Topic 6 - Education policy and inequality

Question 1

Selection: the tripartite system

Answer 1

Introduced 1944 Education Act
Supposedly based on meritocracy
Achieved status through own effort (not ascribed)
Reproduced class inequality
Discriminated against girls

Question 2

key features of the tripartite system

Answer 2

11+ exam
depending on your result you either go to a
Grammar schools – academic
Secondary moderns – non-academic
Technical schools – skills based

Question 3

Comprehensivisation

Answer 3

Introduced 1965
To overcome inequality of tripartite
Labour government
School catchment areas introduced rather than selection
Streaming within school – still M/C advantage
Labelling often a feature
Some LEAs retained grammar schools – Conservative areas

Question 4

Two theories of the role of comprehensives

Answer 4

Functionalist
and
Marxist

Question 5

functionalist theory of comprehensive

Answer 5

Social integration – all students together
Meritocratic – not selected at an early age, can develop through school
But streaming meant little mixing of social classes

Question 6

Marxist theory of comprehensions

Answer 6

Marxist
Not meritocratic
Reproduce class inequality – labelling and streaming
Myth of meritocracy – appear to offer equal opportunity, so failure to achieve is blamed on individual.

Question 7

Introducing the market to education:

Answer 7

Choice
Competition
Reduction of state control

Question 8

MARKETISATION

Answer 8

Introduced 1988 – Education Reform Act (ERA)

Conservative government – Thatcher (New Right)

Market forces in education
Competition (league tables)
Consumer choice (who can choose?)
Power to parents rather than teachers and schools - parentocracy

Continued by 1997 Labour government
2010 further steps such as academies and free schools
Favoured by New Right as makes schools raise standards to attract ‘customers’ in competition

Question 9

FEATURES OF MARKETISATION

Answer 9

Publication of exam results & Ofsted reports
Business sponsorship of schools
Open enrolment – no catchment
Specialist schools – to widen parental choice
Funding per pupil – same for all
Can opt out of LEA – become academies
Schools compete to attract pupils
Tuition fees for HE
Parents can set up free schools

Question 10

REPRODUCTION OF INEQUALITY
through:

Answer 10

League tables
and
Funding formula

Question 11

League tables

Answer 11

High achieving schools can be more selective
Lower position schools unable to be selective
Cream-skimming and silt-shifting

Question 12

Funding formula

Answer 12

Better schools: more funding and better teachers and facilities
Unpopular schools: lose income; difficult to match skills

Question 13

Marketisation criticised by many – Ball and Whitty.

Answer 13

Increased inequality due to benefit mainly to M/C.

Question 14

GERWIRTZ:
PARENTAL CHOICE

Answer 14

Privileged-skilled choosers
Disconnected-local choosers
Semi-skilled choosers
Middle-class parents advantaged by choice

Question 15

Privileged-skilled choosers

Answer 15

Professional m/c – possess cultural capital

Question 16

Disconnected-local choosers

Answer 16

Working class – lack cultural capital

Question 17

Semi-skilled choosers

Answer 17

Ambitious w/c - limited cultural capital

Question 18

Middle-class parents advantaged by choice

Answer 18

Linked to their economic and cultural capital

Question 19

MYTH OF PARENTOCRACY

Answer 19

Marketisation reproduces and legitimates inequality.
Ball: only appears to be choice – cultural capital determines the amount.
Gerwirtz: Middle class can take advantage
Leech and Campos: middle class can afford to move closer to better schools (Topic 1).
Parentocracy appears to make the system fair but is a myth.

Question 20

NEW LABOUR AND INEQUALITY AIMS

Answer 20

Widening diversity and choice
Raising standards and addressing underachievement
Reforming the post-compulsory sector

Question 21

New Labour Polices

Answer 21

Education Action Zones – increased funding
Aim Higher
EMA to support low-income students
National Literacy Strategy
Creation of academies where schools failing
Increased funding

Question 22

CRITICISMS OF NEW LABOUR

Answer 22

Cost of education - EMA to help with FE, But still fees for Higher Education! Labour Paradox

Grammar & fee paying schools - Inequality, New Labour didn’t abolish them

Marketisation - Maintains inequality
Supported by New Labour

Question 23

WHAT IS MARKETISATION?

Answer 23

Introducing the market to education:
Choice
Competition
Reduction of state control
Choice for schools on who to take and for parents on where to send children.

Question 24

Coalition government

Answer 24

Joint government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, 2010-15
Influenced by neoliberalism and the New Right – read Box 10 on page 83 for more details on neoliberalism and privatisation
Reduce the role of the state – free schools from ‘dead hand of the state’

Question 25

Policies since 2010
Academies

Answer 25

not under local authority control
some run by private buisnesses
some run by state control
no focus on reducing inequality

Question 26

Policies since 2010
Free Schools

Answer 26

Run by parents teachers faith organisations or buisnesses
to overcome problems in the area
critisices as only benefits middle class

Question 27

Fragmented centralisation

Answer 27

Ball: Free schools and academies:
Fragmentation: diversity of provision
Centralisation: more central government control

Question 28

Coalition policies and inequality
Some policies to attempt to decrease inequality:

Answer 28

Free school meals for all reception, year one and year two
Pupil premium: extra money for pupils from disadvantaged background

Question 29

Coalition policies and inequality
Other policies maintained inequality:

Answer 29

Spending cuts:
Buildings
Cuts to Sure Start
EMA abolished
University fees tripled

Question 30

The privatisation of education

Answer 30

Privatisation – transfer of public assets (schools) to private companies.
This means education is used to make a profit.
Ball: Education services industry
Private companies involved in:
Building schools, supply teachers, work-based learning, careers
Public-private partnerships (PPP)
School buildings
Highly profitable
Companies make more profits on these projects than other contracts.

