close sure start centre
abolish EMA
increase tuition fees to £9000 a year

59
Q

When was conservative gov.

A

2015+

60
Q

What policies did conservative gov. introduce?

A

increase no. grammar schools
GCSE grading system changed to 1-9
introduce T level and phase out BTEC
content of GCSE and A level more demanding

etc

61
Q

What is privatisation of education?

A

involves transfer of public assets such as schools to private companies
trend in the UK and globally

62
Q

Who were academies and free schools encouraged to work with?
Why?

A

sponsors and employers
sponsors (employers/businesses) would have a say in how the school was run and the curriculum offered

reflects element of privatisation in education

63
Q

Who talks about endogenous and exogenous privatisation?

A

Ball and Youdell

64
Q

What is endogenous privatisation?

A

privatisation in education system
possible due to schools managing themselves

65
Q

What practices might endogenous privatisation adopt?

A

efficiency and profit- sponsored activity from local businesses

performance targets- teachers paid kore based on performance

marketing- Gewirtz argues schools spend more time on marketing than students

66
Q

What is exogenous privatisation?

A

privatisation from the outside
parts of education system outsourced to external providers and companies

67
Q

Examples of great market for outside providers to profit from education system

A

global, private exam boards
classroom tools e.g google classroom
academies and academy trusts (these run a number of schools and include private donors and investors)

68
Q

What does Ball call a source of capitalist profit as a result of privatisation education?

A

education services industry

69
Q

What are private companies in the ESI invloved in increasing a range of activities?

A

building schools, providing supply teachers, work based learning, careers advice, Ofsted inspections etc

70
Q

What do large scale school building projects often involve?

A

public private partnerships

71
Q

What does Ball argue about companies that build schools given contracts for repayment with schools paying ongoing costs?

A

companies involved can expect to make 10x as much profit as they do on other contracts

72
Q

Blurring the public/private boundary

A

Many senior officials involved in education now leave to set up or work for private sector education businesses.
These companies bid for contracts to provide services for schools.

73
Q

What does Pollack say about blurring the public/private boundary?

A

claims companies buy insider knowledge to help win contracts and side step local authority democracy

sociology key concepts (12 decks)

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