educational policy Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the three main aims of educational policy in the UK?
Economic efficiency (skills for work), 2. Raising standards, 3. Creating equality of opportunity.
What was the 1944 Education Act (Butler Act) and its key feature?
Introduced the Tripartite System: grammar, secondary modern, and technical schools based on 11+ exam. Reproduced class inequality.
What did the 1965 Comprehensive System aim to do?
Replace the tripartite system and reduce class inequality by making all students attend the same type of school regardless of ability.
What are criticisms of comprehensive schools?
Streaming and labelling still occurred. Ball: myth of meritocracy persisted. Marxists: reproduces inequality
What did the 1988 Education Reform Act introduce?
Marketisation of education: league tables, formula funding, national curriculum, Ofsted, parental choice.
What did David (1993) say about parentocracy?
Described the 1988 Act as promoting a “parentocracy” where parents had more choice and power.
What do Ball & Whitty argue about marketisation?
Marketisation increases inequality; MC parents use cultural/economic capital to gain advantage
What did Gerwitz identify about parental choice?
3 types of parents:
Privileged skilled choosers (MC),
Disconnected local choosers (WC),
Semi-skilled choosers (WC with ambition but lacking knowledge).
What is the ‘A-C Economy’ and who coined it?
A: Gillborn & Youdell
Schools focus resources on C/D borderline students to improve league table position (educational triage).
What policies aimed to reduce inequality under New Labour (1997–2010)?
EMA, Sure Start, Academies, Aim Higher, Education Action Zones. Focused on compensatory education.
What is academisation and when did it expand?
Coalition government (2010) expanded academies, allowing all schools to convert regardless of performance.
What are Free Schools and criticisms of them?
Set up by parents, charities, businesses. Criticised for being selective and benefiting MC families. Allen: In Sweden, they increase inequality.
miumWhat is the pupil pre?
Extra funding given to schools for each disadvantaged pupil to reduce attainment gap.
What is privatisation in education?
The transfer of public assets (schools) to private companies. Includes services like exams, IT, and building.
What did Ball say about privatisation?
Education has become a commodity to be bought/sold, part of the global education market
What is the globalisation of education?
International comparisons and multinational companies influence policy. e.g., OECD rankings, British education brands abroad.
What is the impact of marketisation on equality?
Widened class and ethnic inequality. Schools compete, cream-skim, and silt-shift pupils.
What does ‘cream-skimming’ mean in education?
Selecting high-achieving, low-cost students (mostly MC) to boost league performance.
What does ‘silt-shifting’ mean?
Offloading students who are likely to get poor results or need more support.
How do policies reproduce inequality?
Through selection, funding formulas, covert selection, and culturally biased curricula.
