Topic 6 Policy Flashcards
- What is social policy?
The actions, plans and programmes of government bodies and agencies that seek to solve a problem and achieve a goal.
- State four characteristics of the 1988 Education Reform Act?
The act introduced the national curriculum. It introduced technology colleges and grant maintained schools, both independent of local authority control.
- What is parentocracy?
It means rule by the parents. Supporters of marketisation argue that in an education market, power shifts away from the producers (teachers and schools) to the consumers (parents).
- Why does marketization create inequalities?
Marketisation leads to school’s silt-shifting and cream skimming pupils. It creates inequalities between pupils as ethnic minorities and working-class pupils are often placed at a disadvantage as they aren’t seen as ideal to the schools. Schools want to maintain a high position on the league table therefore they do not select students that they believe will bring their position down.
- What kind of policies do the New Right like?
They like the marketisation of education as they believe it encourages competition and make schools more accountable.
- What policies did New Labour introduce to combat inequality?
They introduced Education Action Zones which were established in areas of high deprivation and low levels of achievement in aim to boost the education achievements of those in disadvantaged areas.
- Which of New Labours policies introduced between 1997 and 2010 did the Conservatives continue with?
They continued with the school leaving age being 16.
- How has the education system become privatised?
Private companies are using schools and education to gain profit. They’re putting things like Starbucks and Costa in schools and colleges.
- What are the three types of policies that aimed to deal with differences in ethnic achievement?
- Assimilation policies in the 60s and 70s focused on the needs of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds to assimilate into mainstream British culture as a way of raising their achievement.
- Multicultural education polices were introduced in the 80s and 90s and aimed to promote the achievements of children from minority ethnic groups by valuing all cultures within the curriculum.
- Social inclusion polices were introduced in the 1990s and focused on detailed monitoring of exam results by ethnicity, amending the race relations act to place a legal duty on schools to promote racial equality. Also focused on English as an additional subject programme.
- What policies have been introduced in relation to Gender?
Policies like GIST and WISE have been introduced to try to reduce gender differences in subject choice. They encouraged girls to get into subjects like, science, engineering and tech.
