key words

• open enrolment 


  parents are able to apply for a school place at any state funded school in any area. if the school is undersubscribed, they must accept the child.
• admissions policies 


  policies schools use to choose which pupils they admit
• covert selection


  using hidden selection to cherry pick students
• neo-liberalism 


  an economic approach that suggests that resources are managed more efficiently by private businesses.
• privatisation 


  services that were once owned and provided by the state are transferred to private companies
• marketisation


  services, like education, operating like private businesses, subject to the market forces of supply and demand
• globalisation


  the growing interconnectedness of societies across the world
• moral panic 


  a wave of public concern about some exaggerated or imaged threat, often stirred up by the media
• endogenous privatisation


  privatisation from within the education system- schools operating more like private businesses
• exogenous privatisation


  privatisation from the outside system- opening up state education to profit making businesses
• parentocracy 


  a child's education is dependant on the wishes of the parent, rather than the ability or efforts of the child
• independent schools


  fee-paying private sector education
• public school


  very expensive private school
• Educational policy 1944 


  free and compulsory education was established for all in 1944, with an emphasis on:

  1. economic efficiency
  2. raising educational standards
  3. creating equality of opportunity in a meritocratic society
• Gillborn and Youdell - equality of access 


  every child should have the same rights and opportunities to obtain access to educational provision, such as schools of similar quality, without any kind of unfair social selection
• Gillborn and Youdell - equality of circumstance 


  children should be of all similar socio-economic status when they start school. without this children will not start at the same place or have the same chance of gaining academic success
• Gillborn and Youdell - equality of participation 


  everyone has the same chance to participate on an equal footing. as a range of factors influence school life regardless of talents and abilities
• Gillborn and Youdell - equality of outcome 


  everyone has the same chances of sharing in the eventual benefits of school
• Halsey, Health and Ridge - equality of opportunities 


  they suggest that one way to test the success of equality of opportunity policies, is the extent in which there is equality of outcome in education. if there were real equality, all children would have access to high quality education, similar experiences, chances and educational success.
• what is the tripartite system?

  The 1994 Education Act established 3 types of secondary schools: Grammar, technical and secondary modern schools. they became known as the tripartite system.
• how was it decided which school you would go to in the tripartite system?

  11+ exams . those who passes would go to grammar school, those who fail go to secondary modern
• how can the tripartite system be criticised?

  the 11+ exam was seen as unreliable, unfair an inaccurate which disadvantaged children from W/C backgrounds. Secondary modern schools were seen as second rate and grammar schools were seen with higher status, talent and ability. As a result the tripartite system was abolished.
• Comprehensive schools

  nearly all children in 2014 attended a form of comprehensive schools. comprehensive education abolished selection at 11 by the 11+ exam and the three types of secondary schools
• changes to the school administrations codes

  forbids discrimination by admitting pupils to schools on the grounds of ability or socio-economic status of parents, to help disadvantaged pupils
• selective schooling - selection by ability 


  schools selected based on the pupils academic performance in an intelligence test at 11. selection by ability is now forbidden except for funded state schools
• selective schooling - selection by aptitude 


  when students are selected based on their 'attitude' or potential to perform well in certain subjects. this includes nearly all state funded secondary schools
• selective schooling - selection by faith


  pupils whose faith lines up with the faith of the school
• arguments against selection by ability- late bloomers benefit by non selection

  those whose intelligence and ability improve later in life can be catered to rather than having their opportunities limited at an early age
• arguments against selection by ability- fewer social devisions

  social mixing between students from different homes and social backgrounds helps overcome social group differences
• arguments against selection by ability- reduced risk of labelling and SFP

  children are less likely to be labeled as a failure from an early age, lowering their self esteem and avoid SFP
• arguments against selection by ability- beneficial for all pupils

  the most intelligent pupils in a mixed ability classroom can influence the less able students and reduce SFP
• arguments against selection by ability- no negative impact on social mobility

  Data from the National Child Development Study found that selective schooling holds no mobility advantages for any type pupils
• Admissions policies for oversubscribed schools

  is a school is over subscribed, then pupils are admitted according to an oversubscription criteria. this gives priority to students who already have a sibling in the school, those who are in the catchment area and those whose faith aligns with the schools. these schools generally prefer students from higher socio-economic backgrounds so W/C parents and pupils will miss out, contributing to inequality of access among social classes
• examples of covert selection

  making the schools literature too hard for parents with poor literacy skills, having expensive uniforms and kits and not promoting the school in deprived areas
• Tough and Brooks - covert selection


  most secondary and primary schools use backdoor social selection to cherry pick who they think is the most likely to be of higher ability and/or social class
• Allen and Jenkins - covert selection


  they found free schools were socially selective and cherry picked bright and wealthy pupils by covert selection even though the schools is established in deprived areas and were failing to admit needy children
• Academies Commissions - covert selection


  some schools were holding 'social events' for prospective parents and asking parents to complete long administrative forms, allowing schools to select pupils from privileged backgrounds, as cultural capital is needed to complete the form
• Faith schools - covert selection


  sometimes covertly selecting children by ability and/or social class by gaining information about a families circumstances and potential pupil characteristics from letters from spiritual leaders and about a families religious background and commitment
• Neoliberalism


  the better way to deliver and improve the quality of public services through making them operate as or like businesses
• globalisation and education policies

  Globalisation has impacted on education policy in 2 ways: the privatisation and marketisation of education and the use of international comparisons to inform policies