Question 31

Privatisation and globalisation

Answer 31

Many globalised companies involved in education, e.g. Edexcel owed by Pearson.
Educational software companies owned by media multinationals.
Also UK policies and initiatives exported.

Question 32

Cola-isation of schools

Answer 32

Indirect privatisation:
Vending machines
Branded displays
links to purchases, e.g. Tesco computers for schools (£110,000 purchases needed for one PC!)

Question 33

Education as a commodity

Answer 33

Policy encourages privatisation
‘legitimate object of private profit-making’

Question 34

Policies on gender

Answer 34

Equal opportunities policies
GIST
WISE – women into science & engineering
National Curriculum
Introduction of coursework
Equality in subjects
Impact of feminism
Higher education more open

Question 35

Policies on ethnicity

Answer 35

Assimilation – knowledge of British culture
Criticised as victim blaming – ignores poverty and racism
Multicultural education – valuing all cultures e.g. Black History month
Misguided as minorities not lacking self-esteem
Critical race theorists – tokenism (see Topic 3)
New Right – keeps divisions, should learn British culture
Social inclusion – monitoring results, legislation, EAL.

Question 36

Criticisms of multicultural education

Answer 36

Critical race theorists argue that MCE stereotypes minority cultures and does not tackle institutional racism.

New Right argue MCE perpetuates cultural divisions. Education should promote a single national culture and assimilate minorities into it.

Question 37

Policies to encourage Social Inclusion

Answer 37

Detailed monitoring of results by ethnicity
Legal duty through Race Relations Act amendment
Help for voluntary ‘Saturday schools’ for minority ethnic groups
Continued funding of EAL

These policies look at individuals rather than focusing on wider social problems
**Mirza: fail to tackle structural causes
Gillborn: institutional racism must be tackled
**

Question 38

Michael Gove Education Policies

Answer 38

**British Values: **Gove advocated for a curriculum that prioritised the teaching of British history, literature, and values to foster a shared cultural understanding. Additionally, he promoted the inclusion of topics such as democracy, the rule of law, and individual liberty, emphasising the importance of these values in shaping responsible and engaged citizens.

Assessment Reforms: Gove introduced more rigorous and standardised system of assessments in education.

Free Schools: Gove championed the establishment of free schools, which operate independently from local authority control.

Academies: Gove’s promoted the conversion of underperforming schools into academies.

Question 39

Why does globalisation matter?

Answer 39

The British economy needs to complete with other countries
Need for highly trained workforce, e.g. computer programmers
Increased immigration creates a need for learning about other cultures
Ideas about education are shared between nations
Competition for jobs on a global scale

Question 40

Impacts of Golabalistaion: Privatisation & marketisation

Answer 40

Promoted by international organisations: OECD, World Bank, WTO and large global private education businesses
Multi-billion pound global market
Hancock: estimates it to be worth £18 billion per year to the UK economy
This market is growing and has an impact on UK educational policy

Question 41

Impact of Golabalistaion:International comparisons

Answer 41

Testing of Mathematics, Science & Reading
Representative samples of 9 to 15 year olds, between 350,00 and 600,00
Ranked in league tables showing relative performance of different countries
Countries can monitor how their education systems perform in a global context
PISA publishes new data every 3 years

Question 42

International Comparisions Influence on educational Policy

Answer 42

Reassessment of effectiveness existing policy
Formation of new policy
Curriculum reform that enables education systems to complete globally
Improving teaching & learning

Question 43

Policies introduced as a result of international comparisions

Answer 43

National Literacy & numeracy strategies: Labour, 1998 to 2010
Slimming down National Curriculum: Coalition, 2010 to 2015
Raising academic entry requirement for teacher training: 2012, following Finland

Question 44

Kelly (2009):

Answer 44

globalisation has lead to education being an economic concern focused on meeting the needs of the economy ignoring wider dimensions of education
Wider dimensions: children’s well being, social cohesion, appreciating culture, passing on knowledge through the ages, citizenship, PHSE, etc

Question 45

Evaluations on international comparisons

Answer 45

PISA, TIMMS AND PIRLS are set on numeracy, literacy and science only

Test results are not necessarily evidence of quality of education received, there are also concerns of reliability & validity of tests used.

International ranking may be reflecting the wider social contexts that are beyond the control of teachers & schools and therefore cannot be changed by educational reform.

Question 46

T-Levels

Answer 46

These are new technical A-levels introduced in September 2020 – they are two year courses designed to be the equivalent of 3 A Levels.
They involve at least 45 days of work experience and have been designed to provide students with a direct pathway into skilled employment
They are available in a number of different subject/ employment areas including:
accounting
catering
education and childcare
on-site construction
media, broadcast and production.

Question 47

Criticisms of Vocational Education today

Answer 47

The RSA notes the following problems:
There has been a lack of a clear, long term vision and strategy about what direction vocational education should take.
There has been insufficient funding, not helped by funding cuts to the post-16 sector since 2010.
There’s been poor employer engagement in training provision.
There is a fragmented system of delivery – with some students getting very high quality vocational education, but too many getting sub-standard training.
The majority of parents still hold academic qualifications in more esteem than vocational qualifications

Question 48

The Forgotten half (2011)

Answer 48

Birdwell, Grist, Margo
Vocational children are ignored by the eductation system