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Education policy Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 aims of education policy?

A

economic efficiency
raising educational standards
creating equality of educational opportunity

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2
Q

What is economic efficiency?

A

develop the skills of the young to improve the labour force. This
involves making the education system meet the needs of industry and employers.

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3
Q

what is raising educational standards?

A

UK education needs to compete in a global education market and is ranked against other countries –e.g. PISA

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4
Q

what is creating equality of educational opportunity?

A

ensuring that all students get the best educational opportunities.

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5
Q

what are the four aspects of educational equality identified by Gilborn and Youdell?

A

equality of access
equality of circumstance
equality of participation
equality of outcome

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6
Q

who identified the 4 aspects of educational equality?

A

Gilbourn and Youdell

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7
Q

what is equality of access?

A

Every child should have the same
opportunities to access
educational provision of similar
quality regardless of socio economic background.

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8
Q

what is equality of circumstance?

A

Children should all start school with a similar socio-economic background so that they are all truly equal.

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9
Q

what is equality of participation?

A

All students have the chance to participant on an equal footing in the processes that make up school life.

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10
Q

what is equality of outcome?

A

All students have the same chances of achievement in
education regardless of socio economic background.

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11
Q

4 policies which have increased equality

A

1988 education reform act - national curriculum
1965 - Comprehensivisation act
schools admissions code
policies that improve inequality in circumstances

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12
Q

how has the 1988 education reform act and the introduction of the national curriculum increased equality?

A

all schools had to teach the same core curriculum

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13
Q

how has the 1965 comprehensivisation act increased equality?

A

Got rid of the 11+ exam and made it so all students would get ‘Parity of Esteem’ & ‘Equality’ within education

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14
Q

how has the schools admissions code increased equality?

A

Forbids discrimination in admitting pupil on grounds of socio-economic backgrounds or ability.

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15
Q

evaluation of the 1988 education reform act / national curriculum for equality?

A

Not suitable for all - suits ‘academic’ pupils more

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16
Q

evaluation of the 1965 comprehensivisation act for equality?

A

Comprehensives are large schools so lack individual attention

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17
Q

evaluation of the schools admissions code for equality?

A

Covert selection still takes place by both schools and parents. Postcode lottery

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18
Q

give an example of a policy which has improved inequality in circumstance?

A

Pupil Premium –additional funding for those students from a poor socio-economic background.

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19
Q

evaluation of the policies which have improved inequality in circumstance?relevant sociologists

A

Kerr and West - too many other factors outside of school that impact achievement.

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20
Q

Who says that there are too many factors outside of school which impact achievement?

A

Kerr and West

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21
Q

what are the 3 types of selection?

A

selection by ability - entrance exams
selection by aptitude - talents
selection by faith

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22
Q

4 argument against selection

A

late developers don’t benefit
mixed ability fosters social cohesion
reduced risk of labelling and therefore self fulfilling prophecy
high achievers can act an inspiration to other students

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23
Q

2 arguments in favour of selection

A

allows ‘high-flyers’ to benefit
specialised and focused teaching can take place

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24
Q

what are open enrolment policies and parental choice

A

OEP mean that parents can apply to any state school, in any area and if the school is under subscribed they must take the child. However oversubscribed schools fill up quickly so many parents don’t get their 1st choice.

