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Educational policy and inequality - Coggle Diagram
Educational policy and inequality
EDUCATIONAL POLOICY IN BRITAIN BEFORE 1988
TRIPARTITE SYSTEM
The system of
secondary education
created by the
1944 Education Act,
based on
three types of schools
. The
11+ exam
was used to
identify pupils' aptitudes and abilities
. Those identified as having academic ability
(m/c pupils)
went to
grammar schools,
most
working-class children
went to
secondary modern schools
.
REPRODUCED INEQUALITY=
m/c and u/c children mainly passed test and also girls had to achieve high mark to pass.
LEGITMISED INEQUALITY=
encourages
the
ideology
that the
ability
is
inborn
rather than as a
product of upbringing.
COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM
TWO THEORIES OF THE ROLE OF COMPREHSIVE
FUNCTIONALISTS
-
comprehensives promote social integration
by bringing children of different social classes together in 1 school. It's more meritocratic as it gives pupils longer periods in which to develop & show their abilities unlike TS.
MARXISTS
-
comprehensives not meritocratic,
reproduce class inequality from 1 gen 2 next through continuation of practice of streaming & labelling - continue to deny w/c children equal opportunity.
Introduced in
1965,
aimed to
overcome class divide of TS & make education more meritocratic
.
11+ be abolished & grammars & secondary moderns
- replaced by comprehensive schools that
all pupils within area would attend.
Left to
local education authority
decide where to go comprehensive & not all did = grammar secondary modern still exists.
EDUCATION REFORM ACT (1988)- Thatcher
Marketisation, league tables, Parentocracy, Ofsted, national curriculum
=
improve schools
through
competition
.
Good schools
= good league table ranking,
bad schools
= bad rankings.
Pick & choose students
= educational triage - A-C economy.
MARKETISTION AN D PARENTOCRACY HELPS EVALUATE THIS POINT.
MARKETISATION
Process of
introducing market forces
of
consumer choice & competition
between
suppliers into areas run by state
- education. It's created
education market
by
reducing direct state control
over
education
& increasing both competition between schools & parental choice of school.
NEW LABOUR GOVERNMENT
emphasising standards, diversity & choice. From 2010 conservatives took marketisation even further -
creating free schools & academies.
NEO & NEW RIGHT
like this = schools have to
attract customers
- parents by competing with each other.
PARENTOCRACY
Policies
to
promote marketisation
include:
publication of league tables & Ofsted reports
business sponsorship of schools.
allowing parents & others to set up free schools
David(1993)- Marketised
education as
Parentocracy
=
rules by parents
.
Education market
- power shifts away from producers (teachers & schools) to consumers (parents). Encourages diversity among schools, gives parents more choice & raises standards.
LEAGUE TABLES & CREAM-SKIMMING
Publishing schools exam results
in
league tables
= ensures
schools
that
achieve good results
in more
demand
as
parents
are
attracted to those with good league table rankings
.
BARLETT
-
cream skimming
:
good schools
can be
more selective,
Choose own customers
&
recruit high achieving mainly mc pupils
= gain advantage.
silt shifting:
good schools
can
avoid taking less able pupils
who
get poor results
&
damage schools league table position.
FUNDING FORMULA
Schools allocated
funds
by
formula
based on how
many pupils they attract
=
popular schools
get
more funds
&
can afford better qualified teachers
&
better facilities
.
Popularity
allows them to be
more selective
&
attracts more able/ambitious m/c kids
.
Unpopular schools lose income
&
difficult
to
match teacher skills & facilities
of more successful rivals = failure & funding is reduced. :
MYTH OF PARENTOCRACY
BALL-
it's a myth not reality. Makes it
appear that all parents
have
same freedom
to
choose which school
to s
end their kids
to.
GEWIRTZ= m/c parents better able to take adv of choices.
Disguising schooling reproduces class inequality = Myth of Parentocracy makes inequality in education appear fair & inevitable.
GEWIRTZ: PARENTAL CHOICE
Study
of
14 London secondary schools
= differences in
parents economic & cultural capital
= class differences in how far they can
Exercise choice
of
secondary school.
