Educational policy and inequality

1944+ Tripartite system Sir cyril burt introduced the idea of using IQ tests (11+ exam) to allocate pupils to a school Academic ability=grammar school Technical ability= secondary technical Non-academic=secondary modern This was supposed to create meritocracy but instead created class+gender inequality It also legitimated it with the ideology that inequality is inborn

1988 Educational Reform Act Thatcher; marketisation, reducing state control+increasing competition +choice Schools run like businesses, provide for customer needs=success David describes this phase as a parentocracy, power shifts to parents Policies that promote it; publication of league tables + ofsted reports, formula funding, business sponsership of schools

Since 1997, labour gov sought to reduce inequality Policies;Edu Action Zones provided with extra resources, Aim Higher programme, Edu Maintenance allowance(payment to students to make them stay on after 16)+Raising school leaving age To promote diversity+choice; schools encouraged to specialise to build on their strengths=specialist schools have done better than non-spec schools Promoting Academies These ideas are put forward by postmodernists Thompson; schools can get away from the 1-size-fits-all approach=edu becomes customised

Policies for Gender; GIST Ethnicity;these policies have gone through phases 1 assimilation (60+70's)-the need for pupils to assimilate into mainstream culture 2 multicultural edu MCE (80-90's) -valuing all cultures=raising self-esteem However MCE criticised as black pupils don't lack self-esteem + it picks out stereotypical images features+doesn't tackle racism