Hamza Miah
Chapter 7: Educational policy and inequality:
Policies from 1944-2010
Educational policy refers to the plans and strategies for education introduced by government
Main aims of the changes in the education system:
- Economic efficiency: DOLPHIN: maintain a successful position in the world economy, making
education met the needs of employers e.g. through apprenticeships
- Raising educational standards
- Creating equality of educational opportunity in a meritocratic society: everyone should have
the same chance of developing/earning the qualifications that reflect their ability, by
ensuring everyone has the same access to and chances of success in education, regardless of
class, ethnicity, gender
GILLBORN AND YOUDELL: FOUR dimensions of equality of educational opportunity:
- Equality of success – all schools should be able to provide a similar standard of education
- Equality of circumstances – all should be of a similar socio-economic status when they start
school, without this they won’t start from the same starting point
- Equality of participation – ethnicity, class and gender shouldn’t influence how pupils
experience school; should be based on talent / ability
- Equality of outcome – everyone should receive the same chances and benefits of schooling
Policies to improve inequality of circumstances:
Positive discrimination through compensatory ed attempted to compensate for the difficulties
faced by the most disadvtg students due to their socio-economic circumstances
Aimed to give those disadvtg background to success in education extra assistance, resources,
and more favourable treatment, with the aim of helping them compete on more equal terms
with pupils not facing these disadvantages
Pupil premium – recent example of positive discrimination
KERR & WEST: while evidence suggests schooling can lessen the impact of deprivation on
children’s progress, its influence is limited by external factors beyond the control of the school
system
Selection: the tripartite system:
1944-1965 – education influenced by the idea of meritocracy: individuals should achieve their
status in life through their own efforts and abilities, rather than it being ascribed at birth by their
class background
The 1944 Education Act brought in the tripartite system, and children were selected and
allocated to one of three types of secondary school based on ability, identified by the 11+ exam
(passed mainly by m/c)
Details:
Introduction of a meritocratic system – based on ability
Grammar schools offered an academic curriculum and access to non-manual jobs and HE
, Hamza Miah
Secondary modern schools offered a non-academic ‘practical’ curriculum and access to
manual work for pupils who failed the 11+ (mainly w/c)
Aims:
To educate all to make the best use of their talents
Britain needed a better educated workforce
Advantages: Disadvantages:
The more able don’t get held back Self-fulfilling prophecy– those who didn’t make it into grammar schools felt as
Served many m/c families well failures
Did provide almost guaranteed Only 2 types of school available – technical schools existed in only a few areas
social mobility for those w/c Divided children from different backgrounds – m/c mainly went to grammar
pupils who made it to grammar schools. Rather than promoting meritocracy, it reproduced class inequality by
schools channelling the two classes into two different types of school that offered
Gave w/c pupils more chances and unequal opportunity
allowed for meritocracy Reproduced gender inequality by requiring girls to gain a higher mark than
boys in the 11+
Some children received a ‘second class’ education
Legitimated inequality through the ideology that ability is inborn
The comprehensive system:
1965-onwards
Aims:
Aimed to overcome the class divide of the tripartite system and make education more
meritocratic, & wanted to abolish the 11+ and grammar schools and replace them with
comprehensive schools for all the pupils in the area
Introduced by the labour government.
Ensure all students no matter what their ability had a similar education
Details:
No entry examinations. Schools serve their catchment areas.
All students of all ability attend the same school.
Both boys/girls attend the same school.
Reflected catchment – locality
Advantages: Disadvantages:
One education for all – fair Was left to the local authority to decide whether
Brings together children from different social classes. to ‘go comprehensive’ and not all did so. As a
No entrance exam – all treated fairly. result, the grammar – secondary modern divide
Larger schools = cheaper to run. still exists in many areas today
Serves its local catchment area More able are held back
Two theories of the role of comprehensives:
Chapter 7: Educational policy and inequality:
Policies from 1944-2010
Educational policy refers to the plans and strategies for education introduced by government
Main aims of the changes in the education system:
- Economic efficiency: DOLPHIN: maintain a successful position in the world economy, making
education met the needs of employers e.g. through apprenticeships
- Raising educational standards
- Creating equality of educational opportunity in a meritocratic society: everyone should have
the same chance of developing/earning the qualifications that reflect their ability, by
ensuring everyone has the same access to and chances of success in education, regardless of
class, ethnicity, gender
GILLBORN AND YOUDELL: FOUR dimensions of equality of educational opportunity:
- Equality of success – all schools should be able to provide a similar standard of education
- Equality of circumstances – all should be of a similar socio-economic status when they start
school, without this they won’t start from the same starting point
- Equality of participation – ethnicity, class and gender shouldn’t influence how pupils
experience school; should be based on talent / ability
- Equality of outcome – everyone should receive the same chances and benefits of schooling
Policies to improve inequality of circumstances:
Positive discrimination through compensatory ed attempted to compensate for the difficulties
faced by the most disadvtg students due to their socio-economic circumstances
Aimed to give those disadvtg background to success in education extra assistance, resources,
and more favourable treatment, with the aim of helping them compete on more equal terms
with pupils not facing these disadvantages
Pupil premium – recent example of positive discrimination
KERR & WEST: while evidence suggests schooling can lessen the impact of deprivation on
children’s progress, its influence is limited by external factors beyond the control of the school
system
Selection: the tripartite system:
1944-1965 – education influenced by the idea of meritocracy: individuals should achieve their
status in life through their own efforts and abilities, rather than it being ascribed at birth by their
class background
The 1944 Education Act brought in the tripartite system, and children were selected and
allocated to one of three types of secondary school based on ability, identified by the 11+ exam
(passed mainly by m/c)
Details:
Introduction of a meritocratic system – based on ability
Grammar schools offered an academic curriculum and access to non-manual jobs and HE
, Hamza Miah
Secondary modern schools offered a non-academic ‘practical’ curriculum and access to
manual work for pupils who failed the 11+ (mainly w/c)
Aims:
To educate all to make the best use of their talents
Britain needed a better educated workforce
Advantages: Disadvantages:
The more able don’t get held back Self-fulfilling prophecy– those who didn’t make it into grammar schools felt as
Served many m/c families well failures
Did provide almost guaranteed Only 2 types of school available – technical schools existed in only a few areas
social mobility for those w/c Divided children from different backgrounds – m/c mainly went to grammar
pupils who made it to grammar schools. Rather than promoting meritocracy, it reproduced class inequality by
schools channelling the two classes into two different types of school that offered
Gave w/c pupils more chances and unequal opportunity
allowed for meritocracy Reproduced gender inequality by requiring girls to gain a higher mark than
boys in the 11+
Some children received a ‘second class’ education
Legitimated inequality through the ideology that ability is inborn
The comprehensive system:
1965-onwards
Aims:
Aimed to overcome the class divide of the tripartite system and make education more
meritocratic, & wanted to abolish the 11+ and grammar schools and replace them with
comprehensive schools for all the pupils in the area
Introduced by the labour government.
Ensure all students no matter what their ability had a similar education
Details:
No entry examinations. Schools serve their catchment areas.
All students of all ability attend the same school.
Both boys/girls attend the same school.
Reflected catchment – locality
Advantages: Disadvantages:
One education for all – fair Was left to the local authority to decide whether
Brings together children from different social classes. to ‘go comprehensive’ and not all did so. As a
No entrance exam – all treated fairly. result, the grammar – secondary modern divide
Larger schools = cheaper to run. still exists in many areas today
Serves its local catchment area More able are held back
Two theories of the role of comprehensives:
