2. Educational Policy
Plans and strategies for education
introduced by the government
Acts of Parliament
Recommendations
3. Schooling before the 19th
Century
There was no national system of education
Only a tiny minority of the children received
any schooling.
Opportunities for a formal education were
restricted mainly to Private fee-paying
schools, and some Charity/Church schools
4. The 1870 Education Act
Provided state-run
elementary schools for 5-
11 year olds
Maximum fees of nine
pence a week
The Forster Act
8. Butler Education
Act
The second world war had
caused people to want a
better future
Education was seen as a
way to achieve this
Radically restructured
education, creating a
formal state funded
secondary sector
9. Butler Act 1944
Aimed to create a meritocratic system
It was believed that a child’s ability was fixed
by the age of 11 and could be accurately
measured with a special type of IQ test
The result of the 11+ test would then
determine which type of school the child
attended
11. Tripartite System
Rather than creating meritocracy it
reproduced class inequality
It also reproduced gender inequality
The tripartite system also legitimated
inequality through the idea that ability is
inborn (innate)
12. Comprehensivisation
During the 50s and 60s
discontent grew with the
tripartite system
A new comprehensive system
was introduced from 1965
onwards
Labour government policy
13. Comprehensivisation
Comprehensive education abolished the
11+ test and the three types of secondary
school
Comprehensive schools aimed to
educate all children regardless of ability
Therefore abolish inequality
14. Comprehensivisation
Admission to a comprehensive school was
based on catchment area rather than IQ
test
In 2005 -9 out of 10 children attend some
form of comprehensive school
Only 164 grammar schools remain
16. Myth of meritocracy
Comprehensives legitimated inequality
By creating the idea of equal opportunity
If you fail it is your own fault
And yet we have seen the class, gender
and ethnicity all impact how well students
do
17. • In 1979 the Conservative party won
the election and Margaret Thatcher
became prime minister
• They wanted an education
system that would
• Meet the needs of industry
• Raise standards
18. New Vocationalism
Until the 70s, vocational training was seen
as the responsibility of employers
A rise in youth unemployment began to
change this
It was thought schools were not providing
kids with the skills they required
19. New Vocationalism
New vocationalism is the direct
government intervention in youth training
1983 – YTS Youth Training Schemes
1986 – NVQs were developed for a range
of qualifications
20. Criticisms of New
Vocationalism
Serves the needs of capitalism rather than
young people
Cohen (1984) – teaches attitudes and
values needed or subordinate workforce.
Lowers aspirations
Finn (1987) – cheap labour for employers,
undermines trade unions, keeps
employment statistics down.
23. Parentocracy
Miriam David 1993
Rule by parents
Marketisation shifts power away from the
producers and to the consumers
24. Education Reform Act
Market forces - Competition
Introduction of National Curriculum
Introduction of inspection – OFSTED
Testing – League tables
Vocationalism – job based study
25. National Curriculum
A standard set of subjects and content to
be studied by all children in state schools
Ensures basic skills are taught consistently
Makes school leavers more employable
Common basis for measuring progress
and school performance
26. Testing and League tables
SATS test were introduced to monitor
progress
These also allowed school performance
to be checked
League Tables of exam results were
published to give parents information
about schools so they can make informed
choices
27. Ofsted
Ofsted was set up to inspect schools and
report on their performance
Ofsted reports are published publicly so
parents can access them to aid their
choices
28. Reproduction of inequality
Stephen Ball (1994)
Geoff Whitty (1998)
Both argue that marketisation reproduces
inequality
