Topic 5 - Social Policy and Education Flashcards
1
Q
Tripartite system - 1944 Education Act
A
- Grammar schools
- Secondary modern skills
- Technical schools
2
Q
Grammar schools
A
- For those who passed the 11+
- Academic curriculum
- Allowing access to non-manual jobs and higher education
- Mainly middle class pupils
3
Q
Secondary modern school
A
- For those who failed the 11+
- Non-academic and practical
- Allows access to manual work
- Mainly working class pupils
4
Q
Technical schools
A
- Only existed in a few areas
- Very few built
5
Q
Comprehensive system - 1965
A
- Aimed to overcome the class divide by abolishing the 11+ along with grammar schools
- Replacing them with a comprehensive schools that all pupils in one area would attend
- This aimed to make the education system more meritocratic
- Was up to local authorities whether or not the wanted to “go comprehensive” and not all did, so the grammar-secondary modern divide still exists
6
Q
Functionalist view - Comprehensive system
A
- Comprehensives promote social integration between the classes
- More meritocratic, no longer selects most able pupils at the age of 11
7
Q
A03 Functionalist view - Comprehensive system
A
- FORD found in reality there was little integration because of streaming
8
Q
Marxist view - Comprehensive system
A
- Comprehensive reproduce class inequality through streaming and labelling
- As pupils are no longer selected at age 11 this offers a “myth of meritocracy”, legitimising class inequality by making the system appear fair
9
Q
Selective schools - Types of selection
A
- Selection by ability
- Selection by aptitude
- Selection by faith
10
Q
Selection by ability
A
- Academic ability, based on intelligence test at ages 11
- Now forbidden at all state funded schools
- Private skills commonly still use this
11
Q
Selection by aptitude
A
- Potential in certain subjects
- specialist schools can take 10% of pupils based on aptitude in certain subjects
12
Q
Selection by faith
A
- Select proportion of students based on religion or religion of parents
13
Q
A03 - issues with selection by ability
A
- late developers not able to move schools
- social cohesion and social integration
- labelling and self fulfilling prophecy
- gains provided for some students cancelled out by number of students disadvantaged in secondary modern schools
14
Q
Covert selection
A
- TOUGH and BROOKS identified ‘covert selection’
- use of backdoor social selection, cherry- picking those they think will be the high achievers, e.g., discouraging parents from poorer economic backgrounds from apply in by giving the impression that school is better suited to middle class students
15
Q
1979-1997 Conservative government - the new vocationalism
A
- aimed to deal with youth unemployment as the government felt education was not adequate preparation for work
- Conservatives introduced apprenticeships and training schemes focusing on students gaining NVQ’s
- New vocationalism is favoured by functionalists and New right linking to their views on the role of education
16
Q
1988 education reform act - introduced by conservatives
A
- marketisation
- parentocracy
17
Q
Marketisation
A
- the process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state
Marketisation has created an education market by: - Reducing state control over education
- Increasing competition between schools and increasing parental choice
- Aimed to raise standards
18
Q
Policies promoting marketisation
A
- Publication of league tables and Ofsted allow parents to choose the right school
- Business sponsorship
- Open enrolment
- Funding formula
- Tuition fees for university
- Allowing parents and others to set up free schools
- Specialist schools
- National curriculum
- Target setting in schools
- Choice for schools to opt out of local authority control giving more independence
19
Q
Parentocracy
A
- DAVID
- Ruled by parents
20
Q
A03 The reproduction of inequality
A
- League tables and cream skimming
- Funding formula
21
Q
League tables and cream skimming
A
BARTLETT claims this encourages:
- Cream skimming: “good” schools can be more selection and choose high achieving, mainly middle class pupils
- Silt shifting: “good” schools can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get low results
22
Q
Funding formula
A
- Schools are allocated funds based on how many pupils they attract
- Popular schools get more funds so can afford better qualified teachers and better facilities
- Popularity = middle class
23
Q
GEWIRTZ Parental choice and inequalities
A
- Marketisation both creates inequalities between schools and benefit middle class parents as their cultural capital puts them in a better position to choose a “good” school
GEWIRTZ found differences in parents economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in how far the exercised their choice of secondary school and found 3 types of parents: - Privileged skill choosers
- Disconnected local choosers
- Semi skilled choosers
24
Q
