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Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Em Maskrey
almost 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Before the industrial revolution, state schools did not exist. Education was only available to a minority of wealthy children, and the state did not spend any money on education. However, this all changed after society industrialised. Why? | Because industrialisation increased the need for an educated workforce. |
| From the late 19th century, the state began to become more involved in education. In what year did the state make schooling compulsory from the ages of 5 to 13? | 1880. |
| At this point, the type of education children received depended on their class background. How did the education of middle-class children differ from the education of working-class children? | Middle-class pupils were given an academic curriculum to prepare them for careers while working-class pupils were given a basic schooling that instilled in them an obedient attitude. |
| However, from 1944, what concept began to influence education? | The concept of meritocracy. |
| The 1944 Education Act brought in the tripartite system in which children were selected and allocated to one of three different types of secondary school. What were the three types? | 1. Grammar schools. 2. Secondary modern schools. 3. Technical schools. |
| What type of curriculum did grammar schools offer? | An academic curriculum, providing access to non-manual jobs and higher education for pupils who passed their 11+. |
| What type of curriculum did secondary modern schools offer? | A non-academic, 'practical' curriculum, providing access to manual work for pupils who failed their 11+. |
| Thus, rather than promoting meritocracy, what did the tripartite system and 11+ exam do? | Reproduce class inequality by channelling the two social classes into two different types of school that offered unequal opportunities. |
| In addition to reproducing class inequality, what other inequality did the system reproduce, and how? | Gender inequality. It did this by requiring girls to gain higher marks than boys in the 11+ in order to gain entry to grammar schools. |
| The tripartite system also legitimated inequality through ideology that ability is inborn. As such, what can be measured early on in life? | A child's potential for success. |
| When was the comprehensive system introduced? | From 1965 onwards. |
| What did the comprehensive system aim to overcome? | The class divide of the tripartite system, making education more meritocratic. |
| The 11+ and grammar and secondary modern schools were abolished and replaced with comprehensive schools. However, it was left to the local education authority to decide whether to 'go comprehensive' and not all did so. What did this result in? | A grammar-secondary modern divide. |
| Functionalists and marxists see education very differently. What do functionalists think of the comprehensive system? | They believe comprehensive schools promote social integration by bringing children of different social classes together in one school. |
| However, Julienne Ford found evidence to contradict this view. What evidence does she provide? | She found little social mixing between working-class and middle-class pupils, largely because of streaming. |
| Functionalists believe that the comprehensive system is more meritocratic because it gives pupils a longer period of time in which they can develop and display their abilities. However, marxists disagree with this. What do they think of comprehensive schools? | They believe that comprehensive schools reproduce class inequality from one generation to another through the continuing use of streaming and labelling. |
| However, by not selecting children at 11, comprehensive schools appear to offer equal opportunities to everyone. How does this legitimate class inequality? | It makes unequal achievement seem fair and just, because failure can be blamed on the individual rather than the system. |
| What does the term 'marketisation' refer to? | The process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers into areas run by the state, such as education. |
| Marketisation has created an 'education market'. How? | It reduces direct state control over education and increases competition between schools. |
| Marketisation has become a central theme of government education policy following which act? | The Education Reform Act 1988. |
| There have been a number of policies that promote marketisation. Give examples: | - The publication of league tables and Ofsted reports. - Business sponsorships of schools. - Open enrolment. - Specialist schools. - The creation of academies and free schools. |
| How does Miriam David describe marketised education? | As a 'parentocracy'. |
| According to supporters of marketisation, power is taken from the producers (teachers, schools, etc.) and given to the consumers (parents, pupils, etc.). What does this arguably result in? | Greater diversity among schools, more parental power and higher standards. |
| However, despite the claimed benefits, critics argue that marketisation has actually increased inequality. For example, what does Will Bartlett think of the publication of league ables and Ofted reports? | He argues that this encourages cream-skimming (schools being more selective, accepting high performing pupils) and silt-shifting (schools can avoid accepting underachieving pupils). |
| For schools with poor league table positions, the opposite applies - they can't be selective and have to take underachieving students, which solidifies their poor position. As such, what is the overall effect of league tables? | They produce unequal schools that reproduce social class inequalities. |
