The Education Reform Act 1988 - Essay Example

Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Education is key to the growth of any economy and as such a key area in social policy making. Education in Britain has undergone numerous changes over decades in order to solve the social and economic problems facing the society. In the early days, education was not universal but after the Second World War, the 1944 Education Act was put in place which ensured free education for all to reduce inequalities in society. However, the act was not able to solve all the problems that it was set to solve such as curriculum issues, class divisions and religious issues. It was thus inevitable to formulate a policy that would reform the education system to deal with those issues leading to the Education Reform Act 1988 by the conservative government. The big question that needs to be answered is whether this Act was able to achieve what it was set to achieve. As we shall see in the rest of this work, the 1988 Act though efficient in some cases did not manage to eliminate class inequalities but rather strengthened them (Chowdry, Muriel & Sibieta, 2010; Freedman, 2010; Garner, 2010). The aim of this paper is to discuss the intentions and impact of Education Reform Act 1988 on state schooling. The paper will be divided into three sections. First, the intentions of the Act will be discussed. Secondly, the paper will discuss the impact of the Education Act on state schooling and lastly, the efforts made by successive governments in trying to solve inequalities in education. I will argue that the labour government has made various attempts to ensure equality in education opportunities to all regardless of class, race, gender but much still needs to be done if the problems are to be resolved once and for all. (Freedman, 2010; Smithers & Robinson, 2010). The labour government, conservatives and liberal democrats have promised much especially the introduction of pupil premiums but it remains to be seen how effective these policies will be in improving state education (Whitty, 2009). What were the intentions of the Education Reform Act 1988? According to the lectures, the aim of state education is to fulfil individual, economic and social needs of society. Individuals require education so as to advance in life and to have increased earning power (Lecture 9). This is due to the fact that education is the source of employment and consequently future income. Education also serves to fulfil economic needs of the nation by developing human capital which is vital especially in the current knowledge-based economy. A nation is able to use its human capital resources to compete in the increasingly global competitive environment. Socially, education is aimed at enhancing social integration by ensuring “equal opportunities for all” (Smithers & Robinson, 2010: 1). This is enhanced by offering free education, ensuring the deprived individuals get same education as children from high economic status background, ensuring gender equality in education and eliminating racial inequalities. The type of education system in place also either enhances cultural assimilation or multiculturalism. The developments in education policy can better be understood by its aims. The 1944 Education Act was very vital in development of state education in Britain. First, it introduced universal free compulsory education up to age 15 and later age 16. This was to ensure equal opportunity for all despite class, race or gender. The Act also saw the introduction of tripartite system of education whereby children from primary school could join three types of secondary education: grammar school, secondary modern and secondary technical (Lecture 9). Admission to secondary schools was based on ability; passing of the 11+ exam which tested numeracy and literacy. However, most children from middle class were admitted to grammar schools, majority of pupils to the secondary modern and few to technical schools since they were few in number. As a result, the problem of class inequalities was not resolved. Another notable feature was that education became under the control of local education authorities (LEAs). These authorities together with schools were involved in setting the curriculum though religious education was to be included in the syllabus. There was thus no national curriculum in place leading to increased diversity. The 1988 Act was thus to resolve some of these issues. The intention of the 1988 Act (Freedman, 2010: 3) was to “diminish the power of local authorities” by the Thatcher government. As a result, the Act created local management of schools (LMS) to take up financial duties from LEAs. The school funding was to come directly from central government and managed by Board of Governors (BOG) and head teachers as opposed to LEAs. Schools were also given the freedom to opt out of LEA control thus the formation of grant-maintained schools. City Technology Colleges (CTC) were introduced to deal with technological advancements in the market thus “cementing the link between schools and business” (Freedman, 2010: 3). These were free of LEA and were the origin of academies. Another intention of the 1988 Act was to marketise education. The education system was to be operated like the private sector thus enhancing competition between schools. As such, the parents who are the customers were given ‘parental choice’ of schools. In this case, instead of the catchment areas determining