Educational Policy/ Revision
1. Summary of Institutional Racism’ and
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3.
4.
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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)
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.

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.

Schools can charge pupils no more than nine pence a
week.

1994 An A* grade is added to GCSEs to differentiate
between top and lower A grades.

1880 Attendance is made compulsory until the age of
10.
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1891 Elementary education effectively becomes free.
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).
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1918 Leaving age is raised to 14.
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1944 Butler's Education Act seeks to encourage the
"spiritual, mental and physical" well-being of the
community.
1996 General National Vocational Qualifications
(GNVQs) are offered as a more work-based alternative
for non-academic students.
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1997 The National Literacy Strategy, aimed at raising
standards to those of the UK's main competitors, is
introduced for primary schools in England.
It creates the "tripartite", hierarchical system of
grammar, technical and secondary modern schools.
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Selection is decided by an exam taken at the age of
11. Meanwhile, the school leaving age is raised to 15.
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.

1951 General Certificate of Education (GCE) Olevels and A-levels are introduced, replacing the
School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate.

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.

These were primarily grammar school exams. Some
education authorities established their own leaving
examinations for youngsters not taking GCEs.

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.

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.
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.

1973 School leaving age raised to 16.

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In 1976 another Wilson administrations compels all
local authorities to introduce these. But this
legislation is repealed by the Tories in 1979.
However, Mr Tomlinson says the changes will be
"evolutionary, not revolutionary", taking around 10
years to implement.
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
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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
1964 Onwards: Comprehensive
Education (Labour/Social
Democratic)
 Tripartite system heavily criticised: labour reformed
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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’
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.
A return to Selection? Mixed
Education 1988- Present (New Right)
 1988 Education Act re establishes selective schools
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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
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.
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
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
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Practices of teachers and schools in the classroom and in inner school
policies in ‘failing schools’