policies

Question 1

what is an educational policy?

Answer 1

refers to plans and strategies for education introduced by government through Acts of Parliament with instructions and recommendations to schools and local education
authorities (LEAs)

Question 2

what issues do most educational policies respond to?

Answer 2

1. Equal opportunities
2. Selection and choice
3. Control of education
4. Marketisation and privatisation

Question 3

explain education policies before 1944

Answer 3

was no government educational policy or provision for state schools
education was only available for a minority of
the population - the wealthy middle/upper classes who could afford to pay private tutors or fee-paying schools.

Question 4

what act introduced the tripartite system?

Answer 4

The Education Act (1944)/ Butler Act

Question 5

what did the tripartite system use, in order to assign students to secondary schools?

Answer 5

11+ exam

Question 6

what weee the 3 secondary schools you could be sent to in the tripartite system? what was needed to attend each?

Answer 6

Those who passed would go to a GRAMMAR SCHOOL, these schools were for the academically bright, most students would leave with good results, sit A-Levels then go onto university, a significant minority of students attended this type of school; however they were largely from a middle class background.
Those who failed would attend a SECONDARY MODERN SCHOOL, these schools offered a non-academic, practical curriculum, these pupils were mainly working-class.
The third type of school was the TECHNICAL SCHOOL for artistic students but these schools were very rare.

Question 7

however, what did the tripartite system reproduce? how?

Answer 7

class inequalities by channeling the 2 social classes into 2 different types of school that offered unequal opportunities.
gender inequalities by requiring girls to gain higher marks than boys in the 11+ to obtain a place in a grammar school.

Question 8

how did the tripartite system legitimises inequalities?

Answer 8

through the ideology that ability is inborn, it was argued that ability could be measured early on in life (11+) However, in reality, children environments greatly affects their chances of success.

Question 9

what political party created the comprehensive school system in the 1960s?

Answer 9

the labour party - Margaret thatcher

Question 10

what was the aim of the comprehensive school system?

Answer 10

to provide students from all social backgrounds with the same educational experience and overcome class divide

Question 11

what students attended the comprehensive school?

Answer 11

all students

Question 12

why do grammar/secondary modern school divide still exist in some areas

Answer 12

because although, comprehensive schools was open to everyone, it was left to the local authority to turn to comprehensive schools and not all did

Question 13

what do functionalists believe about comprehensive schools

Answer 13

• argue that comprehensive schools promotes social integration by bringing children of diff social classes together in one school
• Comprehensive system is more meritocratic because it gives pupils a longer period in which to develop and show their abilities. Unlike the tripartite system which
  aimed to select the most able pupils at the age of 11

Question 14

what do marxists argue about comprehension schools?

Answer 14

• argue that comprehensive schools are not meritocratic, they reproduce class inequalities from one generation to the next through streaming and labelling, this carries
  on to deny w/c children equal opportunity
• by not selecting pupils at age 11, comprehensive may appear to offer equal chances : this myth of meritocracy legitimates/justifies class inequalities by making
  unequal achievement seem fair and just so failure looks like it is the fault of one individual rather than the whole system

Question 15

what was the youth training scheme?

Answer 15

a UK government initiative launched in 1983 to help young
people aged 16–17 gain work experience and vocational training

Question 16

what are some strengths of the youth training scheme?

Answer 16

• designed to tackle youth unemployment
• bridge Between School and Work – Supported young people transitioning from education to
  employment, reducing the number of school leavers struggling to find work
• practical Work Experience – gave young people hands-on experience in real work environments, making them more employable

Question 17

what are NVQS?

Answer 17

National Vocational Qualification

Question 18

what are GNVQS?

Answer 18

General National Vocational Qualification

Question 19

when were NVQs introduced? what were they?

Answer 19

1986

work-based qualifications focusing on practical skills for
specific jobs, from level 1 to levels 5, covering various industries, which were then assessed through on the job training, where individuals demonstrates their skills in real life environments

Question 20

strengths of NVQS?

