AQA A Level Sociology - Educational policy

Tripartite system 1944

Children selected and allocated into 3 types of school based on aptitude and abilities determined by the 11+ exam.

1. Grammar schools: academic curriculum, access to non manual jobs and HE. Mostly MC

2. Secondary modern: practical curriculum, access to manual jobs

3. Technical schools only existed in a few areas

Reproduced class inequality by separating children into schools based on social class

Gender inequality as girls required higher marks

Secondary moderns seen as second class schools

Comprehensive system 1965

Aimed to overcome class divide

11+ to be abolished and grammar and secondary moderns

No selection, more opportunities exist to gain qualifications

Not everywhere went comprehensive 160 grammar schools and 500 secondary moderns still exist

Marxism

Class inequality continued through streams, labelling and denying WC equal opportunity

Functionalism

Promote integration bringing pupils of all classes together

Meritocratic longer to show and develop abilities

Ford: little social mixing due to streaming

Vocational education

Industry related studies at school/college need a skilled and flexible workforce

Reduces NEETS

Work experience in year 10

NVQs BTECs

Functionalists

Beneficial way to boost the economy

Marxists

Reproduces class inequality, WC receive a second rare education, passive, conformist workers whereas MC do academic courses and get professional jobs

Birdwell

Schools neglect vocational qualifications and many turn out to be worthless, poor quality training little careers advice.

Compensatory education

Some to tackle the problem of cultural deprivations n by providing extra resources in deprived areas.

SureStart

2010: 3,500 centres providing integrated education, care, family support, health services and support parents with employment.

Aim to work with parents to promote physical and intellectual developments of babies so they can flourish at home.

Operation HeadStart

Multi billion $ scheme of pre school education in the 1960s

'Planned enrichment' of environment to develop skills and instil motivation, improve parenting skills. Nursery classes and home visits by educational psychologists.

Seasame St part of it as a means of transmitting skills and values needed for educational success e.g importance of numeracy, literacy and punctuality

EMA

Improve staying on rates at 16

Household income below £30,00 receive up to £30 a week

EAZ

Target money and resources in areas where educational performance is poor in attempt to improve standards

WISE

Doubled number of female engineering graduates to 18%

GIST

Government sponsored campaign to encourage girls in secondary schools to chose science and technological subjects/careers

Assimilation 1960/70s

Em groups need to assimilate into mainstream British culture especially if English isn't their first language

African Caribbean already speak English. Actual cause of underachievement is institutional racism

Multicultural education 1980/90s

Value all cultures in the school curriculum to raise self esteem

Social inclusion

Monitor exam results by ethnicity

English as an additional language programme

Help for voluntary Saturday schools in the black community

Marketisation

Process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition by reducing direct control of the state over education. Increase competitions between schools

League tables

Parents have necessary info to choose the school they want children to go to

Schools with poor league table positions can't be selective, take less able WC and remain unattractive to the MC

Formula funding

More successful schools get more pupils and more money

Popular schools get more funds so can afford better qualified teachers and facilities so be more selective and attract mainly MC

Unpopular schools lose income, fail to match teachers and facilities in rival schools so fail to attract pupils and funding further reduced

Specialist schools

In IT, sports widening parental choice

Bartlett

League tables encourage cream skimming (good schools can be more selective and choose their own customers, more likely to choose MC who will be at an advantage) and silt shifting (good schools can avoid taking less able pupils who will damage the league table position).

Gerwitz

MC parents economic and cultural capital puts them at an advantage when choosing schools. He identifies 3 types of choosers:

1. Privileged skilled choosers: pro-education, mainly MC who posses cultural capital and know how the ES works, they have the time to visit schools. Also have economic capital thus can move children around the ES e.g. by paying for travel costs.

2. Disconnected local choosers: mainly WC parents, restricted by economic and cultural capital. Cost was a major restriction so the nearest school was the best option. Have difficulty understanding admissions process, less aware of options and cannot manipulate the system.

3. Semi skilled choosers: again WC but they were more ambitious, they also had difficulty making sense of the ES so relied on others opinions.

Myth of parentocracy

Ball: myth of parentocracy, in reality MC parents better able to take advantage of the choices.

Leech & Campos: in their study of Coventry found MC parents can use economic capital to move into the catchment area of a school with a good league table position.

City academies

Fresh start to inner city schools

Benn

New labour paradox contradiction between tackling inequality and marketisation. Introduced EMAs and tuition fees.

Privatisation

Transfer of public assets to private companies

Ball

Education has become a profit for capitalists (ESI)

Private companies in the ESI build schools, provide supply teachers, careers advice and OFSTED inspections

Large scale school building involve PPI, private companies provide capital to design/build/operate educational services. Contracts are 25 years+ local council pays monthly lease and management from public funds.

Companies make 10 x as much profit as they do on other contracts LEA obliged to enter contracts due to lack of funding from govt

Contracted out

Govt advertises a contract for private companies to provide schools with a set of expectations for the cheapest price who then bid against each other to win the contract

Ex headteachers and education officers working for companies can use insider knowledge to win contracts - public private sphere becoming increasingly blurred

Private company that wins the contract owns the schools assets

External education market

Private companies assume they can run schools cheaper than local authorities

Academies

Funding taken from local authorities and given to academies who have control over curriculum

2012 50% schools converted into academies

Did not focus on reducing inequality

Free schools

Funded by the state, set up and ran by parents, faith groups and businesses

Supporter claim they raise standards.

Allen: only benefit children from highly educated families

Take fewer disadvantaged pupils in 2011 6.4% eligible for FSM at Bristol FS compared to 22.5% across the city

Pupil premium

Money schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background

Ofsted not spent on those it was supposed to help

Cola isation

Vending machines, displays of logos and sponsorships

Molnar: private companies tackle schools because they are a kind of product endorsement

Benefits to schools limited

Ball: Cadbury sports equipment scrapped, pupils had to eat 5550 chocolate bars to qualify for a set of volleyball posts

Beder: spend £110,000 to get one new computer

Fragmentation

Ball: diverse schools increase inequality, education is becoming a commodity schools are there to be bought and sold.

Globalisation and HE

Unis become increasingly global institutions by opening up products to global audiences:

Subsidisers in other countries e.g Lancaster uni in China

Offering online courses

Attracting overseas students

Edexcel

Owned by US educational publishing and testing giant Pearson

Ball: Some GCSE exam answers marked in Sydney and Iowa