The development of secondary education in the UK has been a history of selection, elitism and social prejudice, admittedly alongside real progress, refinement and success (Durfour and Curtis, 2011). The second world war had a major impact on the development of the ‘welfare state’ where recognition for working class families whose young people sacrificed themselves for the country was given through affordable social support (Menter et al. 2015). A key part of this support was to encourage the development of the education system. The 1944 Education Act was legislated in which established the provision of universal secondary education for the first time. This act introduced the Tripartite system- the idea that underpinned this policy was that children were classified by their ability to benefits from different forms of education. Intellectual development and intelligence at this time was seen as innate, meaning children could be legitimately channelled into grammar, technical or secondary modern schools (Menter et al. 2015).
It was not until the 1960s, following the radical 1967 Plowden report that allowed schools to become more child centred and progressive methods were championed. Children entering secondary education were freed of the 11+ exam as many of the LEA’s had abolished selection as the non-selective comprehensive secondary school was introduced (Durfour and Curtis, 2011). This meant that by the 1970s, most children were taught in comprehensive secondary schools. Halsey et al. (1997) suggested that the focus on the link between education and social democracy at the time can be seen in the increasing movement for reorganisation of secondary education. By the government focusing on comprehensive education, the mixing of social and cultural backgrounds was encouraged which created respect and tolerance towards each other. The Comprehensive secondary school would therefore provide a greater opportunity for all pupils as they would be allowed to develop rather than being separated out and discriminated against (Bartlett and Burton,2016). However, as mixed ability teaching practices in secondary education expanded, the child centred ideologies which were aimed to motivate pupils’ individual learning were criticised by traditionalists. By emphasising individual development and equality, it was felt that comprehensives were discouraging the very competitive spirit that was ultimately needed to improve the economy (Bartlett and Burton,2016).
The Conservative government brought in the 1988 Education reform act which introduced the centrally imposed and prescriptive National Curriculum of ten subjects plus religious studies, standardised testing and league tables. The new statutory document also set out attainment targets for learning and provided a framework for the assessment, monitoring and reporting of pupils learning (Menter et al., 2014:227). Across all parts of the UK’s education system, national testing was implemented in order to navigate and track student learning, attainment and achievement. For the end of Ky Stage 4 (age 16) in particular, students were offered a range of National Qualifications by a number of awarding bodies. The common qualification was named the General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE) in which as range of subjects were offered and the number offered to students is not regulated. The introduction of these examinations allows for the leaners progress to be tracked and their achievement to be against standards and expectations, based on the experiences and outcomes (Menter et al., 2014:234) .
The New Labour Government (1997) began to disregard the term ‘comprehensive school’. There were three notable changes that were introduced to the secondary schooling. Firstly, ‘Building Schools for the Future was a scheme that was committed to rebuild or replace every secondary school in England. This scheme was introduced by Tony Blair in 2004 with the aim to create inspirational buildings that made them feel ‘valued’ and ‘worthwhile’ but were also used to access new ways of learning fit for the 21st century. This however was axed by the Coalition government as it was regarded as a ‘wasteful expenditure’. Secondly, ‘specialist schools’ were introduced. Comprehensive schools were given the opportunity to choose a specialism such as arts or sports to offer more choice and attraction against other schools. Finally, developing city academies within deprived areas and where the standard of pupil achievement was comparatively low in ‘failing schools’ (Durfour and Curtis, 2011). In order to become an academy, private sponsorship was required which in turn made these schools incredibly controversial. It was argued by parents, teachers and educationalists that the programme was undemocratic as it introduces rich sponsors who can have an influence on the taught curriculum and on the pay and working conditions of the teachers (Durfour and Curtis, 2011). One of the newest developments within secondary education was the Coalition government’s introduction of ‘free schools’. These schools were able to be set up by anyone and offer a high degree of independence but are still publicly funded.
References:
- Anon (2011) Q&A: Building Schools for the Future. BBC News [Internet], 14th June. Available from https://www.bbc.com/news/education-10682980. [Accessed 18th May 2021].
- Bartlett, S. and Burton, D. (2016) Introduction to education studies. Education studies ed. Education studies: key issues series. Los Angeles, SAGE.
- Dufour, B. and Curtis, W. (2011) Studying education: an introduction to the key disciplines in education studies. Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill Open University Press.
- Menter, I., Gallagher, C., Hayward, L., and Wyse, D., (2014) ‘Compulsory education in the United Kingdom’, in Matheson, D. (4th ed.) An Introduction to the Study of Education. London. Routledge. Pp.214-244
0 Comments