the schools pupils attend the parents could now choose the school they want for their children although transport or closeness to the school was used in selecting students. This was achieved through open enrolment and LMS. Another element of marketisation is funding from the private sector to complement government funding. Schools that performed well attracted more students and more funding thus increased competition. The Education Reform Act 1988 also led to introduction of a national curriculum. This comprised of core subjects (maths, English and science) and foundation subjects such as history, geography and music and key stages (Smither & Robinson, 2010). This was to enhance uniformity in the education sector and to allow setting of standards to determine performing and non-performing schools. This prompted introduction of standardised attainment tests (SAT), annual league tables and office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) to monitor performance (Lecture 9). The league tables and exam results help the parents to make best choices for their children. The minimum standard of performance is 30% of GCSE attain 5 A*-C including English and maths and the national average is 50.7% (Freedman, 2010: 5). The Education Reform Act 1988 had a lot of impact on state education. To achieve the aims of education, the government sought to refurbish buildings and convert them into academies to cater for the socially deprived in society and enhance equality of opportunity. This led to increased government spending on education. According to Chowdry et al (2010: 1) Britain had the 8th largest level of education spending as a share of national income amongst 26 countries in 2006 with an increase of an average of 3.9% per year. Despite high funding, only 22 out of 120 academies achieved national average of 50.7% while 42 did not manage the 30% minimum (Freedman 2010: 5). Furthermore, schools receive unequal funding as academies get extra start-up finance and according to Freedman, “pumping extra money to areas of acute deprivation does not improve equality of opportunity” (p. 4). These schools have better structures and achieve good grades thus attract many students. They in the process become more selective and choose high performing students to maintain popularity, attract more funding and remain top of the league table. They thus ignore their purpose of assisting the socially deprived. Smithers and Robinson (2010: 3) noted that these selective schools are large, have 6th forms, are in charge of own admissions, have pupils from prosperous homes and less likely to have special education needs. They thus defeat the purpose of the Act which is to enhance equality. Besides, reports show that UK is sliding down the international table in reading, maths and science thus education is not providing value for money. It was 28th in maths, 25th reading and 15th science compared with OECD countries in 2009 (Garner, 2010). However, schools have also improved as before academies were introduced 1600 schools did not attain 30% but in 2009 the figure was down to 270 (Freedman 2010:5). Parental choice was meant to increase choices of schools for parents but it only enabled schools to choose pupils thus limiting parental choice and increasing class differences. It is evident that parents take children to schools similar to their class (Smither & Robinson, 2010). The league tables and SATs show which schools are performing well and a result they become popular. They then start selecting pupils who are performers so as to remain popular thus parents do not have a choice. High performers are mostly from middle and upper classes thus children of the working class are segregated (Toynbee, 2009). The system also enhances segregation of whites from other races as most of them are in the selective schools. To solve these issues, labour government has embarked on policies such as admission codes to ensure fair access. This was established by the school standards and framework Act 1998 but continues to be revised over the years. National challenge programmes were also introduced to support underachieving schools in disadvantaged areas (Whitty, 2009). The formation of department for children, schools and families (DCSF) is also vital in ensuring equality. The governments are also trying to introduce pupil premiums to solve admission or selection problem. Conclusion The Reform Act 1988 was aimed at enhancing equality of opportunity and marketisation. It led to introduction of national curriculum, grant-maintained schools and CTCs. LEA powers were devolved to BOGs and head teachers and more emphasis was put on standards and targets to enhance competition. As a result, more schools have improved performance above the minimum standards but at the same time, there is more class segregation due to parental choice. References Chowdry, H., Muriel, A & Sibieta, L (2010) Education Policy. Election Briefing No. 11 Freedman, L. (24th February, 2010). “Do academy schools really work?” The Prospect, Issue 168 Garner, R (2010) British Schools Slump in Global League Table. The Independent, December 8, 2010. Smithers, A & Robinson, P (2010) Worlds Apart: Social Variation among Schools. The Sutton Trust. Toynbee, P (2009) Seminar 9: School Education. The Guardian. August 18, 2009. Whitty, G. (2009) Evaluating Blair’s Educational Legacy: Some Comments on the Special Issue of Oxford Review of Education. Oxford Review of Education, 35 (2): 267-280. Read More