Education Policies
Equality:
What are the Four Aims of Education Policy in the UK?
Educational Equality:
All individuals should have equal access to and opportunity within the educational system, regardless of factors like socioeconomic background, ethnicity, gender, or other social characteristics
Marketisation:
A trend in education policy from the 1980s where schools were encouraged to compete against each other and act more like private businesses rather than institutions under the control of local government.
Raising Standards:
Examining policies and their impact on student outcomes, access, and equity. Sociologists analyse how government initiatives, such as marketisation, affect education quality and how social factors influence student success
Surporting the economy:
Education plays a crucial role in preparing individuals for the workforce and contributing to economic growth. This aim focuses on ensuring that the education system provides the skills and knowledge needed by employers and that students are prepared for future employment.
What are the 4 Aspects of Educational Equality identified by Gilbourn and Youdell?
Equality of access:
All students should have an equal chance to attend schools of similar quality without being unfairly selected
Equality of circumstances:
All students should begin school with similar home and material circumstances
Equality of participation:
All students should have an equal chance to participate in school life
Educational triage:
Schools should categorise students into groups based on their likelihood of success
Policies which Increase Equality in Education:
1988 Education Reform Act- National Curriculum:
Parental choice:
Open enrolment: Parents could choose a school for their child, regardless of their catchment area.
Diagnostic testing: Parents could use test results to choose a school for their child.
National curriculum
A consistent curriculum was introduced for all state-funded schools from ages 5 to 16.
The curriculum was based on systems used in other European countries.
School autonomy
More schools became autonomous grant-maintained schools, meaning they were no longer controlled by local authorities.
University access
Universities became more accessible to non-traditional students.
School management
New forms of school management were introduced outside of local authority control.
Evaluation:
It aimed to increase equality in education by introducing policies like open enrolment, a national curriculum, and league tables, which theoretically gave parents more choice and held schools accountable for student performance. Still, critics argue that these mechanisms exacerbated inequality by allowing middle-class parents to select better schools, leading to a "postcode lottery" where access to high-performing schools was largely determined by geographical location and socioeconomic status, rather than truly levelling the playing field for all students;. At the same time, some standards may have risen, the gap between students from different backgrounds could widen due to this system.
1965- Comprehensivisation Act:
By merging grammar and secondary modern schools to create mixed-ability schools. The act aimed to reduce the achievement gap between social classes.
The act removed the 11+ exam, which previously determined which type of school a student would attend.
The act created schools that offered a wide range of subjects and extracurricular activities.
The act aimed to create a more egalitarian society by enhancing social mobility.
The act aimed to provide more effective teaching so that more students could complete A-level courses and move on to higher education.
Evaluation:
By eliminating the selective 11+ exam, allowing all students regardless of ability to attend the same type of secondary school, thereby providing equal access to a wider range of educational opportunities and theoretically reducing social class inequalities in education; however, critics argue that while it provided more access, it did not necessarily close the achievement gap between different social groups and concerns remain about streaming within comprehensive schools which can still perpetuate inequality based on ability.
Schools Admissions Code:
Fair Access Protocols (FAPs): Local authorities must implement FAPs to prioritise vulnerable children, like looked-after children or those facing difficulties securing a school place during the academic year, when allocating places in oversubscribed schools.
In-year admissions process: The code includes specific guidelines for managing in-year admissions, ensuring children who move during the academic year can access a school place promptly.
Transparency and consistency: By outlining clear criteria for school admissions, the code reduces the potential for arbitrary decisions and promotes consistency across different schools and local authorities.
Admissions priorities for specific groups: The code can designate priority for certain groups like children of armed forces personnel or twins, addressing specific needs.
Oversight and appeals: The Schools Adjudicator has the power to review and enforce the code, allowing parents to appeal decisions they believe are unfair.
Evaluation:
By establishing clear, transparent, and objective criteria for allocating school places, thereby reducing the potential for bias and ensuring all children have an equal chance of accessing good schools, regardless of their background or location; however, challenges remain regarding its effectiveness in addressing complex social inequalities and the need for consistent implementation across different areas.
Policies that Improve Inequality in Circumstances:
Early childhood intervention: Investing in high-quality preschool programs for children from low-income families can significantly improve their cognitive development and school readiness, narrowing the achievement gap early on.
