Social Policy

• Most educational policy is a response to certain issues;

  • Equal opportunities
  • Selection and Choice
  • Control of Education
  • Marketisation and Privatisation
• Equal Opportunities are to help people achieve all equal opportunities for all pupils and how it can end up effecting further inequality
• An example of Equal Opportunities is Compulsory education
• Selection and choice is about what schools and subjects we should have and who should choose were a pupil goes, the teacher, parent or student
• An example of Selection and choice is marketisation of education
• Control of education is who should control what the schools teach, the Government, LEAs, Teachers, Pupils etc
• Marketisation and Privatisation is should state schools function similar to a business and given to private companies to run
• Before the industrial revolution, there was no state school and education was available to a small minority, either for rich or church-run
• Industrialisation has increased a need for an educated workforce
• In 1880, education was made compulsory for 5-13
• Middle class pupils, in 1880 were equipped with skills to run a business and office work
• Working class pupils, in 1880 were given schooling for basic numeracy and literacy for routine factory work
• Functionalists argue the establishment of compulsory education was for society to run and create social solidarity
• Marxists argue the establishment of compulsory education was to socialise pupils into bourgeoise ideology and reproduce/justify class inequality
• The 1944 Education Act established a Tripartite system
• The Tripartite system would ensure pupils in their last year of primary school would take an 11+ exam to establish what school they would attend
• Students results on the 11+ test would establish, what school, of which there was 3, they would attend
• Grammar schools were for students who passed the 11+ and were considered to have academic ability
• Secondary Modern schools were for those who failed the 11+ and were offered a practical curriculum made for manual work
• Secondary Technical schools were for pupils who failed the 11+ but had displayed artistic ability, these were very rare
• The tripartite system in practice was more bipartite then anything else
• Comprehensive schools were introduced from 1965 onwards by the Labour Government
• The aim of comprehensive schools was to overcome the class divide of the tripartite system and make education more meritocratic
• Comprehensive schools would be attended by all children within the area
• Comprehensive schools would provide all pupils from all social backgrounds the same educational experience
• Comprehensive schools didn't exclude streaming and prevent labelling
• Local authorities had the decision if they would go comprehensive or not
• Feminists explain the goal of comprehensive schools as either;

  • Allowing girls to be in education
  • Transmitting patrichal ideology
• Marketisation refers to consumer choice, competition and parental choice
• Marketisation made schools into businesses and allowed them to decide how to spend their own budget, such as Academies
• Marketisation changed the way that schools were funded, introducing formula funding
• Marketisation provided the consumer information based upon school preformance
• Marketisation allowed private companies to part-finance schools and different curriculums
• Marketisation introduced parents, faith and communities to set up different schools
• The Education Reform Act was passed in 1988, by the Conservative Government
• The Education Reform Act embraced neo-liberal ideology and New right ideas of competition
• The belief was that with the Education reform Act of 1988, consumer can choose what they want and will thrive, while ones that wont will go out of 'business'
• Publication of League Tables were to cause schools to improve and increase competition
• Publication of Ofsted reports meant schools would try to do better
• Open enrolment policies allowed successful schools to gain more pupils and increased choice