3.3.8

Recent UK Education Policy

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Labour Government (1997-2010)

The Labour Government (1997-2010) was led by Prime Minister Tony Blair. They made significant changes to UK education policy.

Academies

Academies

  • These were usually failed schools that were taken over by businesses to tackle their underperformance.
Childcare

Childcare

  • Free childcare for every child pre-school age.
Sure Start (1999)

Sure Start (1999)

  • The aim of Sure Start was to support disadvantaged children with early intervention.
  • The hope was that these disadvantaged children would be able to reach the capabilities of their middle-class counterparts.
Tuition fees

Tuition fees

  • Tuition fees for university education were introduced.
EMA

EMA

  • EMA (Educational maintenance allowance).
  • The aim of EMA was to support disadvantaged pupils and motivate them to stay in education after the age of 16.

Coalition Government 2010

The Conservative & Liberal Democrat Coalition government (2010) was led by Prime Minister David Cameron. They undid many of the previous Labour government's changes to UK education policy and made their own changes.

EMA

EMA

  • The aim of EMA (Educational maintenance allowance) was to support disadvantaged pupils by ensuring that they stay in education after the age of 16.
  • This was scrapped by the Coalition government.
Tuition fees

Tuition fees

  • University tuition fees were increased to up to £9,000 a year.
  • This means that a lot of pupils leaving school at the age of 18 might be discouraged from going to university due to the cost entailed.
Tuition fees cont.

Tuition fees cont.

  • At the end of a 3-year university course, a student would have to pay back at least £27,000 (excluding living costs).
  • It is likely that disadvantaged pupils would not want to put this financial burden upon themselves.
  • Tuition fees are therefore an impediment rather than an extra motive from the government towards equal opportunities.
Student premium

Student premium

  • The aim of student premium was to help disadvantaged pupils via:
    • Increased classroom support.
    • Providing extra resources.
Other changes

Other changes

  • Free school meals (FSM) 2014: every child in the first 3 years of school was eligible.
  • 2 year A level courses.
  • GCSEs were changed to numerical grades (9-1).
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1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Recent UK Education Policy

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  1. 1
    What was the aim of Sure Start (1999)?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Another change made by the Coalition government was raising University tuition fees to up to how much a year?Multiple choice
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History of UK Education Policy

End of Topic Test - Education