These are my Y2 A-Level Sociology, AQA Education prior reading/homework notes, there is a weekly summary of every topic covered in the Education module as well as diagrams which I have created. Theorists are named with their theories indented just after their dates. Key information and stats are bo...
TA1: Educational Policy
New Right and Social Democratic view on Educational Policy
New Right:
● Believe that some people are naturally more intelligent
○ Some will succeed while some won’t
● Education needs to socialise individuals international identity and shared
values
○ Ensures we meet the economic demands of the country (skilled and
cohesive workforce)
○ Education should prevent dependency culture
● Society is meritocratic
○ People should be responsible for themselves and work hard
● Education prepares you for the workforce
● Students are responsible for themselves
○ If a student fails education it is their fault
New Right theorists argue that the current system does not do this as it is run by
the state:
● State education systems take a standard ‘one size fits all’ approach to force
uniformity which disregards local needs
● When local councils have limited power, insufficiency and wasted money,
poor outcomes are the result
● This leads to lower pupil achievement and less qualified future workforces
New Right theorists simultaneously argue that in the 1960s and 1970s, schools
were dominated by local education authorities which allows for views differing
from the value consensus:
● For example, the New Right was concerned that children educated in
left-wing local authorities may learn history that was not sufficiently
patriotic or there could be radical ideas ideas around gender or sexual
orientation (not reflective of family views)
● If education was reorganised to create a parentocracy (putting the parents in
charge), then the value consensus would be set by parents and not by
politicians veering from the mainstream
New Right theorists are big believers in marketisation:
● They believe competition between schools will empower pupils and bring
about greater diversity, choice and efficiency
● This would help to drive up standards and create a viable workforce
,Chubb and Moe, argued that the reason private schools (in the US) performed
better than schools in the public sector was due to the fact that the schools were
answerable to paying parents:
● If the education system could follow this model, schools would be able to
improve
New Right theorists argue that there is still a role to play by the state, mainly in
providing a framework in which schools compete:
● This is achieved through OFSTED inspections, published league tables of
results and exam boards
● The state must also ensure that there is a shared set of values which are
instilled through national curriculum containing the teachings of British
values, history and literature
Social Democratic:
● Society should be just and fair
● Everyone should have an equal chance and opportunity to succeed
● Education should result in a means for social mobility and this should
include all students
Social Democratic perspectives differ from New Right perspectives as they
believe that, rather than raising standards through marketisation, social policies
should focus on ensuring students are given equal opportunities to succeed in
education:
● Education therefore requires heavy investment by governments
● Social Democrat believe all pupils should be given a fair chance in education
mean in the education system, exercise even more broadly, should be
meritocratic (people should be given equal chances to succeed and will be
rewarded based on hard work)
● This in turn will lead to economic growth as it enables each individual to
maximise their potential and contribute to the economic development of
their country
Social Democrats believe comprehensive schools should educate children
regardless of abilities and social backgrounds unlike the divisive and elitist system
generated by selection:
● Social Democrats favour a gradual approach to social change most
importantly
The Social Democratic ideal for the government would be spending significantly
more money on the education of socially disadvantaged children continued under
the New Labour government in the form of Education Action Zones and Sure Start
,Social Democratic lines are broadly followed by British government policy from
World War II to the early 1980s:
● Expenditure on education was gradually increased throughout each decade
● The school leaving age was increased
● Further in higher education was expanded enormously
Theodore Schultz:
● Skills and knowledge are forms of capital in themselves,
● Increasing spending on education represents an investment in people as the
more governments spends on education, the more skilled workforce will
become
Gillborn and Youdell identify four dimensions of a quality in education:
● Equality of Access - everyone can go to school
● Equality of Circumstance - everyone should have the same starting point
● Equality of Participation - equal rights to participate in education events
(trips, lectures)
● Equality of Outcome - equal chance to do well after a school (further
education and progression)
New Right Theorists believe that some people are naturally smarter and that
because of this, state education should not take a standard ‘one size fits all’
approach to curriculum and general education like they currently do. They also
believe that education should be in the hands of the government and not local
authority as this results in poor outcomes for students. NR’s believe that we
should have a parentocracy in education to allow the value consensus to be set
by parents and not politicians.
Social Democrats believe society should be fair and just meaning everyone
should have an equal chance in education including social mobility. Because of
this, they prefer comprehensive schools as they give a fair education through a
lack of classism and elitism, helping to create a gentle and gradual social change.
SD’s ideally would like the government to spend more on the education of
socially disadvantaged pupils in order to give them a more equal opportunity.
The Education Reform Act 1988 is considered to have had the most significant
impact on schooling since the tripartite system of 1944
- The act was based on the principles of marketisation and parentocracy in
schools
- Introduced by Maggie Thatcher
Key Aims of the ERA:
- Marketisation
- Make schools compete for government funding
- Turning schools into businesses
- Schools that provide with good exam results and facilities succeed
and those that don’t are shut down or taken over
- Parentocracy
- Marketisation works when parents have a choice over where they
send children
- Parental choice affects budgeting
- Improve the efficiency if schools which should automatically allow schools
to become more competitive and reduce the education budget
- To ensure children were equipped with workforce skills which will allow
then to contribute to economic growth
Introductions of the ERA:
- National curriculum
- All students being taught the same thing
- All schools must teach English, Maths and Science from the age of
7-16
- Open Enrolment
- Parents are allowed to select multiple schools of interest with a
preference or ‘first choice’
- Encouraged parents to shop around for schools and not just pick the
most local
- National Testing (SATs and GCSEs)
- Ofsted
- Agency inspecting schools
- Established in 1988
, - Reports are published, underachieving schools are shut down if they
consistently receive bad reports
- League Tables
- Parents make informed decisions on where to send their kids based on
performance data
- Funding Formula
- Funding was distributed based on subscription
- Undersubscribed schools could be forced to close but oversubscribed
schools (if properly managed) could expand
There were concerns that these policies linked to marketisation as parents from
lower social class backgrounds had disadvantaged children as they could not
afford to travel to better schools like middle class children
Stephen Ball talks of the school/parent alliance
- Middle class parents want middle class schools
- Schools want middle class pupils
- The schools with more middle class students have better results
- Schools see middle class students as easy to teach and likely to perform
well
- They will maintain the schools position in the league tables and its status in
the education market
Inequality of Education Opportunity increases
- The best school become oversubscribed often with four or more pupils all
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