marketisation in education

• tripartite system is a range of different forms of secondary school education following the 1944 education act.
• tripartite system was heavily criticised as it was seen to reproduce class inequalities as it channelled two different social classes into different schools, which didn't offer equal oppourtunity
• comprehensive system was introduced by labour government in 1965, this meant that all children would be educated together regardless of their ability or background
• comp. schools are more meritocratic
• comp. school then had the issue of setting and streaming which limited social interaction, despite functionalists believing education should promote integration
• tough and brokers (2007) describe covert selection as whereby schools aim to discourage parents from lower Scot-economic backgrounds from applying to schools
• cream-skimming; selecting higher ability students who gain the best results and cost less to teach
• silt sifting; off-loading pupils who have lower ability as they are harder to teach and gain worse results
• parentocracy; education is increasingly dependant on the wealth and wishes of the parent, rather than the ability and effort of pupils
• compensatory education; aims to tackle material and cultural deprivation by providing extra educational opportunities to schools for children in deprived areas
• compensatory educations promotes equality of opportunity and socialisation through projects such as 'sure start', 'education action zones' and 'head start'
• education priority areas; set up in the late 1960's in deprived areas of major cities, where additional funding and resources were provided to raise educational performance if children
• marketisation; schools treat pupil attainment like a business in order to attract parents and compete with other schools
• academies; state-funded schools, yet independent form local councils to provide more freedom
• acadamisation acted as a safety net, as if one school is failing it will be taken over by another
• parentocracy suggests that education is increasingly dependant on the wealth and wishes of the parent, rather than the ability and effort of the pupil
• compensatory education aims to tackle material and cultural deprivation by providing extra funds and resources to schools in areas of high deprivation
• compensatory education promoted equality of opportunity and socialisation through projects such as 'sure start', 'education action zones' and 'head start'. however, most of these projects didn't not have measurable outcomes and didn't last long term
• marketisation is where schools treat pupil attainment like a business in order tot attract parents and compete with other schools
• academies state funded schools which are independent from the local authority, allowing for more freedom, whilst also acting as a safety net if schools are failing
• education action zones were set up in 1998 and were programmes which directed extra resources to inner city schools to raise educational attainment. although initiatives such as breakfast club and hw club were praised, GSCE results remained low
• OFSTED (office for standards in education) - a government body that inspects schools and standardise education
• new vocationalism is the focus on development of students willingness and ability to learn in employment
• free schools are funded by the government but are not controlled by local authorities, but instead use non- profit charities to run them, often run by parents
• Marketisation is the introduction of market forces of consumer choice and competition into the education system, which was part of the thatcher 1988 education reform to reduce state control and eimprove standards. This increases parental choice and places a greater value on parentocracy
• education has been privatised - companies manage supply teachers, work-based learning, exam boards, careers advice and OFSTED inspections
• 1988 education reform act; - based on ideas from the new right - widened choice and variety - encouraged competition - more vocational courses and work schemes - introduced national curriculum of compulsory subjects - OFSTED - 'grant schools' can move away from the local authority - parentocracy - increased testing through SATS and GCSES
• David (1993) said that due to the publishication of league tables, schools began to advertise
• Whitty (1998) suggested middle class parents had advantage due to cultural and financial capital, reinforcing social inequality
• testing may lead to greater labelling and the self fulfilling prophesy
• New Labour (1997-2010); wanted to fix educational inequality whilst increasing choice and diversity - allowed specialised schools - continued privatisation by giving agencies contracts to improve reading and writing - reduced maximum class sizes - vocational a levels were introduced - began compensatory equation programme
• benn (2012) said some policies were inconsistent as in 1998 uni fees were lowered to £1000 but raised to £3000 again in 2004
• coalition government (2010-2015); conservative and liberal democrats - forced failing school to join an academy and outstanding school could become independent - introduced free schools which don't have to teach the national curriculum - coursework was removed - formal grammar was introduced at primary level - introduction of pupil premium
• pupil premium is often absorbed into whole school budget and not spent on individual pupils
• university fees increased to £9000 which increased social class exclusions
• comprehensive education; introduced in 1965 to overcome the class divide present due to the tripartite system
• comp schools were meant to make education more meritocratic
• functionalists believed that comp schools would increase integration of social classes
• ford (1996) found that there was little social mixing in comp schools due to setting, streaming and labelling
• comp schools are more meritocratic as it gives students longer times to succeed