A03 Legitimising inequality - the myth of Parentocracy
A
- BALL argues it gives the appearance of Parentocracy, making it appear that all parents have free choice of school, however BALL argues this is a myth
- LEECH and CAMPOS show middle class parents can afford to move into the catchment area of desirable skills
25
1997-2010 New labour and inequality
- Education Action Zones
- Aim Higher
- Education Maintenance Allowance
- National Literacy Strategy
- Increased funding for state education
- Sure Start
26
A03 New Labour
- BENN sees a contradiction between labours policies to reduce inequality and its commitment to marketisation
27
2010-2015 Coalition government (Cons and Lib Dem)
- Academies
- Free schools
28
Academies
- Funding was taken from local authority budgets and given directly to schools from central government
29
Free schools
- Set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organisations, or businesses rather than the local authority and are funded directly by the state
- Raises standards by giving power to parents and meeting local demand
But ALLEN found research from Sweden, where 20% of schools are free schools, show they only benefit children from highly educated families
30
A03 Fragmented centralisation
BALL argues promoting academies and free schools has led to:
- Fragmentation of the education system
- Centralisation of control
31
Coalition gov and reducing inequality
- Free school meals
- Pupil premium
But OFSTED found in many cases Pupil Premium was not spent on those it was supposed to help
32
2015+ Conservative government
- Funding cuts
- Rapid academisation of local educational authority schools
- Increased number of grammar schools
- Introduced T-Levels
- GCSE grading system shifted to 1-9
- A-Level content more academically demanding
33
Privatisation of education
- Transfer of public assets, such as schools, to private companies
- In recent years there has been a trend towards privatisation in the UK and globally
34
Endogenous privatisation
- BALL and YOUDELL
- Privatisation from within the education system
- Efficiency and profit
- Performance targets
- Marketing
35
Exogenous privatisation
- BALL and YOUDELL
- Privatisation from the inside
- Global, private exam boards
- Classroom tools
- Academies and academy trusts
36
Blurring the public/private boundary
- POLLACK claims companies buy “insider knowledge” to help win contracts and side step local authority democracy
37
Cola-isation of schools
- Private sector e.g. vending machines in schools, and the development of brand loyalty
- MOLNAR schools are targeted by private companies because schools legitimise the product
38
Education as a commodity
- BALL concluded privatisation is becoming the key factor shaping educational policy
- Policy = moving educational services out of the public sector to be provided by private companies
- HALL sees academies as an example of the handing over of public services to the private capitalists
- MARXISTS argue the neoliberal claim privatisation drives up standards is a myth
39
Globalisation
- The way in which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of increased technology, travel, transportation, and communication
40
How has globalisation impacted education
1 Increased migration has led to more ethnically diverse classrooms meaning multi-cultural approaches have to occur
2 Greater flow of ideas around the would countries influenced by other countries
3 Demand for a more skilled workforce to complete on a global scale
4 Focus on teaching young people that they are part of a global community
41
Globalisation - Privatisation and marketisation of education
- Large private education businesses
- HANCOCK estimated education exports from Britain by independent schools to “priority markets” around the globe were worth as much as £18 billion to the UK economy each year
- Globalisation and neoliberal policies means educational markets are growing every year
42
Globalisation - International comparisons
- National numeracy and literacy strategies introduced by the labour government
- Slimming down the national curriculum
- Raising academic entry requirements
- “Master” teachers being introduced to state schools
43
Criticisms of ways Globalisation impacting educational policy
- PISA is based on a very narrow conception of education
- KELLY argues that the only skills being focused on are what prepare students for work and not other areas such as creativity, culture, and well being
- Testing is not always the best measure of a students ability
44
Policies impacting gender
- Under the tripartite system girls had to achieve a higher grade in the 11+ to gain entry to grammar schools
- Since the 1970s policies such as GIST have been introduced to try and reduce gender differences in subject choice
45
Policies impacting ethnicity
- Assimilation policies: focused on assimilating ethnic minority groups into mainstream British culture
- Social inclusive and raise achievement: act to promote racial equality