| What is meant by 'the funding formula'? | Schools are allocated funds by a formula based on how many pupils they attract. Popular schools get more funds and can therefore afford more qualified teachers and better facilities. Again, this lets them be more selective and attracts more able and ambitious students. |
| When studying international patterns of educational inequality, what did the Institute for Public Policy Research find? | Competition-orientated education systems such as Britain's produce more segregation between children of different social backgrounds. |
| Marketisation policies not only benefit the middle class by creating inequalities between schools. By increasing parental choice, marketisation also allows middle-class parents, whose economic and cultural capital puts them in a better position to choose 'good' schools for their children. Which sociologist provides evidence for this? | Sharon Gewirtz. |
| Gewirtz found that differences in parents' economic and cultural capital lead to class differences in how far they can exercise choice of secondary school. She identifies three main types of parents. What are they? | 1. Privileged-skilled choosers. 2. Disconnected-local choosers. 3. Semi-skilled choosers. |
| What does Gewirtz mean by 'privileged-skilled choosers'? | These are mainly professional, middle-class parents who use their economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital for their children. Being ambitious and well educated, they know how to take full advantage of the choices available to them. |
| What does Gewirtz mean by 'disconnected-local choosers'? | These are mainly working-class parents whose choices are restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital. They find it difficult to understand schools admissions procedures, are less confident when interacting with the school and less able to manipulate the system, as well as having less ambition for their children.. Distance and travel costs are a major restriction on their choice of school. |
| What does Gewirtz mean by 'semi-skilled choosers'? | These are also mainly working-class parents but, unlike disconnected-local choosers, they have ambitions for their children. However, they lack the required economic and cultural capital required to get their children into their desired schools. |
| Although in theory the education market gives everyone greater choice, what does Gewirtz conclude? | In practice, middle-class parents possess cultural and economic capital and have more choice that working-class parents. |
| Marketisation not only reproduces inequality, but also legitimates it by concealing its true causes and justifying its existence. What does Stephen Ball think of the concept of parentocracy? | He argues that marketisation gives the appearance of a parentocracy, but that parentocracy is actually a myth. This is exampled by Gewirtz in her study of 14 London secondary schools. |
| By disguising the fact that schooling continues to reproduce class inequality in this way, how does the myth of parentocracy make inequality in education appear? | As fair and inevitable. |
| While marketisation policies have increased inequality, the New Labour government also introduced a number of policies aimed at reducing it. Give examples: | - They introduced EMAs. - The created the Aim Higher programme. - They increased funding for state education. |
| However, Melissa Benn sees a contraction between Labour's policies to tackle inequality and its commitment to marketisation. How does she refer to this? | As the 'New Labour paradox'. |
| Give an example of the New Labour paradox: | Despite introducing EMAs to encourage students to remain in education, Labour also introduced tuition fees for higher education. |
| The 2010 Coalition government were strongly influenced by neoliberal and new right ideas about education. Their aim was to encourage 'excellence, competition and innovation' by freeing schools from the state. What two types of school did they introduce to do this? | Academies and free schools. |
| From 2010, all schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and become academies. Where does funding for academies come from? | It is taken from local authority budgets and given directly to academies by central government. |
| By 2012, how many secondary schools had converted to academy status? | Over half. |
| However, how did the Coalition's academies differ from Labour's academies? | Labour's academies targeted disadvantaged schools and areas, while the Coalition allowed any school to become an academy. The later thus had less focus on reducing inequality. |
| What are free schools? | Although they are funded directly by the state, free schools are set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organisation or businesses, rather than the local authority. |
| How do free schools arguably improve educational standards? | By taking control away from the state and giving it to parents. |
| However, Rebecca Allen studied free schools in Sweden (20% of all Swedish schools are free schools) and found evidence to contradict this claim. What does she argue? | Free schools only benefit children from highly educated families. |
| What other argument is given by critics of free schools? | They argue that free schools are socially divisive and actually lower standards - Sweden's international educational ranking has fallen since their introduction. |
| In England, evidence shows that free schools take fewer disadvantaged students than nearby schools. For example, in 2011, how many pupils at Bristol Free School were eligible for free school meals? How does tis compare to the city as a whole? | 6.4% versus 22.5%. |
| Stephen Ball argues that promoting academies and free schools has led to both increased 'fragmentation' and increased 'centralisation of control' over educational provision in England. What does he mean by this? | Fragmentation - the comprehensive system is being replaced by a patchwork of diverse provision that leads to greater inequality. Centralisation of control - Central government alone has the power to allow or require schools to become academies or allow free schools to be created. This greatly reduces the role of elected local authorities in education. |