Answer 20

• practical and work based, where learners developed real-life skills, by working in actual job settings
• flexible learning with no fixed exams
• industry specific experience tailored to different job settings

Question 21

when were GNVQS introduced, then phased out?

Answer 21

introduced in 1992, phased out by 2007

Question 22

where were GNVQS studied?

Answer 22

in schools and colleges rather than workplaces

Question 23

gives strengths of GNVQS?

Answer 23

• covers broader subject areas than NVQS
• a balanced approach, incorporating both academic study and vocational training
• a pathway to further education

Question 24

what are the main problems surrounding vocational education?

Answer 24

‘parity of esteem’
= vocational is seen as less to academic success
social bias
= vocational has high levels of wc/ethnic minorities, whereas academic tends to be white m/c
political agenda
= vocational courses are a way of reducing the unemployment rate, making the government look good, however pushes the w/c into low paid employment

Question 25

what did the 1988 education reform act, introduced by the conservative party, include?

Answer 25

Marketisation of schools. Greater parental choice (Parentocracy). The National Curriculum. School Exam League Tables Formula Funding.

Question 26

what is marketisation in education?

Answer 26

refers to the process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state, such as education.

Question 27

how has marketisation created an education market?

Answer 27

- reducing direct control by the state - increasing both competition between schools and parental choice of school

Question 28

what is parentocracy?

Answer 28

the idea that parents have control over choices in the education system, ruled by parents

Question 29

what policies promote marketisation?

Answer 29

Publication of league tables and Ofsted inspection reports to rank schools according to perf and give parents the info they need to choose the right school. Business sponsorship of schools. Open enrolment, allowing successful schools to recruit more pupils. Specialist schools (IT, languages) to widen parental choice. Formula funding, where school receive the same amount of funding for each pupil

Question 30

what do supports of marketisation argue when it comes to parentocracy?

Answer 30

that the power shifts away from the producers (teachers and schools) to the consumer, giving parents more choice and raising the standards

Question 31

who argued that marketisation policies such as exam league tables and the funding formula reproduced class inequalities by creating inequalities between schools?

Answer 31

Stephen ball (1994) and geoff whittaker (1998)

Question 32

what happened to schools with a poor formula funding?

Answer 32

Cannot afford to be selective → Results are poorer →Mainly w/c pupils → Remain unattractive to m/c parents may ultimately have to close as a result

Question 33

what are privileged skilled choosers?

Answer 33

m/c parents who used their eco and cult capital to gain capital for their children

Question 34

who are disconnected local choosers?

Answer 34

w/c parents with restricted choice by lack of eco and cult capital, may find admission procedure difficult to understand, less confident, less aware of choices etc. with distance and cost restrictions

Question 35

what are semi-skilled choosers?

Answer 35

w/c but ambitious for their children. may lack cult capital and found difficult to understand the educ market → rely on other people’s opinions, strive for better

Question 36

what did ball believe about the ‘myth of parentocracy’?

Answer 36

not all parents have the choice e.g m/c parents can afford to move or rent in other areas in order to be in a certain catchment area, making inequalities in schools seem fair and inevitable

Question 37

strengths of the national curriculum

Answer 37

- creates standardisation of educational content. - made certain key subjects compulsory throughout education e.g. Maths, English & science.

Question 38

weaknesses of the national curriculum

Answer 38

one size fits for all curriculum, ethnocentric curriculum → teachers constrained to teach the same to all → some students may have diff interests/ aspirations

Question 39

strengths of league tables

Answer 39

- Increases competition between schools therefore raises standard - provides parents with information on the schools they are sending their children too

Question 40

weaknesses of league tables

Answer 40

- schools can be more selective if higher in the league table: cream-skimming and silt-shifting - not all parents have the knowledge to look at league tables - A-C economy

Question 41

strengths of parentocracy?

Answer 41

- allows parents to choose a school that best meets the individual needs of their children

Question 42

weaknesses of parentocracy?

Answer 42

- M/c parents are advantaged to make choice, using their economic and cultural capital, choosing the best school for them - creates more inequalities

Question 43

what were education action zones?

Answer 43

designated to deprived areas and provided them with extra resources to improve the education standards

Question 44

were education action zones successful?

