Educational Policies

Tripartite System 1944

3 different types of secondary schools according to ability and identified by 11+ exam

20% went to grammar schools

80% went to secondary moderns

Grammar schools (non manual jobs and higher education, mainly MC)

Secondary modern (non academic practical curriculum who failed 11+, mainly WC)

Technical school in few areas ONLY

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the tripartite system?

Advantages:

All students had the opportunity to sit the exam, not just ones who could afford it.

The exam would sift and sort pupils into the best type of school for them.

Disadvantages:

IQ test determined pupils futures at a very young age – no room for those who developed later in life.

Some secondary moderns had very low standards and labelled 80% of pupils as failures.

Girls had to get higher marks

Comprehensive System

All pupils attend one school

Abolished other schools, 11+ exam

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the comprehensive?

Advantages:

Functionalists argue that it allows for more social integration and pupils have more time to develop skills -> more meritocracy

Disadvantages:

Ford: Banding and streaming occurred along social class lines – the working classes typically ended up in the lower bands and vice versa for the middle classes.

Parents had very little choice in education – it was nearly impossible to remove their children from the local school if they wanted, because it was thought that all schools were providing a similar standard of education.

Marxists argue that it makes pupils blame themselves for their failure, not inequality

1988 Marketisation

Marketisation allowed for increased competition between schools to increase standards of education to create a more qualified workforce.

Greater parental choice and the state had less control over education

Formula funding, league tables, OFSTED and national curriculum

What are the advantages and disadvantages of marketisation?

Advantages:

David argues power is taken away from school and teacher and to parents → diversity among schools, parents have more choice and higher standards -> more parentocracy

Disadvantages:

Ball and Whitty argued that exam league tables, formula funding reproduce class inequality in schools -> allocated funds based on how many pupils it can attract → can afford better teachers, better facilities → more selective and attracts more MC

unpopular schools lose income → poorer teachers and facilities → failure

Gewirtz shows that MC have an advantage → Leech and Camps show that they can afford to move into a more

1997 - New Labour

To respond to increased competition due to globalisation

Raising standards

More focus on Equality of opportunity than the original New Right

Increasing choice and diversity

Increased funding to education

Reduced class sizes, introduced literacy and numeracy hour

Introduced Academies

Sure Start – Free nursery places for younger children 12 hours a week and advice for parents

Education Maintenance Allowance – EMA

Tuition fees introduced for HE

Evaluation

Early academies rose standards in poor areas a lot (Mossbourne)

Generally better at improving equality of opportunity than the New Right

Parents liked Sure Start but it didn’t improve education (improved health)

Tuition fees put working class kids off going to university (connor et al)

2010 Coalition

Same as the New Right

To reduce public spending on education due to the financial crisis.

Details of policies

Cut funding to education (Scrapped EMA)

Forced academisation – failing schools had to become Academies

Free Schools – charities/ businesses/ groups of parents given more freedom to set up their own schools

Pupil Premium – schools received extra funding for SEN and Free School Meals pupils.

Evaluation

Advantages:

Standards have carried on improving

Pupil premium has given schools more funding but too early to realise all long-term effects

Disadvantages:

Academisation and Free schools are both ideological – no evidence they improve standards more than LEA schools

Free schools – advantage the middle classes/ duplicate resources

Rid of EMA

Outline and explain educational polices that reinforce functions of education (3)

1. Social solidarity → national curriculum

2. Specialist skills → vocational education OR proposal to study maths up to age 18

3. Role allocation → selective education, setting and streaming

4. Universalistic norms → national curriculum

New Labour and inequality

• Education maintenance allowance → payment to students from low-income → encourage them to stay on after 16 to gain better qualifications

• The Aim Higher programme to raise aspirations of groups who are underrepresented in higher education

• Introduction of the National Literacy Strategy and reducing primary school sizes → policies are a greater benefit to WC

• City academics were created for a fresh start

• Increased funding for state education

Criticism of New Labour

Benn argued that there are a lot of contradictions → EMA but raised fees for universities

Conservative government polices from 2010

• Academies → schools were encouraged to leave the local authority control and become academics → funding given directly to academy by central government → academies had control over curriculum→ By 2021, over 78% of all secondary schools were academies → some private and some state funded → REDUCED FOCUS FROM INEQUALITY

• Free schools → funded by the state but run by parents, teachers or other organisations → improve educational standards and gives power to parents → opportunity to create a new school → SOCIALLY DIVISIVE AND LOWER STANDARDS

• Fragmented centralisation → Ball argues this → Fragmentation = comprehensive system is replaced by a patchwork of diverse provision → greater inequality as involves private providers Centralisation of control = Government has power to choose if free schools are set up → reduced role of elected local authority

• POLICIES TO REDUCE INEQUALITY → FSM for up to year 2, Pupil premium → OFSTED found that pupil premium is not spent on how it should be