Educational PolicyAnd inequality

Educational Policy Plans and strategies for education

introduced by the government

Acts of Parliament Recommendations

Schooling before the 19th Century There was no national system of education Only a tiny minority of the children

received any schooling.

Opportunities for a formal education were restricted mainly to Private fee-paying schools, and some Charity/Church schools

The 1870 Education Act

Provided state-run elementary schools for 5-11 year olds

Maximum fees of nine pence a week

The Forster Act

The 1880 Elementary Education Act

Made school compulsory up to the age of 10

Education became free

By 1899 it was compulsory up to the age of 12

Butler Education Act

Education system continued to evolve slowly over early 20th Century

Next Major reform occurred in 1944

Butler Education Act

The second world war had caused people to want a better future

Education was seen as a way to achieve this

Radically restructured education, creating a formal state funded secondary sector

Butler Act 1944 Aimed to create a meritocratic system

It was believed that a child’s ability was fixed by the age of 11 and could be accurately measured with a special type of IQ test

The result of the 11+ test would then determine which type of school the child attended

Tripartite System

Grammar Schools

Secondary Technical Schools

Secondary Modern Schools

Tripartite System Rather than creating meritocracy it

reproduced class inequality

It also reproduced gender inequality

The tripartite system also legitimated inequality through the idea that ability is inborn (innate)

Comprehensivisation

During the 50s and 60s discontent grew with the tripartite system

A new comprehensive system was introduced from 1965 onwards

Labour government policy

Comprehensivisation Comprehensive education abolished the

11+ test and the three types of secondary school

Comprehensive schools aimed to educate all children regardless of ability Therefore abolish inequality

Comprehensivisation Admission to a comprehensive school

was based on catchment area rather than IQ test

In 2005 -9 out of 10 children attend some form of comprehensive school

Only 164 grammar schools remain

Comprehensivisation While comprehensives did reduce the

class gap in achievement…

The system reproduced inequality through

Streaming Labelling

Myth of meritocracy Comprehensives legitimated inequality

By creating the idea of equal opportunity

If you fail it is your own fault And yet we have seen the class, gender

and ethnicity all impact how well students do

• In 1979 the Conservative party won the election and Margaret Thatcher became prime minister

• They wanted an education system that would

• Meet the needs of industry• Raise standards

New Vocationalism Until the 70s, vocational training was

seen as the responsibility of employers

A rise in youth unemployment began to change this

It was thought schools were not providing kids with the skills they required

New Vocationalism New vocationalism is the direct

government intervention in youth training

1983 – YTS Youth Training Schemes

1986 – NVQs were developed for a range of qualifications

Criticisms of New Vocationalism Serves the needs of capitalism rather

than young people Cohen (1984) – teaches attitudes and

values needed or subordinate workforce. Lowers aspirations

Finn (1987) – cheap labour for employers, undermines trade unions, keeps employment statistics down.

The Education Reform Act

Introduced by the Conservative government

MARKETISATION

Define Marketisation (2 marks)

Parentocracy Miriam David 1993

Rule by parents

Marketisation shifts power away from the producers and to the consumers

Education Reform Act Market forces - Competition

Introduction of National Curriculum Introduction of inspection – OFSTED Testing – League tables Vocationalism – job based study

National Curriculum A standard set of subjects and content to

be studied by all children in state schools

Ensures basic skills are taught consistently

Makes school leavers more employable

Common basis for measuring progress and school performance

Testing and League tables

SATS test were introduced to monitor progress

These also allowed school performance to be checked

League Tables of exam results were published to give parents information about schools so they can make informed choices

Ofsted Ofsted was set up to inspect schools

and report on their performance

Ofsted reports are published publicly so parents can access them to aid their choices

Reproduction of inequality Stephen Ball (1994) Geoff Whitty (1998)

Both argue that marketisation reproduces inequality