| While the Coalition's marketisation policies have arguably increased inequality, they have also introduced policies aimed at reducing it Give examples: | 1. Free school meals. 2. The Pupil Premium (money that schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background). |
| However, Ofsted found that in many cases the Pupil Premium isn't spent on those it is supposed to help. How many head teachers said that it had signifcantly changed how they supported pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds? | Just 10%. |
| Additionally, as part of the Coalition's austerity programme, spending on many areas of education has been cut and tuition fees have increased. What impact has this had on working-class students? | It has further reduces the opportunities available to them and may discourage them from entering higher education. |
| What does privatisation involve? | The transfer of public assets (e.g. schools) to private companies. |
| Recently, there has been a trend towards the privatisation of important aspects of education both in the UK and globally. Which sociologist argues that in this process, education becomes a source of profit for capitalists in the 'education services industry'? | Stephen Ball. |
| Private companies in the education services industry are involved in many educational activities. Give examples: | Building schools, supplying teachers, careers advice, work-based learning, etc. |
| Large-scale school building projects typically involve public-private partnerships. Explain: | Private companies finance the design, building and operation of educational services. Contracts usually last for long periods of time (25+ years), during which the local council pays a monthly lease and a management fee out of public funds. |
| Why do private companies choose to enter public-private partnerships? | They can make up to ten times as much profit as they do on other contracts. |
| The privatisation of education is resulting in the blurring of public/private boundaries. Discuss: | Many senior officials in the public sector now leave to create or work for private sector education businesses. These companies then bid for contracts to provide services to local authorities. Allyson Pollack notes that this movement of personnel allows companies to buy 'insider knowledge' to help win contracts. |
| The privatisation of education is also resulting in the globalisation of education policy. Discuss: | Many private companies involved in the education services are foreign-owned (e.g. Edexcel is American). Private companies often export UK education policy to other countries and provide services to deliver said policy. This results in nation-states have less involvement in policymaking. |
| The privatisation of education is also held accountable for the 'cola-isation of schools'. Discuss: | The private sector indirectly affects education through the cola-isation of schools - that is, the development of brand loyalty through displays of logos and sponsorship. Alex Molnar argues that schools are targeted by private companies because 'confer legitimacy on anything associated with them'. |
| However, the benefits to schools and pupils from this cola-isation of schools are often limited. According to Sharon Beder, how much did UK families have to spend in Tesco in return for a single computer for their school? | £110,000. |
| Finally, Ball agues that a fundamental change is that privatisation policies are making education a commodity to be bought and sold. What impact does this have on the state? | The state is losing its role as the provider of educational services. |
| How do marxists respond to Ball's claim that education has become a commodity? | They agree that education is not a product that is bought and sold. They argue that academies are examples of handing over public services to private capitalists, which they heavily disapprove of. |
| Policies have also impacted differences in achievement. How have they affected gender differences? | Girls are now included in education and policies have been created to reduce gender differences in subject choice. |
| How have policies affected ethnic differences? | Policies aimed at raising the achievement of children from minority ethnic backgrounds include assimilation, multicultural education and social inclusion. |
| Assimilation policies in the 1960s and 1970s focused on encouraging minority ethnic students to become 'like us', particularly focusing on those who did not speak English. Why do critics disapprove of these policies? | They argue that some minority groups who are at risk of underachieving (e.g. African Caribbeans) can already speak English and the true cause of their lack of success is actually racism. |
| Multicultural education policies in the 1980s and 1990s aimed to promote the achievements of children from minority ethnic groups by valuing all cultures, thus raising said students' self-esteem. Why do critics disapprove of these policies? | -Errol Lawrence argues that black students do not have low self-esteem, so the policies are misguided. - Critical race theorists argue that the policies are mere tokenism and fails to tackle institutional racism. - The new right believe that education should promote a shared national culture. |
| Social inclusion policies in the 1990s aim to raise the achievement of minority ethnic groups. Why do critics disapprove of these policies? | Heidi Safia Mirza argues that rather than tackling the structural causes of ethnic inequality like racism and poverty, policies still take a 'soft' approach and focus on culture and the home. |
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