educational policies Flashcards
what are the three aims of educational policies in UK?
-economic efficiency (develop the skills of the young to improve the labour force)
-raising educational standards (compete in global education market, ranked against other countries)
-creating equality of educational opportunity (all students get best education)
what are the 4 aspects of educational equality identified by gillborn and youdell?
-equality of access
-equality of circumstance (children shld all start skl with a similar socio-economic background so they’re all equal)
-equality of participation
-equality of outcome
what are the 4 policies that increased equality in education?
-1988 education reform act - national curriculum
-1965 comprehensivisation act
-school admissions code
-policies that improve inequality in circumstances
what did the 1988 education reform act do?
-all schools had to teach the same curriculum
-its not suitable for all since it suits academic pupils more
what did the 1965 comprehensivisation act do?
-got rid of the 11+ exam, made it so all students would get ‘parity of esteem’ and ‘equality’ in education
-comprehensives are larger schools so lack individual attention
what did the school admissions code do?
-forbids discrimination in admitting pupils purely for socio-economic background / ability
-covert selection still takes place by schools and parents
what did policies that improve inequality in circumstances do?
-pupil premium - additional funding for students from poor socio-economic backgrounds
-compensatory education
-kerr and west - too many other factors outside of school that affect achievement for these to be effective
what are the three types of selection?
-selection by ability (entrance tests)
-selection by aptitude (talents)
-selection by faith
arguments for and against selections
+allows high flyers to benefit
+specialised and focused learning can take place
-late developers don’t benefit
-mixed ability fosters social cohesion
-reduced risk of labelling and SFP in mixed
-high achievers can act as an inspiration to other students, which selecting doesn’t allow
what are open enrolment policies and parental choice?
-OEP = parents can apply to any skl
what are over subscription policies?
priority to children in care, pupil premium, siblings, faith and catchment area
what is covert selection?
-tough and brooks - backdoor social selection to cherry pick students
-discourage parents from poor backgrounds from better schools through things like expensive uniforms
-faith schools require letters from spiritual leaders for recommendation
what are the three features of marketisation?
-independence (allows skls to run how they see fit)
-competition (makes schools compete with eachother)
-choice (gives customers more choice on where to go)
what are the three elements of quality control?
-ofsted inspections
-publication of performance tables eg exam results
-national curriculum
what are the positives and negatives of privatisation of education?
+more efficient
+more choice for parents
+profit making can induce companies to support skls-
-takes money from education system
-businesses go out of business
-less equality
