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Education policy: tripartite system to marketisation
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- 1Tripartite systemFrom The 1944 Education Act brought in the tripartite system based on meritocratic principles – children were selected and allocated to one of three different types of secondary schools according to their ability – this was identified by the 11+
Three types of schools:
Grammar – mainly middle class pupils who passed the 11+, offered academic curriculum and non-manual opportunities
Secondary modern schools – mainly attended by working class pupils who failed the 11+, offered manual opportunities
Technical schools (only existed in a few areas) - 2Evaluating tripartite system – how did it reproduce class inequality- Rather than promoting meritocracy – it reproduced class inequality by putting 2 types of classes into different types of schooling which offered unequal opportunities
- It reproduced gender inequalities as girls were required to get more grades than boys on the 11+ to gain a grammar school place
- It justified inequality through the ideology that ability is inborn rather than the product of the child’s upbringing and environment – was argued that the ability could be identified early in life through the 11+ - 3Comprehensive system- Was introduced in many areas from 1965 onwards
- Aimed to overcome class divide of the tripartite system and to make education more meritocratic
- 11+, grammar and secondary modern schools were abolished and replaced with comprehensive schools that all pupils within the area would attend - 4Evaluating comprehensive system – how did it reproduce class inequalityoStreaming – Douglas shows that streaming can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy, where achievement of pupils in lower streams deteriorate and higher streams improve
oLabelling - Ball shows when streaming is not even present teachers continue to label working class negatively and restrict their opportunities) - 5Marketisation and parentocracy1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) introduced by the then Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, established the principle of marketisation in the education favoured by the New Right
- From 1997 – New Labour polices of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown followed similar policies – emphasising standards, diversity and choice
- Marketisation = the process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state – ERA created an ‘education market’ by: reducing direct state control over education and increasing both competition between schools and parental choice of school - 6New rights favour marketisationargue that state control leads to low standards, inefficiency and lack of choice for parents – marketisation means that schools have to attract customers by competing with each other in market (like a business). Schools that provide customers with what they want – such as success in exams, will thrive and those that don’t will ‘go out of business
- 7Miriam David – parentocracy(‘rule by parents’) - because supporters of marketisation argue that in an education market, power shifts away from the producers (teachers and schools) to the consumers (parents) – they claim that this encourages diversity among schools and gives parents more choice, meets the needs of different pupils and raises standards
- 8Policies that promote marketisation- Publication of exam league tables and Ofsted inspection reports - gives parents the information they need to choose the right school
- Business sponsorship of schools. E.g. city technology colleges
- Open enrolment, allowing successful schools to recruit more pupils
- Formula funding, where schools receive the same amount of funding for each pupil
- Schools being allowed to opt out of LEA control
- Schools having to compete to attract pupils
- Some Politicians have proposed educational vouchers - 9Reproduction of class inequality - Ball and Whitty (1998) argues that it reproduced inequality through:- Exam league tables- ensures that schools which achieve good results are more in demand, allowing these schools to be more selective and recruiting the higher achievers, mainly middle class pupils meaning they get the best education
- The funding formula - popular schools get more funds, resulting in better quality teaching and facilities, their popularity allows them to be more selective, attracting well able, middle class applicants. - 10Myth of parentocracy Ball and Gerwitz- Ball suggested that marketisation reproduces and legitimises inequality as it makes it appear that all parents have the same freedom to choose which school to send their children to
- Supporting evidence = Gewitz shows how middle class parents are able to take advantage of the choice available through their cultural and economic capital e.g. they can afford to move to catchment areas of better schools - 11New labour policies New Labour policies aim to reduce inequality by targeting support to disadvantaged groupsexamples of this include:
Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMA’s) provided to students with low income backgrounds, encouraging them to stay on after 16 (link to material deprivation)
Proposal to raise school leaving age to 18 in 2015 to prevent ‘Neets’ (16-17 year olds not in education, employment or training) - 12How do New Labor policies promote diversity and choice?- Builds a new system built around the needs of individual children, placing power in the hands of the parents and introducing new policies e.g. 85% of secondary schools have become specialist schools. Offering parents greater choice and raising the standards of achievement.
- This is shown in school results, for example in 2006 59.5% of pupils have 5 GCSE’s A*-C in specialist schools compared to 47.6% in non-specialist schools. - 13Postmodernist view of new labour policiesNew Labour policies to promote diversity and choice in part reflect ideas put forward by postmodernists
- Kenneth Thompson argues that in postmodern society, schools can break free from the ‘oppressive uniformity’ of the old centralised ‘one size fits all’ mass education system where all schools were expected to be the same - 14Criticism of postmodernism -it exaggerates the extent of diversity in education and neglects the continuing importance of inequality in education
- 15Criticisms of New Labour Policies – whityEMAs may encourage working-class students to stay in school till 18 but tuition fees for higher education may deter them from going to university
- 16Criticisms of New Labour Policies- Existence of grammar schools and private schools has not been abolished despite New Labour oppositions. Private schools have a reduced tax fee estimated to be worth £100 million per year.
- 17New Labour Gender Policies-Abolishment of Tripartite System means girls no longer have to achieve a higher mark in the 11+ than boys to get into grammar schools
- Girls into Science and Technology (GIST) to reduce gender differences of choice - 18New Labour Ethnicity Policies: assimilation• Assimilation policies (1960’s and 70’s) – easier for ethnic minorities assimilate into mainstream British Culture e.g. helping children whose first language is not English
- 19New Labour Ethnicity Policies: multicultural education• Multicultural education (MCE) policies (1980’s to 90’s) promote achievement of ethnic minorities by valuing all cultures into the curriculum. This raises pupils’ self-esteem.
Criticisms:
- MCE puts stereotypical features of minority cultures in the curriculum but ignores institutional racism
- Stone (1981) – argues black peoples do not fail due to lack of self-esteem, therefore MCE is misguided - 20New Labour Ethnicity Policies: Social inclusionSocial inclusion policies (1990’s) include: - Monitoring exam results by ethnicity
- Race Relations Act – promotes racial equality
- Voluntary ‘Saturday schools’ in the black community
- Additional Language funding of English
Criticisms:
Mirza (2005) argues that Labour policies take a ‘soft’ approach that focuses on culture and behaviour rather than focusing on the real causes of ethnic differences such as poverty and racism.
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- Sociology Fichas sobre Sin título, creado por samantha_x el 20/05/2014.
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