Topic 5 Social Policy In Education

Question 1

What was education policy like in the industrial revolution?

Answer 1

Education was very restricted but due to an increase in the need for an educated workforce the compulsory schooling act was introduced in 1880

Question 2

Explain the Tripartide System and what party introduced it?

Answer 2

Influenced by the idea of meritocracy children were assessed by the 11+ exam going to a Grammar School if passing and either a Secondary Modern or Technical school it failing.

Introduced by the Conservative government.

Question 3

Explain the Comprehensive System and what party introduced it? (Theorist)

Answer 3

Introduced by the Labour government.

The comprehensive system aimed to remove class divide by abolishing the 11+ and making comprehensive schools, which all students would attend. Aiming for a more meritocratic system.

Ford - in reality, there was still a large class divide due to the effects of streaming.

Question 4

Explain the 3 different types of selective schooling

Answer 4

Selection by ability - academic ability tested at the age of 11. Now forbidden but private schools still do it.

Selection by aptitude - the potential a student has in a specific subject. Specialist schools can take 10% of pupils from aptitude on one subject but choose not to

Selection by faith - select proportions of students based on religion/religion of parents

Question 5

Describe covert selection

Answer 5

Use of a backdoor social selection to cherry-pick those who they feel will perform

Question 6

What part ran the government from 1979 - 1997

Answer 6

Conservative government- the new vocationalism under Thatcher

Question 7

What did the New Vocationalism aim to achieve? What did they introduce?

Answer 7

Aimed to deal with youth unemployment, they felt education wasn’t edequate preparation for work.

Introduced apprenticeship and vocational courses as well as marketisation

Question 8

Define and explain Marketisation

Answer 8

Introducing the market force of consumer choice into education.

By reducing state control over education, the introduction of league tables, parentocracy and increasing competition between schools.

Question 9

Name a policy supporting marketisation

Answer 9

Funding formula, league tables and business sponsorship

Question 10

What is the downside of league tables (theorist)

Answer 10

Schools with good results want to maintain status
Bartlett explains this encourages cream skimming were “good” schools take only the best students and silt shifting where they take less poor result students.

The opposite applies for poor schools

Question 11

Explain the downside to the Funding Formula

Answer 11

Rich schools can invest more increasing student base making more money.

Poor schools cannot invest so decrease student base and lose money.

Question 12

How does Parentocracy benefit middle class parents? (Theorist)

Answer 12

Gerwitz found differences in parent’s economic and cultural capital created differences in how they used Parentocracy.

From Priverlidged-skillled choosers, semi-skilled choosers and disconnected choosers.

Maintaining class inequalities

Question 13

Who claims parentocracy is a myth? Why?

Answer 13

Ball argues parents may appear to have free choice but don’t as they can’t afford to move to catchment areas for “good” schools

Question 14

Which party had power from 1997 - 2010? What did they introduce?

Answer 14

New Labour introduced,
- Education action zones
- Aim higher programme
- Education maintenance allowance
- Sure start centres

Question 15

Give one criticising theory for the New Labour

Answer 15

Benn (NEW LABOUR PARADOX) Labour contradicted itself with policies reducing inequality while raising tuition fees

Question 16

Which party ran the government from 2010 - 2015

Answer 16

The coalition government (Conservative and Liberal Democrats)

Although Conservative seemed to have more power

Question 17

What did the coalition government do?

Answer 17

Wanted to reduce the role of the state in education,

Introducing academies and free schools aswell as free school meals

Also made reforms to curriculum introduction the national curriculum and GCSEs

Question 18

How did the coalition government increase academy counts

Answer 18

All schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and become academies. Funding was removed from local authorities and academies had control over their own curriculums

Question 19

Define free schools

Answer 19

Free Schools are set up and ran by parents, faith organisations or businesses. They are seen to raise standards by giving power to the communities.

Question 20

Explain fragmented centralisation include a theorist

Answer 20

Ball - argues promoting academies and free schools has lead to the education system being fragmented producing greater inequality.

Question 21

Criticise the pupil premium

Answer 21

Ofsted found in many cases the pupil premium was not spent on those it was meant to help

Question 22

What party has control from 2015 onwards. What have they changed

Answer 22

Conservative government

-Funding cuts to schools by 8%
-increased grammar school numbers
-introduced T levels phasing out BTEC
-Grading system for GCSEs shifted to 1-9

Question 23

Define the privatisation of education

Answer 23

The transfer of public assets such as schools to private companies. Global trend towards privatisation.

Question 24

Define Endogenous Privatisation (theorist)

Answer 24

Ball and Youdell - privatisation from within the education system. Schools with Endogenous Privatisation operate like a buisness. Using marketing and reaching performance targets

Question 25

Define Exogenous privatisation (theorist)

Answer 25

Ball and Youdell - refers to privatisation from the outside where aspects of the education system are outsourced. Such as global private exam boards, academy trusts and classroom tools

Question 26

Explain the education services industry, who coined this term?

Answer 26

Ball - private companies in the ESI are responsible for building schools, providing supply teachers and Ofsted inspections.

Question 27

Describe the cola-isation of schools using a theorist

Answer 27

The private sector penetrates schools indirectly through vending machines in schools, which, according to Molnar legitimise the product

Question 28

Name one policy impacting gender and one for ethnicity

Answer 28

GIST and WADE reduce gender differences in subject choice

Multicultural education promote achievement by including different cultures in the National curriculum