Targeted school funding: Allocating additional resources to schools with a high concentration of students from disadvantaged backgrounds can provide necessary support like smaller class sizes, more individualised attention, and access to specialised programs.
Free or reduced-price meals: Ensuring students have access to nutritious meals can positively impact their ability to focus and learn in school.
Transportation assistance: Providing transportation to schools can remove geographic barriers for students living in remote areas or underserved communities.
Parent engagement initiatives: Programs that actively involve parents in their children's education can improve student outcomes by providing additional support and raising awareness about the importance of schooling.
Tutoring programs: Tailored tutoring can provide extra support to students struggling academically, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Access to technology: Ensuring students have access to computers and internet can help bridge the digital divide and provide opportunities for online learning.
Evaluation:
They are targeted funding for disadvantaged areas, and initiatives to support families facing economic hardship, can significantly contribute to greater equality in education by levelling the playing field for students from diverse backgrounds, allowing them to enter the educational system with a more equitable starting point and potentially achieve better outcomes; however, the effectiveness of such policies depends on their design, implementation, and ongoing monitoring to address complex social factors that perpetuate inequality.
Selection and Admissions Policies:
3 Types of Selection:
Selection by Catchment Area – the closer a student lives to the school, the more likely they are to get into the school.
Sibling Policies – those with brothers and sisters who already attend the school are more likely to get a place
Selection by Faith – this only applies to faith schools – faith schools may select a proportion (but not all) of their pupils on the basis of religious belief and the commitment of their parents (how often they attend church for example)
Arguments in Favour of Selection:
Meritocracy: Selection policies can help ensure that the most qualified people are in the most skilled jobs.
Link to wider society: Schools can help students move from the values of their family to the values of wider society.
Investment in education: Investing in education can benefit the wider economy by creating a qualified workforce.
Arguments Against Selection:
Reproducing inequality: Selection policies can reproduce inequality by making it harder for some groups to access education.
Discouraging poorer parents: Selection policies can discourage poorer parents from applying to certain schools.
Ethnocentric curriculum: Selection policies can create ethnocentric curriculums that ignore the history and culture of other groups.
Open Enrolment Policies and Parental Choice:
Educational policies that allow parents to choose which school their child attends, regardless of their geographical catchment area, essentially creating a "market" where schools compete for students by offering different educational programs, with the aim of increasing parental choice and improving school standards; this is often considered a key aspect of "marketisation" policies in education.
The idea is that parents should have more control over their children's education. It's also known as "parent power" or "parentocracy”
Over Subscription Policies:
They are used in schools when there are more applicants than available places. These policies help ensure that certain groups of students are prioritised for admission.
Covert Selection:
Tough and Brooks:
The process where schools seemingly use non-academic criteria to indirectly select students of higher ability, essentially "cherry-picking" pupils by creating barriers that discourage lower socio-economic families from applying, even when the school claims to have an open admissions policy; this can include things like high uniform costs, complex application procedures, or promoting an image that might not appeal to certain demographics.
Marketisation:
Marketisation:
The process of introducing market principles to areas that were previously non-market based. It involves competition, consumer choice, and profit orientation.
Privatisation in Education:
When schools operate more like private businesses, rather than being run by the government. This can happen when schools are given more autonomy and compete for students
Privatisation of Education:
The process of transferring state-owned education to private companies. This can include the design, management, or delivery of education.
Parentocracy:
The idea that the parents are in charge of the education system. It refers particularly to the marketisation policies of 1988 and subsequently which aimed to give parents significantly more choice over their children's education.
Three Features of Marketisation:
Independence: Schools are given more control over how they run themselves, including what they offer and who they admit.
Competition: Schools are encouraged to compete with each other for students, which is intended to improve the quality of education.
Choice: Parents and students are given more choice in where to go to school. This increased choice has led to the creation of a "parentocracy", where parents have more control over their child's schooling.
Three Elements of Quality Control:
Establishing Clear Standards: This involves defining specific criteria for data collection, analysis, and interpretation, ensuring consistency across researchers and projects within a field.
Monitoring Data Collection Methods: This means actively checking the research process to identify potential biases, errors, or inconsistencies in how data is gathered, including participant selection and interview techniques.
