Social Policies

Question 1

1870 Forster Education act

Answer 1

• Introduced elementary schooling for 5-10 year olds in England and Wales

Question 2

1944 Education Act

Answer 2

• Made secondary schools free and raised leaving age to 15
• Introduced tripartite system and 11+ exams to get into 3 types pf schools:
  1) Grammar : passed 11+ and taught traditional subjects
  2) secondary modern: 75-80% of pupils who failed the 11+ and taught basic education
  3) technical schools: taught vocational and practical subjects

Question 3

Issues with the tripartite system

Answer 3

• 11+ didnt measure intelligence as it was culturally biased, based on social class and legitimised class inequality
• Not many technical schools were built, so not many opportunities for those who wanted to take vocational courses. All schools were supposed to have equal value but this was undermined and grammar schools were seen as the best
• Those who failed were labelled as failures
• If middle class children failed their parents could afford to send them to private school

Question 4

1965 Labour government made schools comprehensive

Answer 4

• Local Education Authorities (LEAs) reorganised most schools so that everyone had equality of opportunity
• Ran by local government
• Based on your catchment area

Question 5

Strengths of comprehensive system

Answer 5

• No 11+ so 80% of children dont get labelled as failures
• High ability pupils still do better in this system
• Lower ability pupils do better in a comprehensive system than old secondary modern

Question 6

Criticisms of comprehensive system

Answer 6

• Comprehensives in working class areas have worse GCSE results than those in middle class areas
• Schools in poorer areas are more likely to be underfunded leading them to have a worse education due to lack of resources and therefore schools are worse for working class pupils

Question 7

why was there a Push for vocational education in 1976

Answer 7

• Labour PM said that decline in education and industry because skills needed to work weren’t being taught
  -Since this all govs have made policies closing the link between school and work= increased vocationalism

Question 8

Types of vocational reforms

Answer 8

• Youth training schemes= job training schemes for school leavers aged 16-17
• NVQ’s= practical qualifications
• The New Deal= people on benefits could go on courses if they didnt accept work

Question 9

Criticisms of vocational education

Answer 9

• Argue it aims to teach good work discipline not skills
• (Marxists) vocational training provides cheap labour and that the government encourage people into these schemes to lower the unemployment stats
• Vocational qualifications arent valued as highly as academic qualifications
• (Feminists) forces girls into stereotypically ‘female’ jobs like beautician and childminder

Question 10

1988 Education Reform Act (basics)

Answer 10

• Conservative gov introduced major reforms in education based on new right ideologies
  They wanted to:
• widen choice in the education system
• encourage more competition and create marketisation

Question 11

1988 reform act:
Education linked to economy

Answer 11

• Introduced more vocational courses and more work placement schemes

Question 12

1988 reform act:
National curriculum

Answer 12

• Introduced National curriculum for 5-16 year olds
• OFSTED sent to see how schools are doing, giving them ratings based on behaviour and achievement
• school could leave LEA and become grant maintained. Get money directly from the government and could choose to spend it how they liked, improving standards

Question 13

1988 reform act:
system of choice and competition

Answer 13

• parents could choose which school to send their child to
• could use league tables to decide. These show how many pupils per school pass their exams and get good grades
• Worked like businesses and advertised for students

Question 14

Criticisms of 1988 reform act

Answer 14

• Whitty (1998) argued middle class parents have the advantage. They have cultural capital to choose a good school for their child as well as pass down to their child. They also have financial captial which means they can move to an area with better schools. Increasing parental choice reinforces social class inequality
• testing is stressful for students and encourages labelling and self fulfilling prophecies
• Ball (1995) claimed the national cirriculum put too much emphasis on core subjects that were outdated and white washed

Question 15

New Labour (1997-2010):
Followed third way ideas

Answer 15

• wanted to fight educational inequality but also wanted choice and diversity
• had old labour policies of state intervention but new right policies of marketisation combined = New labour

Question 16

Aims of New Labour
(marketisation)

Answer 16

• Continued marketisation
• Allowed schools to specialise in things e.g. dance college to help increase diversity and choice for parents
• Allowed for faith schools to be set up

Question 17

Aims of New Labour ( privatisation)

Answer 17

• made education more privatised
• gave agencies contracts e.g. improving reading and writing in primary schools
• improve efficiency and standards because contracts are competitive

Question 18

Aims of New Labour: criticism (privatisation)

Answer 18

• some argue that privatisation takes too much control away from schools

Question 19

Aims of New Labour (interventionist policies)

Answer 19

• reduced infant class sizes to maximum of 30
  -introduced numeracy and literacy hour in primary schools
• tried to increase the number of people who go to university

Question 20

Aims of New Labour
(curriculum 2000)

Answer 20

• policy changed to make A-level education broader for 16-18 year olds
• Vocational a- level introduced
• Key skills qualifications were also launched and were supposed to be useful for all jobs

Question 21

Policies aimed to promote gender equality (Girls)

Answer 21

-1988 National cirriculum gave all pupils equal entitlement to all subjects for the first time. This helped increase girls achievement
- GIST and WISE encourage girls to get involved into subjects they traditionally avoided

Question 22

Policies aimed to promote gender equality (Boys)

Answer 22

• 1999 government gave grants to primary schools to hold extra hand writing sessions for boys to help them push up their SAT’s scores
• Breakthrough programme introduced mentoring, after-school classes and e-tutorial for teenage boys in attempting to improve their exam performance

Question 23

New Labour policies aimed to reduce class inequality

Answer 23

• Compensatory education tries to make up for material and cultural deprivation by giving extra help to those who need it
• interventionist approach

Question 24

New Labour:
compensatory policies

Answer 24

• Sure start began in 1999 offered free childcare and early education to 3+4 year olds
• Education Maintenance Allowance gave up to £30 a week to studenst who stayed in education post 16 (means tested)
• Free school meals and breakfast clubs aimed to reduce class inequality

Question 25

Criticisms of New Labours compensatory policies

Answer 25

• Benn (2012) argued their aims to reduce inequality were inconsistent with the policies they introduced that increased it
  e.g. putting in £1000 uni fees in 1998 and increasing them to £3000 in 2004, acted as a barrier to higher education for the working class
• third way politics is too contradictory

Question 26

Coalition Government: Marketisation and Privatisation

Answer 26

• any ‘outstanding’ schools= academy without a sponsor, failing schools= sponsored academies. This increased privatisation
• introduced free schools, dont have to teach national cirriculum and offer more choice in disadvantaged areas
• There was also changes to the National Cirriculum: e.g A- levels linear = exams taken at end of course, coursework removed from GCSE
• pupil premium provided extra funding

Question 27

Criticisms of coalition government policies

Answer 27

• academies and free schools attract the best teachers so local schools are undermined
  -difficult to track pupil premium funding, could be spent on whole school budget rather than disadvantaged students
• tuition fees at uni made it socially exclusive and increased loans putting working class students off

Question 28

Education has been affected by Globalisation

Answer 28

• British economy needs to be copetitive in global industries like technology, so higher training is necessary e.g. computer programming has been put into primary school cirriculum
  -immigration= more learning about other cultures, specialised support for students whos first language isnt english
• ideas are shared between nations e.g. influenced by Finlands highly rated education system

Question 29

criticisms of education being affected by Globalisation

Answer 29

• Kelley (2009) warned that education that as systems become more similar, theyre less relevant to the needs of individual nations