political ideology & associated social policies relating to the education system

Question 1

what is a tripartite system?

Answer 1

a system with 3 secondary schools
-grammar schools
-secondary modern schools
-technical schools

Question 2

what is comprensivisation?

Answer 2

the process of transforming the education system in the uk into a comprehensive system to create a more inclusive and egalitarian educational environment

Question 3

what does egalitarian mean?

Answer 3

believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities

Question 4

what is vocational education?

Answer 4

it involves examining how vocational training and qualifications intersect with social class, gender and broader societal functions

Question 5

what does vocational mean?

Answer 5

an alternative to academic education and focuses on preparing pupils for work in a particular industry or field of employment

Question 6

what is compensatory education?

Answer 6

addressing educational inequalities and providing additional support to disadvantaged students, social justice and equal opportunity

Question 7

what is the national curriculum?

Answer 7

a set of educational guidelines and standards established by the gov to outline what should be taught in schools at various stages of a student’s education

Question 8

what are league tables?

Answer 8

also known as school or uni rankings, lists that compare educational institutions based on various performance indicators e.g. exam results
-often published

Question 9

what is open enrolment?

Answer 9

a policy that allows parents and students to choose which school they want to attend regardless of address
-gives more freedom

Question 10

what is formula funding?

Answer 10

a method of distributing public funds to schools, colleges or universities, based on a predetermined formula or set of criteria

Question 11

what is EMA?

Answer 11

-ethnic minority achievement
-the academic performance and achievement of students from ethnicity minority backgrounds within the education system

Question 12

why is studying education important?

Answer 12

-gov spent 90 billion in 2018 on education (about 4.3% of our national income)
-virtually all children in school ages 5-18 (which is about 15,000 hours in school)
-major means of socialisation in most countries
-bombarded with knowledge, attitudes and skills to use throughout lives

Question 13

what are some social democratic perspectives?

Answer 13

-left wing, more in favour of more equality and greater state intervention in the economy
-gov should pay more of a role in providing welfare through the state for citizens
-promote well being
-inequality of income = inequality of opportunities
those from advanced families do better in educational systems
-role of the state should make more opportunities for all and be meritocratic
-in meritocratic societies success or failure in education and workplace = dependent on skills and abilities
-social dem policies did influence labour gov of the 1960 1970, they opposed the tripartite system

Question 14

what does meritocratic mean?

Answer 14

a society where jobs and pay are allocated based on an individuals talent and achievement rather than social status

Question 15

what do social democrats want to do?

Answer 15

-get rid of class divisions between different types of school
-create more equal opportunities
-encourage economic growth by ensuring that talent was not wasted through sending talented pupils to secondary modern schools where their talents would not be developed

Question 16

how did the labour government work to reduce inequality in society?

Answer 16

through taxation and welfare policies in which the rich were more heavily taxed than others
-called progressive taxation
-welfare was provided so less well off did not live in poverty

-this has shaped labour policy

Question 17

What do Gewitz and Ball argue about education?

Answer 17

that competition between schools benefits the middle classes who use their cultural and material capital to gain access to the most desirable schools

Question 18

The real reason for low educational achievement is not state control but….

Answer 18

social inequality

Question 19

marxist stress that education does not impose a shared national culture as the new right claim

Question 20

labour gov of 60s and 70s very much based on social democratic principles, where as conservative gov of Thatcher and Major were heavily influenced by new rights

Question 21

what do the new right propose?

Answer 21

-more right wing, more in favour of competition and free markets
-do not believe state intervention is good for society
-favour marketisation of education
-new right are opposed to policies of the social democrats
-more reflective of ideas of a functionalist perspective
-they differ as do not believe current education system is achieving these goals
-argues education should not be concerned with promoting equality or equality or opportunity but with training the workforce making sure most able students have talents developed & recruited in most important jobs while others are prepared for lower levels of employment
-education should socialise young people into collective values & responsible citizenship & build social cohesion and solidarity = stable & united society

Question 22

Chubb and Moe believe education system controlled by state & local authority is not best way to achieve these aims
- there should be parentocracy

Question 23

what does parentocracy mean?

Answer 23

a system in which a child’s education must conform to the wealth and wishes of parents rather than the abilities and efforts of the pupil

Question 24

what do new right believe the purpose of education is?

Answer 24

-to bring about economic growth rather than equality & eradicate class differences

Question 25

The new right theorist chubb and moe American system

Answer 25

-state run education isn’t providing equal opportunities or helping disadvantaged students
-does equip students with skills needed for the economy
-private schools do better in performance because they meet the demands of paying parents
- chubb and moe suggest all schools should become more like private businesses competing for pupils and driving up standards

Question 26

research on _____ students from low income families in ____ state run schools found that those in private did __% better

Answer 26

-60,000
-1015
-5

Question 27

how do new right want education to be run?

Answer 27

-free market system in education
-they believe competition between businesses is the most effective, efficient way to run service, as the star services lack motivation to strive
-state education lacks adaptability due to no paying customers
-introduced competition between schools, where they compete for students & less popular schools lose funding
-more school chooses like academies & free schools, funded by the government, we’re introduced
-all these policies were used significantly by middle class

Question 28

-uk free compulsory education started 1870, since 1833 the state has made some contribution to funding education

Question 29

____ state education made compulsory up to 10 years old, 1918 children had to stay in school until __, in ____ it was raised until 16, ____ compulsory until 18

Answer 29

-1880
-14
-1972
-2007

Question 30

by 2005 more than ___ of all 16-18 year olds were in some form of education or training

Question 31

higher education expanded, almost __% of population now goes on to study this at a level

Question 32

why has state education expanded?

Answer 32

-one of most influential institutions in society, takes ages 4-5 for 6 hours a day for 11+ years, formal l some or informally through hidden curriculum
-15,000 hours in lessons by the time leave compulsory education
-sociologists divided in their views about why modern societies invest so much in schooling in the next generation
-most agree that education is important in teaching skills and encouraging different attitudes and values, they disagree about why this occurs and who actually benefits

Question 33

mainly the perspectives believe education is essential for socialisation and citizenship, it is different to what a family can do

Question 34

functionalists, marxists and feminists argue that education performs a sorting function assigning individuals to jobs and roles in society