Educational Policy

Question 1

Social policy

Answer 1

Educational policy - refers to strategies for education introduced by government with recommendations to schools -> respond to issues of - equal opportunities // selection & choice //control of education// marketisation & privatisation.

Question 2

Selection: Tripartite system

Answer 2

1944 Education Act brought in tripartite system allowing children to be selected by 3 different types of schools based on abilities
-Grammar schools (mainly MC)
-Secondary modern schools (non academic curriculum)
-Technical schools (very few) and later scrapped
Instead of promoting meritocracy -> produced class inequality by separating 2 social classes into 2 schools offering unequal opportunities

Question 3

Comprehensive school system

Answer 3

Introduced in 1965 -aimed to make education ^ meritocratic

• 11+ exam was abolished along with grammar and secondary moderns replaced with comprehensive schools.
• However, decision was left to local authorities so divide between classes remains in some areas.

Question 4

Two theories of the role of comprehensives

Answer 4

Functionalists argue comprehensives promote social integration and meritocratic selection -> brings children of different social classes together.
-Ford’s(S) study-> little social mixing between classes due to streaming
Marxists argue comprehensives as non-meritocratic -> producing class inequality through streaming and labelling -> deny WC opportunities.

Question 5

Marketisation

Answer 5

Refers to process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition - Marketisation has created an ‘education market ‘ by -reducing state control over education // increasing competition between schools and parental choice of schools.

1988- Education Reform Act -> Marketisation was a central theme
-Critics claim reproduction of inequalities as exam league tables show best and worst -> increasing inequalities.

Question 6

Parentocracy

Answer 6

Policies to promote marketisation include:
#Publication of league tables and Ofsted inspection reports according to exam performance and ranks the schools in order. (Parents attracted to good rankings thus widening gap of inequality) ——
#Formula funding -schools receive same amount of funding for each pupil (Popular schools gain more funding, attract more pupils through better facilities and better teachers, poor schools lose income)

Question 7

Gewirtz: Parental choice

Answer 7

-Found differences in parents economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in choosing secondary school.
#Privileged-skilled choosers (Professional MC parents using EC and CC to gain educational capital)
#Disconnected local choosers (WC parents restricted by EC and CC)
#Semi-skilled choosers(WC parents with more ambition for children)

Question 8

Myth of parentocracy

Answer 8

Ball(S)-Marketisation gives appearance of ‘parentocracy’
Ball(S)-Parentocracy is a myth (parents have free choice of school) -> Gerwitz shows MC parents are take better advantage of choices -> can afford better catchment areas of good schools.

-> disguises fact that schooling reproduces class inequality.

Question 9

New Labour and inequality (1997 - 2010)

Answer 9

New Labour introduced policies to reduce inequalities:
-Designating deprived areas as Education Action Zones -> providing additional resources.
-Education Maintenance Allowances(EMA) -> payments to low income background students -> encourages staying on +16 for qualifications.
Critics Benn (S) - sees contradiction in policies -> higher tuition fees for education system -> discourages from university.

Question 10

Coalition Government from 2010

Answer 10

• Polices strongly influenced by Neoliberal and New Right ideas about reducing the role of the state in provision of education -> marketisation & privatisation.
• cuts were made to education budget -> reduce general state spending.

Question 11

Academies

Answer 11

2010- All schools encouraged to leave authority control and become academies -> funding given to academies -> academies had full control over curriculum.
-Coalition allowed any school to become academy -> remove focus on reducing inequality whereas labour targeted disadvantaged schools.

Question 12

Free Schools

Answer 12

Set up by parents, teacher organisations or businesses.

• improve educational standards -> takes control away from state -> gives power & opportunities to create schools if unhappy with local.
• Critics claim free schools are socially divisive -> lower standards -> Sweden’s International Ranking has fallen since introduction.

Question 13

Privatisation of education

Answer 13

• Privatisation involves transfer of public assets (school) to private companies -> trend has grown towards privatisation-> education becomes source of profit.
• Private companies earn very high profits from ^ activities
• Local authorities have to agree to these agreements -> lack offending from government.

Question 14

Policies on gender

Answer 14

-19th century -females largely excluded from higher education -> tripartite system (girls had to achieve higher marks than boys) -> to obtain a grammar school place.

Question 15

Policies on ethnicity

Answer 15

Multicultural education police (1980s & 90s) -> promote achievements of children from EM groups -> by valuing ALL cultures -> increasing self esteem.
However - Stone(S)claims black pupils do not fail for lack of self esteem, rather racism.