Educational policies 1870- 1979

• The Butler Act 1944 - Introduced free secondary education until the age of 15 as well as the tripartite system in the UK. Which resulted into the introduction of intelligence quotient (IQ) tests named as the 11+
• the 11+ tests aimed to achieve equality of opportunity, students sat this examination at the age of 11, and the main purpose was to Sift / Sort / Select individuals by ability and allocate them accordingly into three different types of schools, grammar schools being for the most academic students, technical school for students who were scientific and creative and secondary moderns for students who were non-academic
• Tripartite system


  • Failed
  • Created inequality between working-class and middle-class children
  • Working-class children who qualified were perceived as inferior to grammar school-qualified children by parents and employers
• 11+ IQ test


  Not culture fair as it only benefitted children with economic and cultural capital and penalised working-class children as they were materially deprived
• Not many technical schools were built and in many areas there was a bipartite system rather than a tripartite
• Education Priority Areas - (EPAs) - 1967 


  this policy aimed to tackle educational inequalities caused by socio - economic disadvantages. e.g. living in poor areas.
• where was the EPAs policy set up in & Its purpose

  The education priority Areas policy was set up in deprived areas of London, Birmingham, Liverpool and West Yorkshire. the purpose of the policy was to provide money and resources to raise poor children's educational achievement and enocurage their parents to get involved in their education
• what as the EPAs policy inspired by?

  this policy was inspired by material and cultural deprivation theories such as Douglas who stated that poor children's parents mostly working-class parents were less likely than middle-class parents to be interested in their child's education
• Why was the EPAs policy abandoned?

  this policy was abandoned eventually as sociology such as Bernstein observed that schools cannot compensate society
• which policy was introduced in 1870?

  foresters Education Act - introduced mass elementary education to the UK
• which policy was introduced in 1880?

  education was made compulsory and free
• which policy was introduced in 1918?

  education was made compulsory until the age of 14
• which policy was introduced in 1944?

  The Butler Act - introduced the tripartite system and 11+ IQ tests
• which policy was introduced in 1965?

  labour government replaced the tripartite system with comprehensive schools.
• which policy was introduced in 1967?

  The introduction of Education Priority Areas (EPAs) Which was later abandoned as Bernstein observed schools cannot compensate society
• which policy was introduced in 1972?


  school leaving age was now increased to 16