Educational Policy and Social Class Inequality

Educational policy:

• Educational policy is the term given to a government initiative or social policy that has the direct purpose of changing education

  • Education Reform Act

• Indirect social policies that impact on education are those that do not have a direct aim to change education

  • Equal Pay Act

  • Sex Discrimination Act

  • Divorce Reform Act

Tripartite System:

1. System sits 11+

2. Student passes

   • Grammar School (Academic)

   • Technical School (Technical skills

3. Student fails

   • Secondary Modern (Vocational based)

Comprehensive Education:

• Banned selection by ability

• Student education on a ‘one size fits all’ basis

• Setting, Streaming and banding

Conservatives- 1979-1997:

• Creation of new universities to improve access

• Education Reform Access led to increasing standards in schools- more working-class students