Sociology Education Topic 6 Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the tripartite system?
Introduced in 1944
2 main types of secondary schools:
1. Grammar schools (mostly MC pupils attend)
2. Secondary modern (mostly WC pupils attend)
Enter with selection of 11+ exams
What is Comprehensive system?
Introduced in 1965
Nearly abolished 11+ exams
All WC and MC attended same comprehensive school
How do Marxists and Functionalists see the role of education differently?
- Functionalists see it as fulfilling essential functions such as social integration and meritocratic selection for future work roles.
- Marxists see education as serving interests of capitalism by reproducing and legitimating class inequality.
Advantage of comprehensive schools
Functionalism - comprehensive schools promote social integration by bringing children of different social classes.
Functionalism - comprehensive system are meritocratic because it gives pupils longer period to develop and show their abilities, unlike tripartite system, which select most-able pupils at age of 11.
Criticisms of comprehensive schools
Ford - found out little social mixing between WC and MC pupils —> streaming
Marxist - not meritocratic, reproduce class inequality from one generation to next through streaming and labelling
How haas marketisation create an ‘education market’?
—> reducing state control over education
—> increasing competition between schools and parental choice of school
Why do Neoliberals and New Right favour marketisation?
marketisation means success have to attract customers by competing with each other in market. Provide customers with what they want -success
Parentocracy
Policies to promote marketisation
- publication of league tables and Ofsted Inspection reports
- Specialist schools
- FSM
- Formula funding
- Becoming academies - out of local authority control
Ball - inequalities
marketisation policies such as exam league tables and the funding formula reproduces class inequalities between schools.
what is cream-skimming?
’Good’ schools can be more selective, choose their own customers and recruit high achieving, mainly MC pupils
What is ‘silt-shifting’?
’Good’ schools can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get poor results and damage the school’s league tables position
Funding formula
schools funded based in how many pupils they recruit, so good schools get more money, and can improve staffing/resources.
Gerwitz
Privileged-skilled choosers —> MC parents use their economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital
Disconnected-local choosers —> WC parents, choices are restricted by lack of economic and cultural capital. Difficult to understand school admissions and choose nearest school due to no economic capital
Semi-skilled choosers —> WC parents who are ambitious for their children but lack cultural capital and find it difficult to understand education market. They rey on other people’s opinion.
Myth of parentocracy
What is parentocracy?
parentocracy —> belief all parents have same freedom to choose which schools to send children to.
However, MC parents are better able to take advantage of choices available.
New Labour
Policies to reduce inequality
- Aim Higher Programmes
- Education Maintenance Allowance
- Increased funding for state
Inequalities of conservative policies
- Spending cuts - cuts in government spending on education eg. In areas such as EMA, and school building
- FSM - set up and run by teachers, parents, organisations and businesses. Did this to take control away from state and giving power to parents. IF unhappy with state schooling, can create a new one.
How does academies and FSM provide inequality?
Fragmentation —> comprehensive system replaced by patchwork of diverse provision, much of it involving private providers.
Centralisation of control —> central government has the power to allow or require schools to become academies or allow FSM to be set up
What are conservative policies to reduce inequality?
- FSM —> for all children in reception, Y1 and Y2
- Pupil premium —> money schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background
Ofsted—> found out Pupil Premium was not spend on those its for
Critics —> cutting sure start and EMA reduced opportunities for WC pupils.
University fees tripled which discouraged them to go.