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25
who do over subscription policies give priority to?
children in care / pupil premium / siblings / catchment area / faith
26
what do tough and brooks say about covert selection?
- Backdoor social selection to cherry pick students. Discouraging parents of poorer students from applying in the first place through high uniform prices, making literature hard to understand, not advertising in poorer areas. - Faith schools require a letter from spiritual leader to gain insight to the potential students family and commitment to both the faith and the school ethos.
27
what is education policy?
education policy refers to the plans, actions, and laws introduced by governments to shape the education system. These policies aim to improve educational standards, increase equality, and address issues like access, funding, and curriculum.
28
what is marketisation?
Marketisation is the process in which the education system is pushed towards acting like a business based on supply and demand. There is an emphasis placed on consumerism (students and parents are seen as consumers) and competition.
29
what are the 3 features of marketisation + explanations
Independence - allowing schools to run themselves how they see fit Competition - making schools compare with each other for students Choice - giving customers (parents and students) more choice in where they go to school
30
what is parentocracy?
Parentocracy is literally ‘rule by parents’. This is when a child’s educational achievement has more to do with parental wealth and wishes than the student’s own ability. Parents have more control of where and what their children study
31
what did David say about parentocracy?
Mariam David suggested that marketised education is a parentocracy. In an education market, power shifts away from the producers (teachers and schools) to the consumers (parents). This encourages diversity among schools and gives parents more choice. This also raises standards.
32
what did Ball say about parentocracy?
However, Ball suggests that parentocracy is actually a myth. Parents do not have full freedom and choice because middle-class parents are better able to take advantage of the choices available
33
who said that marketized education is a parentocracy?
David
34
who said that parentocracy is a myth?
Ball
35
give examples of parentocracy being a myth + sociologists
Gerwitz - parents' economic and cultural capital leads to class differences in how far they can exercise choice of secondary school: privileged-skilled choosers, disconnected local choosers, semi-skilled choosers Leech and Campos - richer parents can afford to move to the catchment areas of more desirable schools
36
who said that richer parents can afford to move to the catchment areas of more desirable schools
Leech and Campos
37
who said that middle-class parents ae better able to take advantage of the choices available?
Gerwitz
38
Since what act has marketisation become a central theme of government education policy? What government introduced this?
1988 education reform act - conservative 1979-1997
39
what did the conservative government introduce to achieve marketisation + brief explanation
League tables - these rank schools based on exam performance and Ofsted ratings. The information and ranks will affect what schools parents choose to send their children to Local management schools Funding formula - schools receive the same amount of funding for each pupil Open enrolment - this allows successful schools to recruit more pupils
40
what 1979-1997 conservative policies have raised standards?
national curriculum, ofsted, national testing
41
what 1997-2010 labour gov policies have aimed towards marketisation?
Specialist schools - such schools were able to choose 10% of their new students based on aptitude in specialisms e.g art, sports. By 2002, nearly ⅓ of all secondary schools were specialist schools or colleges Private Finance Initiative (PFI) - this was a partnership between private building contractors and the government to build new schools and colleges across the UK. Exam boards, SATs testing and some OFSTED were sold or outsourced to private profit-making companies
42
by 2002 how many secondary schools were specialist schools or colleges?
nearly 1/3
43
what was the private finance initiative (PFI)
this was a partnership between private building contractors and the government to build new schools and colleges across the UK. Exam boards, SATs testing and some OFSTED were sold or outsourced to private profit-making companies
44
why does Chitty criticise the Labour policies which aim for marketisation?
Chitty criticises the New Labour for these policies as they are costly. They have resulted in local educational authorities having less money to invest in schools and the PFI also failed to deliver new schools on time
45
who said the that the labour policies aiming towards marketisation are costly?
Chitty
46
what 2010-2015 coalition gov act encourage marketisation?
academies act 2010
47
what did the academies act in 2010 introduce
It created New Style Academies All schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and become academies. By 2017, over 68% of all secondary schools had converted to academy status It encouraged private enterprise and businesses to invest in and run academies. This led to academy chains - enterprises would run a number of schools such as the Co-Op Academies Free schools - state-funded schools controlled by parents
48
by 2017 what % of secondary schools converted to academy status?
68
49
example of an academy chain?
co-op academy
50
what are free schools?
state-funded schools controlled by parents
51
what is privatisation in education? + examples
This is the process of changing the internal processes of a school to be more like a business e.g Treating parents and students as consumers Target setting Performance related pay League tables
52
privatisation of education + examples
This is the process of opening up aspects of education to private businesses e.g Staff training School finances School management (academy chains) Exams
53
what are the positives of privatisation?
More efficient More choice for parents Profit making might induce companies to support failing schools
54
what are the negatives of privatisation?
Takes money from the education system Businesses go out of business - leave schools stranded Less equality
55
issues with marketisaion
1. increased inequality 2. myth of meritocracy 3. educational triage 4. dumbing down 5. reduced quality control
56
how have marketisation policies increased inequality?
Increased inequality - Ball and Whitty - marketisation policies such as league tables and funding formula reproduce class inequalities by creating inequalities between schools. Gerwitz found that marketisation policies advantage middle class parents, whose economic and cultural capital puts them in a better position to choose ‘good’ schools for their children. The Institute for Public Policy Research found that competition oriented education systems e.g Britain's produce more segregation of children from different social classes
57
what did the institute of public policy research discover?
The Institute for Public Policy Research found that competition oriented education systems e.g Britain's produce more segregation of children from different social classes
58
what are league tables + sociologist
Rank schools based on performance and ensure that schools which achieve good results are in high ranks. Will Bartlett notes that this encourages: - Cream-skimming - ‘good’ schools can be more selective and recruit high-achieving pupils who usually middle-class. These pupils get an advantage - Silt-shifting - ‘good’ schools can avoid taking less able pupils who may get poor results and damage the school’s league table position The opposite applies for schools with poor table positions
59
who talks about league tables?
Bartlett
60
what will league tables lead to?
cream-skimming and silf-shifting
61
what is funding formula?
Schools are allocated a formula based on how many pupils they attract. Popular schools get more funding so that they can afford better facilities and staff. This allows them to be more selective and attract usually middle-class students. Unpopular schools lose income and cannot afford the high quality staff and facilities. They fail to attract more pupils and their funding is reduced more
62
myth of meritocracy as a criticism of marketisation
arents do not have equal freedom to choose the schools which their child attends due to covert selection process, postcode lotteries in catchment areas, middle-class parents have much more freedom in choice due to their cultural capital (Gerwitz), higher education and income
63
educational triage as a criticism of marketisation
teachers tend to allocate more resources to the students who are on the C/D (4/5) borderline in order to achieve the 5 A*-C (5-9) needed for the league tables thus ignoring those who are unlikely to achieve this
64
how will marketisation lead to 'dumbing down'
due to the funding formula, schools need to retain and attract students in order to receive funding. This may lead to the dumbing down of teaching and standards in order to retain students who might leave if the are pushed too hard or if the courses are too difficult
65
how will marketisation lead to reduced quality control?
Ofsted is not as independent as it appears with government and politicians interfering with the process by changing standards and goal posts
66
why do policies aim to raise standards?
UK education system needs to compete in a global education market
67
how do policies raise standards?
marketisation and privatisation of education, achieving equality and quality control
68
what is quality control?
involves ensuring all schools are providing the best possible education to the pupils
69
3 elements of quality control?
Ofsted inspections Publication of performance tables e.g exam results National curriculum - baseline for what is taught
70
1979-1997 policies aimed towards raising standards
Ofsted National curriculum National testing
71
1997-2010 policies aimed towards raising standards
Maximum class sizes for 5-7 year olds Building schools for the future programme Education Action Zones Business sponsored academies
72
20102-2024 policies aimed towards raising standard
Pupil premium English Baccalaureate Reform of the National Curriculum Reform of the exams system Tougher performance targets for schools

Sociology - Education (6 decks)

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