Educational Policy/ Revision

1. Educational Policy/ Revision • Summary of Institutional Racism’ and Sociological views of differential attainment and race • A brief history of UK Educational Policy ! Handout and discussion/notes • Coffee break • Criticisms of Changes to Educational policy PP Slide Mini Lecture • Identifying Social Policy and Political/Sociological ideology: Worksheet with jumbled statements to match! • Think Tank Social Policy Project Activity! (Revision exercise on education and for the essay)

2. A History of UK Educational Policy • 1870 The Education Act requires the establishment of non-denominational elementary schools - for children aged five to 13 - nationwide. • Schools can charge pupils no more than nine pence a week. • 1880 Attendance is made compulsory until the age of 10. • 1891 Elementary education effectively becomes free. • 1918 Leaving age is raised to 14. • 1944 Butler's Education Act seeks to encourage the "spiritual, mental and physical" well-being of the community. • It creates the "tripartite", hierarchical system of grammar, technical and secondary modern schools. • Selection is decided by an exam taken at the age of 11. Meanwhile, the school leaving age is raised to 15. • 1951 General Certificate of Education (GCE) O-levels and A-levels are introduced, replacing the School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate. • These were primarily grammar school exams. Some education authorities established their own leaving examinations for youngsters not taking GCEs. • 1964 Harold Wilson's newly-elected Labour government promises to set up comprehensive schools, combining pupils of all ability levels. • 1965 The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) is introduced for secondary modern pupils, to cater for those not sitting O-levels. • 1973 School leaving age raised to 16. • In 1976 another Wilson administrations compels all local authorities to introduce these. But this legislation is repealed by the Tories in 1979. • 1988 The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) replaces O-levels and CSEs. • The National Curriculum, stipulating subjects to be studied until the age of 16, is also introduced. • 1994 An A* grade is added to GCSEs to differentiate between top and lower A grades. • 1995 The government introduces National Curriculum Tests, often called Sats, for all children aged seven, 11 and 14 ( tests for seven year olds were first tried in 1991). • 1996 General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are offered as a more work-based alternative for non-academic students. • 1997 The National Literacy Strategy, aimed at raising standards to those of the UK's main competitors, is introduced for primary schools in England. • 2000 Advanced Subsidiary (AS-level) exams are brought in for 17 year olds. These are qualifications in their own right but also a halfway stage in the A-level course, unlike the Advanced Supplementary exams they replace. • Plans are also revealed to replace the lower tiers of GNVQ with vocational GCSEs, with the stated aim of putting academic and vocational education on a par. • 2002 Several hundred A-level papers are regraded amid fears the reforms have been rushed through. • 2004 Mike Tomlinson, the former inspector of schools in England, proposes replacing GCSEs, A-levels and the "soup" of vocational qualifications with a four-part diploma for 14 to 19 year olds. • It calls for "core skills", such as numeracy and literacy, to be compulsory before pupils can qualify. • The plans would alter the English education system more radically than any others since 1944. • However, Mr Tomlinson says the changes will be "evolutionary, not revolutionary", taking around 10 years to implement.

3. Key Stages of Policy Change and Critiques • 1944 Butler Act –Education for all (Classical Conservative) • Created the Tripartite System: • Grammar Schools- For academic • Secondary Modern Schools –For those who failed 11 plus exams. • Technical schools: for technically minded • Was highly criticised for: • Grammar School not offering places to children from working class children • Did not meet the needs/abilities of all children • Halsey found by the 1950’s/60s evidence became clear that this was not producing equal opportunities for ‘all children’ and that the system reinforced class divisions and inequality

4. 1964 Onwards: Comprehensive Education (Labour/Social Democratic) • Tripartite system heavily criticised: labour reformed education. • Non Selective Schools: all children attend within a catchment/No choice. • It was argued this would reduce the gap between classes and reduce educational poverty. • Why? * • Middle class and working class children would mix together and share skills and help increase standards for all • Those not skilled at exams would not be penalised by 11 plus • Would not penalise ‘late developers’

5. Did Comprehensive Education work? • A H Heath (1987) argued that comprehensive education failed to close the gap between middle and working class • Outside factors counteracted comprehensive education* • A McPherson & J Willms (1988) refuted Heaths research and found that there were improvements in attainment across all social groups between 1976 -1984.

6. A return to Selection? Mixed Education 1988- Present (New Right) • 1988 Education Act re establishes selective schools or ‘Grant Maintained Schools’. • Principle of 11 plus re established • Schools have to perform to receive funding from private sector • Education standardised (national curriculum and teacher training) • Children have to compete with tests and performance tables • Ofsted Created (Education Inspectorate) • Drive for ‘Vocationalism’* • Debate that Britain lacked skilled workforce for practical jobs. Vocational qualifications introduced and YTS schemes

7. Criticisms of New Right and Vocationalism • Same criticisms as those of Tripartite: A return to class divisions between working and middle class (large evidence for this). • Children who don’t have examination skills, or haven’t developed at 11 will miss out on ‘selective schools’ • Recent evidence argues that these policies have created ‘postcode lotteries’ opportunities depending on where you live. • Robert Moore (1987) argues Vocationalism is an economic tool to reduce costs for employers and not about improving the opportunities for students.

8. 1997-2010 (New Labour) • New Right reforms maintained ( Selective education) • Attempts to address poverty (Educational Action Zones, Sure Start, EMA) • Attempts to reform failing schools (Academies) • 2010- Present (Conservative Coalition) • More Selective Policies introduced- return to tripartite? • Poverty Reduction Initiatives cut • Private educational reforms to Further and Higher Education

9. Think Tank Policy Challenge! • In a team or pairs: • You work for a leading Educational policy Research Organisation and have been assigned by the government to research and then recommend changes to education. • You have been asked to investigate the following ‘issues’ and then, explain why they have developed and your solutions! • Create a booklet or posters with reasons for and policy changes for: • Gap between middle and working class children’s attainment in Gcses, a levels and SATS • Gap between ethnic groups in subject attainment and university entrance • Cultural habits of children who ‘fail’ at school (ie: language, values, hobbies, etc) • Regional Divide in Education between North/South and poorer inner city areas • Practices of teachers and schools in the classroom and in inner school policies in ‘failing schools’