government policies

• tripartite system 1944 - children get allocated into 1/3 types of schools

  1. grammar - middle class, academic, passed 11+ exams 
  2. secondary modern - working class, less academic, for pupils who failed 11+
  3. technical -  STEM subjects - prepares students into careers in those fields

  Criticisms

  • gender inequality - girls need to score higher in the 11+ than boys
  • class - unequal opportunities, 2 different social classes channelled into 2 types of schools
  • legitimates class inequality by saying ability is inborn 
• 1965 comprensivisation

  • aimed to overcome the class divide of the tripartite system + make meritocratic
  • abolished the 11+, grammar schools and secondary modern schools were replaced by comprehensive schools, attendance was based on area

  criticism

  • grammar and secondary modern schools still exist
  • decision to be part of system is up to local authority 
  • many areas didn’t go ‘comprehensive’
• comprehensivisation 1965

  functionalist

  • promotes social integration by bringing children of multiple classes together
  • Ford - says that there’s very little mixing of classes due to streaming
  • comprehensive = meritocratic, more time to develop abilities before streaming

  marxist

  • serves capitalist interests by reproducing class inequality
  • comprehensive continues practice of streaming
  • myth of meritocracy - says the unequal treatment is fair due to blaming the individuals rather than class
• … comprehensivisation

  cream skimming

  • good schools can be more selective in choosing consumers, giving them advantages

  funding formula

  • funds are allocated based on how many people are attracted
  • popular schools get more funding, can afford more qualified teachers + facilities, can be more selective
• Gerwitz 1995

  1. privileged, skilled choosers - middle class, use economic and cultural capital to gain educational capital 
  2. disconnected local choosers - working class. restricted by their lack of economic and cultural capital
  3. semi skilled choosers - ambitious working class, lacks cultural capital and relies on other peoples opinions

  Myth of parentocracy

  • gives appearance of a parentocracy, however, it’s a myth because not all parents have the same level of choice
  • middle class parents can move to areas with better schools
• 1988 marketisation

  • process of introducing consumer choice and competition between suppliers 
  • Thatcher introduced
  • reduce direct state control, increase competition
  • gives parents more choice, raises standards, achieves parentocracy

  policies

  • publish league tables and ofsted reports
  • tuition fees

  criticism

  • doesn’t help lower attaining schools to improve - working class will be made to attend these schools since middle class are able to afford better education 
• new labour 1997

  • wanted to achieve equality 

  policies 

  • education maintenance allowances
  • national literacy strategy
  • reducing primary school class size 

  criticism 

  • Benn highlights a ‘new labour paradox’ due to the contradiction between their commitment to marketisation while trying to bring equality
  • introduced maintenance allowances for working class, but increased university fees to £4000
• coalition 2010 - 2015

  • conservative gov moved away from comprehensive school systems
  • reduce state involvement
  • Cameron - coalition policy encourages ‘excellence, competition and innovation’ through freeing schools from ‘the dead hand of the state’

  academies

  • from 2010, all schools encouraged to become academies (leaving local authority control)
  • from 2017, over 68% of secondary schools became academies

  free schools 

  • funded by the state, set up by parents / teachers / faith organisations / businesses
  • supporters claim that educational standards improve by removing state control
• conservatives 2015 - 2024

  • reducing inequality 
  • influenced by new right’s ideas of marketisation and privatisation 

  policies

  • free schools meals for children in reception, year one and year two 
  • pupil premium - schools get more money per pupil from disadvantaged backgrounds

  criticisms 

  • Ofsted found that 1/10 headteachers said that the money was used to benefit the disadvantaged pupils
  • raising university fees to £9000 doesn’t support working class - reproduces class inequality