Answer 44

lasted around 5 years, schools did not have the resources to improve as much as they wanted, not deemed as a great success

Question 45

what was aim higher programme?

Answer 45

a scheme to raise the aspirations of groups who were underrepresented in higher education to widen participation

Question 46

what was educational maintenance allowance?

Answer 46

payments to students from low-income backgrounds to encourage them into higher education

Question 47

was educational maintenance allowance successful?

Answer 47

it broke the cycle of deprivation, however many took advantage of the money e.g by not working

Question 48

what were the 2 biggest introductions of the new labour government?

Answer 48

- the encouragement of specialist skills - the introduction of academics

Question 49

why did new labour encourage specialist schools?

Answer 49

it was argued this would offer parents greater choice and raises standards by allowing schools to build on their particular strengths, by 2007 85% of schools were specialist schools

Question 50

why did new labour encourage academies?

Answer 50

would give Academies the ability to reflect the needs of the locality which they served, it would also create more competition as parents would have the option of sending their child to a new and improved school, rather than a failing school that existed before

Question 51

where were academies usually launched?

Answer 51

failing schools in deprived areas

Question 52

the laws of the conservative-liberal democratic government

Answer 52

1. Academies : From 2010, all schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and become academies. Funding was taken from LAE budgets and given directly to academies, Academies were given control over their curriculum. By 2017 over 68% of all sec schools became academies = some are run by private educ businesses and funded directly by the state 2. Free schools: Funded directly by the state but set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses rather than the local authority 3. Universities are now able to charge £9000 per year tuition fees and the student loan arrangements have changed

Question 53

what 2 ideas does Ball(2011) argue about the promotion of academies and free schools?

Answer 53

- Increased fragmentation, not all areas offer the same educational experience (unlike comprehensive system) - Increased centralisation of control: central government alone has the power to allow or require schools to become academies or allow free schools to be set up, their rapid growth has greatly reduced the role of LEA in education

Question 54

policies to reduce inequalities?

Answer 54

- free school meals for all children in reception, year 1 - the pupil premium, where schools relieve money for each person from a disadvantaged background however, ousted (2012) found that often, pupil premium is not spent on those it is supposed to help

Question 55

Conservative government’s ‘austerity’ programme led to many cuts in educational budget, such as:

Answer 55

- many sure start centres were closed - uni tuition fees tripled to £9000 - the euducation maintenance allowance was abolished - spending on school buildings were cut by 60%

Question 56

private companies in the education services industry, are involved in an increasing range of activities in education, list some examples that have become privatised

Answer 56

- building school buildings - providing supply teachers - work-based learning - careers advice - ousted inspections

Question 57

what does PPPs?

Answer 57

public-private partnership

Question 58

why do private sector companies create contracts?

Answer 58

they are very profitable, as they last around 25years

Question 59

why do many senior officials move from public sectors to private?

Answer 59

they leave for better money etc.

Question 60

how is the privatisation of education linked to globalisation?

Answer 60

the import and exportation of educational policies globally across seas

Question 61

give examples of privatisation and globalisation in the education system

Answer 61

- Edexcel (exam board) is owned by a US educational publishing and testing giant Pearson - UK four leading educational software companies are owned by global multinationals (Disney, Mattel, Hambro and Vivendi) - UK educational businesses work overseas - Private companies export UK educ policy to other countries e.g. Ofsted-type inspections and provide the services to deliver the policies

Question 62

What is the cola-isation of schools

Answer 62

The private sector entering education indirectly e.g. vending machines

Question 63

what did Molnar 2005 argue?

Answer 63

that schools are targeted by private companies because they are seen positively in society, they act like product endorsemen

Question 64

explain how these private sectors involvement does not really benefit schools and its pupils?

Answer 64

Ball showed that a Cadbury’s sports equipment promotion was scrapped after it was revealed that pupils would have to eat 5,440 chocolate bars just to qualify for a set of volleyball posts. Sharon Bedder (2009) argues that UK families spend £110,000 in Tesco supermarkets in return for a single computer for schools