3 types of parents:
privileged skilled choosers:
m/c parents
used
economic & cultural capital
to
gain educational capital for children
. Parents had
cultural capital
- know how
school admissions systems work
.
semi skilled choosers:*
w/c parents
but
ambitious
for kids.
Lack cultural capita
l &
difficult making sense
of
education market
t&
*rely on others opinions.
Disconnected local choosers:*
w/c parents,
choices =
restricted by lack of economic
&
* cultural capital
. Found it difficult to understand school admissions, less confident in dealings & had less adv. Distance & cost of travel = restrictions on choice of school.
COALITION GOVERNMENT POLICIES FROM 2010
Move away
from
education
based on
comprehend schools run by local academies
= influenced by
neoliberal & new right ideas
- reducing role of state in provision of education through
marketisation & privatisation.
Encourage excellence, competition & innovation by freeing schools from state.
ACADEMIES
2010
- all schools
encourages to leave local authority control & become academies.
Funding
taken
from
local authority budges
& given to
academies by government & academies given control over curriculum.
2012 - over
1/2 secondary schools converted
to
academies
. Removed focus on reducing inequality.
FREE SCHOOLS
Schools set up &
run by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses
rather than
local authority.
Improve educational standards
by
taking control away from state
&
giving power
to
parents
. It gives them
opportunity
to
create new schools
if
unhappy
with
state schools
in
local area
.
FRAGMENTETD CENTRALISATION
BALL
- promoting
academies & free schools
=
increased
fragmentation & centralisation of control over educational provision.
-
FRAGMENTATION =
comprehensive system is being
replaced
by
patchwork
of
diverse provision
involving
private providers
that
leads
to
greater inequality
in
opportunity
.
CENTRALISATION OF CONTROL=
central government has
power
to allow or
require schools
to become
academies
or
free schools
to be set up. These are
funded
directly by
central government
.
Rapid growth
has
greatly reduced
till of
elected local authorities in education.
COALITION POLICIES & INEQUALITY
Aimed
to r
educe inequity
through
policies:
- FREE SCHOOL MEALS
= for all children in reception, year 1 & 2.
- PUPIL PREMIUM
= money that schools receive for each pupil from disadvantaged background.
Education Maintenance Allowance(EMA)
abolishes & uni fees 3x to £9000 a year.
Cutting sure start & EMA
=
reduced opportunities
for
w/c pupils
&
increases uni fees discourage them
from
entering higher education.
PRIVITISATON OF EDUCATION
BALL
-
Transfer of public assets
- schools to
private companies.
Trend towards
privatisation
of
imposts aspects
of
education
. Education becomes
source of profit for capitalists
=
education services industry
.
BLURRING THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE BOUNDARY
Senior officials
in
public sector
- directors of
local authorities
&
head teachers
now
leave
to
set up
or
work for private sector education businesses.
Companies bid for contracts to provide services to schools.
PRIVITISATION & THE GLOBALISATION OF EDUCATION POLICY
Private companies
in
education services industry
are
Foreign owned. Exam board Edexcel
= leaned but
US educational publishing & Pearson.
BALL
- some
Pearson GCSE exam answers marked in Sydney & Iowa.
Nation states becoming less important in policy making which is shifting to global level & privatised.
THE COLA-ISATION OF SCHOOLS
Private sector
also
penetrating education
indirectly- through
vending machines
&
development
of
brand loyalty
through
displays
of logos & sponsorships = cola-isation of schools.
Schools are
product endorsement.
EDUCATION AS A COMMODITY
BALL
-
fundamental change
is taking place in which
privatisation
is
becoming key factor shaking educational policy
. Policy is
increasingly focuses
on
moving educational services out
of
public sector controlled by nation state
to be provided by
probated companies
.
Education
is
turning
into
legitimate object
of
private profit making
,
commodity
to be
bought & sold
in
education market
.
Privatisation
=
state
is
losing its role
as
provider of educational services.