Educational Policy

Question 1

What was Butler’s Education Act (1944)?

Answer 1

• Free education up to the age of 15
• Tripartite system
• Grammar, technical and modern
• Students sorted by 11+ IQ test
• Parity of esteem across schools

Question 2

Evaluate Butler’s Education Act (1944)

Answer 2

• 11+ is subjective, biased and unreliable
• Few technical schools were built
• No real parity of esteem
• Grammar schools ‘cream-skimmed’ and mainly consisted of the middle class
• Secondary modern students were seen as failures

Question 3

What was comprehensivisation (1965)?

Answer 3

• Labour government
• No selection process
• All students regardless of class, gender, ethnicity or ability educated in the same schools
• Broadened curriculum and more sport and recreation

Question 4

Evaluate comprehensivisation (1965)

Answer 4

• Social mixing limited by catchment areas
• Parents not given much choice
• Didn’t fully replace tripartite
• High achievers held back by mixed-ability teaching

Question 5

What was The Education Reform Act (1988)?

Answer 5

• Conservative ‘New Right’ government
• Pupils tested at 7, 11, 14, GCSE and A level
• League tables created
• National curriculum introduced
• Competition between schools encouraged
• Focus on parental choice
• Private schools supported by Assisted Places scheme
• New vocationalism

Question 6

Evaluate The Education Reform Act (1988)

Answer 6

• Testing distorted teaching
• Schools could cheat the system by not accepting low achievers
• A true market was not created
• Few places were available in popular schools so parent choice was limited
• Class differences reinforced
• Vocationalism couldn’t fix a lack of jobs
• Vocationalism reinforced sexist stereotypes

Question 7

What were New Labour’s marketisation policies (1997-2010)?

Answer 7

• OFSTED inspections
• Academies Programme
• Specialist schools
• Privatisation of education / PFIs

Question 8

What were New Labour’s compensatory policies (1997-2010)?

Answer 8

• 15 free nursery hours per week
• Free school meals
• Education Action Zones
• SureStart Children’s Centres
• Educational Maintenance Allowances
• Literacy/numeracy hours in primary school
• A target of 50% of young people entering higher education by 2010

Question 9

Evaluate New Labour’s policies (1997-2010)

Answer 9

• Focus on exams and league tables distorted teaching
• Greater privatisation allowed companies to profit from education
• Middle classes gained most
• Compensatory policies didn’t address poverty

Question 10

What were the Coalition Government’s policies (2010-2015)?

Answer 10

• Return to traditional subjects and exams
• More rigorous A levels, most coursework removed and resits ended
• New style academies and MATs
• Free schools
• Continued focus on marketisation and privatisation
• Pupil Premium

Question 11

Evaluate the Coalition Government’s policies (2010-2015)

Answer 11

• Many criticisms of MATs
• Focus on profit rather than education
• All schools could practice selection
• Most compensatory policies scrapped