Implementing Feedback Mechanisms: This involves creating systems to receive and respond to feedback from peers, participants, or other stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and address any concerns about research quality
Evaluation of Privatisation of Education:
Positives:
Competition: Private schools can compete with each other to improve standards and raise quality
Better standards: Private schools can have higher academic standards and better performance
More choices: Parents have more options for their children's education
Better accountability: Private schools can have more robust accountability mechanisms for student achievement
Global competitiveness: Privatised education systems can give students an advantage in the global economy
Negatives:
Inequalities: Privatisation can lead to more inequalities in education
Discrimination: Private schools may discourage children from poorer and disadvantaged families
Profit over education: Money may be drained from education and into private profit
Cherry-picking: Private companies may take over the best schools, leaving the worst for the state to run
Cola-isation: Large companies may influence children from an early age to purchase their products and services
Policies which promote Marketisation and Raising Standards:
Conservative Government (1979-1997):
Marketisation Policies:
League tables: Ranked schools by performance, allowing parents to compare schools and choose the best one for their child
Open enrolment: Allowed successful schools to recruit more pupils
Funding formulas: Schools received funding based on the number of students enrolled, encouraging schools to improve standards to attract more students
Academies: Schools could opt out of local education authority control and become academies
Free schools: Parents and others could set up free schools funded directly by the state
Raising Standards Policies:
Funding
Pupil premium: Extra money for disadvantaged pupils
Apprenticeships: 100% funding for 16–18-year-olds
Independent Schools Sponsored Academies: Private schools provide funding, resources, and training to academies
Curriculum
English Baccalaureate (EBacc): Encouraged schools to shift to the EBacc
National Curriculum Reform: Academies were exempt from the reform
Exam reform: New-style GCSE, AS, and A levels
School discipline
Head teachers and teachers have more powers to maintain discipline
Schools are encouraged to introduce school uniforms, house systems, and prefect systems
The process of school exclusion is streamlined
Labour Government (1997-2010):
Marketisation Policies:
City academies: New Labour introduced city academies.
Specialist schools: New Labour expanded the role of specialist schools, which can select 10% of their students based on aptitude.
Tuition fees: New Labour established tuition fees.
Diversified education system: New Labour diversified the education system through the growth of faith schools.
Raising Standards Policies:
Reducing class sizes: To improve the quality of education
Teaching essential skills: Such as literacy, numeracy, and IT
Specialist schools: To select students with an aptitude in a particular subject, such as sports or technology
Publishing "value-added" data: To measure how well a child progressed through school
Placing failing schools in "special measures": To improve standards
Providing additional funding for deprived areas: To improve school facilities
Introducing one hour of reading and numeracy: To raise pass rates in maths and English
Offering nursery places to all children aged 3-4: To improve educational outcomes
Coalition Government (2010-2015):
Marketisation Policies:
Academisation: Schools were forced to become academies and opt out of local education authority control
Free schools: Schools that are free of local authority control
Increased university tuition fees: Tuition fees were raised to £9,000 per year from 2012/13
League tables: Schools were ranked against each other based on their performance
Funding formulas: School budgets were calculated based on the number of students enrolled
Open enrolment: Parents could apply to any school, even if it was outside of their catchment area
Specialist schools: Schools that had a particular strength in a particular subject
Raising Standards Policies:
Improving schools
Free Schools Programme: Introduced new schools to increase access to education
Academies Programme: Expanded the number of academies
School discipline: Gave teachers more powers to maintain discipline, including searching pupils and using detentions
School uniforms: Encouraged schools to introduce uniforms, house systems, and prefects
Supporting teachers
Teacher training: Improved the effectiveness of teacher training by spending more time in classrooms
Career changes: Facilitated career changes into teaching from other professions
Increasing access to education
Free Schools Programme: Introduced new schools to increase access to education
Pupil Premium: Provided additional funding to schools for students from deprived backgrounds
Evaluation of Marketisation Policies and Raising Standards:
Myth of Parentocracy:
A sociological concept that argues that meritocracy is not widely attainable in capitalist societies. It suggests that meritocracy is an ideology that perpetuates inequality and a false class consciousness.
Educational Triage:
It describes how schools categorise students based on their predicted academic performance. The goal is to allocate resources to students who need the most help, and to identify students who are unlikely to benefit from additional support.
Dumbing Down:
The practice of simplifying intellectual content to appeal to less educated audiences. It can involve undermining critical thinking and academic standards.
Reduced Quality Control:
It can impact the quality of teaching and learning and the ability to prepare graduates for the jobs they need