Educational Policies

Question 1

1944 Butler Act - students were selected based on?

Answer 1

Selected to different students by ability

Question 2

Three types of schools under 1944 Butler act

Answer 2

• grammar schools = 11+ test (15-10% attended)
• technical schools = more vocational education
  -secondary moderns provided more basic education (second rate school)

Question 3

A03 for the 1944 Butler act

Answer 3

• pupils intelligence was not fixed at 11, ‘late developers ‘ missed out on the opportunity to get into grammar school
  -those who attended secondary moderne effectively labelled as failures
  -system led to reproduction of class inequality = mc students more cultural capital dominated grammar schools

Question 4

From 1965 onwards what was introduced?

Answer 4

Comprehensive schools

Question 5

What did comprehensive schools mean

Answer 5

The abolition of 11+ exams and end of grammar schools and secondary modern
- selection by ability abolished too
- one type of schools for all pupils more equality

Question 6

Features of comprehensive schools (a03)

Answer 6

• admissions largely based on geographical catchment areas = often inhabited by mainly one social class (selection by mortgage) , so social mxiijg limited
• most comprehensive schools organised their classes by ability e.g streaming
  Link between social class + achievement those in higher streams = middle class , those in lower streams = wc

Question 7

Marketisation conservatives (1979-1997) aim

Answer 7

Aim of making schools compete with one another for government funding
- essentially make schools run like businesses
- schools which provide parents snd pupils with what they want - such as good exam results will thrive , those who don’t will go out of business and either close down or be taken over by new management who will run things mor efficiently
-

Question 8

Conservatives believe in parentocracy - what is this

Answer 8

Idea that the parents are in charge of the education system , refers particularly to the marketisation policies of 1988 = aimed to give parents significantly more choice over their children’s education

Question 9

Formula funding

Answer 9

Money given to schools based on number of pupils they attracted

Question 10

National league tables

Answer 10

Provide better information to parents (along with regular school inspection reports) so that they could choose best schools for their children

Question 11

What was good about the 1988 education act?

Answer 11

Competition did increase standards = results improved gradually throughout the 1990s

Question 12

Problems of 1988 education act + marketisation

Answer 12

• concerns over the stressful effects of constant testing and that testing could distort what was taught so that schools would ‘ teach to the test’
• league tables gave incentives to manipulate the rules to get the best possible results e.g not taking on weaker students , focusing less on less able sgudents

Question 13

National curriculum

Answer 13

Prescribed knowledge in a range of subjects every school would have to teach

Question 14

Testing

Answer 14

Parents would need a way of judging the quality of schools
- decided that all pupils would sit national test at ages 7,11 and 14

Question 15

Criticisms of 1988 education act and marketisation (A03)

Answer 15

• ‘cream skimming’ schools would try take the strongest students to improve league table position
• some critics felt that the act was motivated by the conservative government’s desire to reduce the power of labour-controlled local authorities rather than to improve education
• very few extra places were available In popular schools, so in practice many parent had little or no choice of school
• class differences reinforced by the act

Question 16

New labour (1997-2010) - academies

Answer 16

-academies=state-funded schools that are funded directly by the local education authority
-originally introduced under Tony Blair’s government= expanded significantly by conservative Micheal Gove

Question 17

what was different about academies?

Answer 17

the schools can set their own admissions policies and do not have to follow the national curriculum

Question 18

three things new labour cover:

Answer 18

1. generally better at improving equality of opportunity than the new right
2. parents liked sure start for their children
3. tuition fees put working-class kids off(Connor et al)

Question 19

problems with new labour academies

Answer 19

-don’t follow the national curriculum so not all pupils will get the same standard of education
-control their own admission policies and so are more selective in the students they encourage to apply
-more pupils from middle-class backgrounds and without SEND
-lots of money has gone into these schools-> has been removed from local authority-run community/maintained school system

Question 19

2010 onwards

Answer 19

-free schools
-uk=new academies and have included new faith schools , schools linked to businesses
-t-levels introduced from 2020
-proposals for all schools to join academies
-proposals for all students to be required to study maths till 18