History of education system

Before 1870

• Public schools educated the children of upper classes

• Grammar schools educated middle class

• Working class attended elementary schools run by churches and charities

1880 Compulsory Education Act

• By 1880, education was compulsory up to the age of 13

• State run elementary schools from ages 5-13 in 1880

1944 Butler Act/Tripartite System

• Aimed to make education meritocratic

• Ability + effort

• 11+ exam, allocated based on ability

• Allocated to grammar schools, secondary moderns and technical schools

Grammar schools

• Academic curriculum

• Access to non-manual jobs and higher education

• For pupils with ability to pass 11+ (mainly middle class)

• Top 20% of 11+

Secondary Moderns

• Non-academic practical curriculum

• Access to manual work for pupils who failed the 11+

• Mainly WC

• Bottom 75% of 11+

Technical schools

• Technical training for engineering and mechanics

• Prepared students for work-related trades

• Only 5% of 11+ went here

Criticisms of Tripartite

• Instead of meritocracy, reproduced class inequality

• Channelled two social classes into two different types of school, each offering differing opportunities

• Gender inequality: Girls had to gain higher marks than boys on 11+ for grammar school place (feminist)

• Legitimised class inequality through myth of meritocracy - in reality children’s environment greatly affects their chances of success

• All other perspectives are marxist

Comprehensive system

• Introduced in 1966

• Aimed to overcome class inequality of tripartite system, making education more meritocratic

• 11+ abolished. along with grammars and secondary moderns

• Replaced by comprehensives that ALL pupils within an area would attend

Criticisms of comprehensives

• Left to local education authority to decide whether to go comprehensive, and not all did

• Grammar schools and the divide between grammar schools and comprehensives remains today

Functionalist view of comprehensives

Fulfils essential functions such as social integration and meritocratic selection for future work roles (role allocation)

Marxist view of comprehensives

Education serves the interests of capitalism by reproducing and legitimising class inequality

1988 Education Reform Act

• League tables

• Formula funding

• Ofsted inspections (more officially in 1992)

• Focus on marketisation

New Right view of education

• Competition between schools is good (included 1988 ERA):

  • Empowers the consumers (parents/pupils)

  • Brings diversity of school

  • Choice

  • Efficiency - meeting needs of pupils and parents further

  • It improvees standards as schools to compete to attract students and funds

  • Teachers will work harder to improve grades

New Vocationalism - New Right

• Education system was not producing pupils with the right skills needed for the modern economy

• Comprehensivisation: Academic qualifications, but many jobs required

• New waves of new vocational qualifications introduced (e.g. GNVQs, BTECs and YTS) programmes that were more practical and technical skills focussed, preparing for actual workplace/industry

New Labour policy (1997-2010)

• Continued diversity and choice, competition is good

• But emphasised equality of opportunity more

• Policies e.g. Aim Higher and Education Action Zones

Coalition government (2010-2015)

• Conservative and Lib Dems

• Prime Minister David Cameron: ‘Encourage excellence, competition and innovation’ by freeing schools from the state

• Free schools, academies and public schools

Policies to reduce gender inequality

• GIST/WISE

• Teachers actively challenging stereotypes in the curriculum

• Equality and Diversity framework

Policies to reduce social class inequality

• Free school meals for pupils under 7 (coalition)

• Educational Maintenance Allowance (16-18 year olds) (New Labour)

• Aim Higher

• Pupil Premium (Coalition)

Policies to reduce ethnic inequality

• 1985 Swann Report advocated a multicultural education

• Ofsted implementing Equality and Diversity criteria

• English as an additional language programme in schools