Choose one of the following policy areas: education or health or the personal social services. In your chosen area, discuss the most significant developments to have taken place over the past 30 years. Education has always
Introduction to Social Policy
SS1016M
Choose one of the following policy areas: education or health or the personal social services. In your chosen area, discuss the most significant developments to have taken place over the past 30 years.
Education has always been seen as providing individuals, economic and social benefits, for example, an individual, education opens up more opportunities and gives an advantage for a person to gain a successful career and provide scope for more knowledge and experience within a workplace.
Higher education is the most developed area within education as a whole, as teaching, means-tested fees and learning are few of the significant changes that have occurred over the past 30 years. "These changes were propelled not by a single engine, but by many different developments acting as lever shaping attitudes, creating opportunities, promoting shifts in policies and practises. Together, they provide the critical mass of momentum to enable higher education to make unprecedented strides1 ."
"For the past twenty years, the government believes the worlds whole economy has changed2."
The development of education in Britain reinforced the gap between theoretical learning in education and practical training in the industry, therefore society soon realised in the late 17th century that the key to success and wealth is a well paid for job through aided education, therefore more reinforcements in higher education was much needed.
Throughout the past 30 years ,any significant developments have arose that changed the world of higher education i.e. teaching and learning. For example, introducing new fields such as women, black and ethnic studies have influenced and increased knowledge based opinions in today's society whether it is values of society, global studies or the 'active learning' that one may use in higher education.
Today's education has positively developed exceedingly from the narrow selectiveness that allowed only a small percentage of privileged, high-class families to a good education via private or boarding schools. In today's society, the labour government(who came into power in 1997) have brought education to a new era, as the government are giving putting more money towards schools and specially more towards higher education, for example, more money to schools in less developed areas in England and Wales. These aims and help are verified by the government to suggest the idea that time has moved on, every individual needs a chance and opportunity to a education as the development of education is providing more doors for more individuals bar race, ethnic or religion issues.
The funding and role became major policy issues in the 1980s and 1990s. The arguments were put to the government such as the individuals who undertake a degree should be expected to contribute or pay in full towards the tuition fees, and the less advantaged applicants to pay little or no contribution towards higher education fees.
The labour government introduced a new deal for 18-24 year olds as part of the wider programme of welfare to work policies2. This deal was aimed at unemployed and offers options to higher education or training. This impact was huge on ...
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The funding and role became major policy issues in the 1980s and 1990s. The arguments were put to the government such as the individuals who undertake a degree should be expected to contribute or pay in full towards the tuition fees, and the less advantaged applicants to pay little or no contribution towards higher education fees.
The labour government introduced a new deal for 18-24 year olds as part of the wider programme of welfare to work policies2. This deal was aimed at unemployed and offers options to higher education or training. This impact was huge on those less fortunate to move onto university degrees, as the government have shed light and a path towards a way for education excluding income and wealth of families.
" Education is life enriching and desirable in its own right. It is fundamental to the achievement of an improved quality of life in the UK."3
The change of educational developments in England and Wales have increased since the 1980s, more encouragements are being used to get more young people to stay on in higher education than ever before as the government are pledging more money into education than ever before in history.
" The government has committed to a massive expansion in higher education. The expansion will target low-income groups and ethnic minorities whose participation in higher education has been low.
For the first time in Britain , students will be required to contribute towards their tuition fees. This is set at a level of £1000 a year, and students will be able to take out loans to cover the cost, to be repaid when they are earning a significant salary4."
The main priorities in higher education were to decrease the rate of drop-out students and to support funding for low-income students.
Education has significantly changed over the past 30 years as careers for students can be achieved with the aid of income-based grants to help students throughout higher education, tuition fees are assessed more thoroughly by the Higher Education Funding Council For England (HEFCE). These actions have developed positively from the 17th century where only people from rich families were able to proceed onto higher education and achieve successful outcomes.
Education was perceived by the government to be unsatisfactory and failing to deliver due to the impact of structural changes and the need to change educational institutions to meet new economic realities and the changes in global economy. The 1992 Education Act removed further educations institutions from the direct control of the LEAs. The HEFCE and the further education funding council (FEFC) was replaced by the Learning and Skills council (LSC). Also the 1944 Education Act was a major landmark in the development of education the twentieth century in England and Wales.
All these changes resulted in greater participation in the post-compulsory education. For instance, the voluntary participation in higher education has risen dramatically. In 2002 three quarters of 16 year olds were going into full or part-time education and just under two-thirds of 18 year olds were going into higher education. Universities had around 50,000 students in 1939. By 2002 more than 125,000 were at an institution of higher education5.
Another development in Education was the introduction of the Aim Higher Initiative in 2001. This was to increase the change through an integrated approach involving schools, FE collages and universities to attain the target of 50% participation of people aged between 18-30 by 2010.
Promoting value for money in higher education is an imperative in terms of both public and private investment, including individuals time as well as taxpayers money6 , so shaping up educational practise in this country was Labour's importance to change the policies in the UK and to increase the positive reforms of education.
The Office For Standards In Education (OFSTED) was always a hallmark in education. OFSTED is a non-ministerial government department established under the Educations Act 1992. OFSTEDs role included all inspections in England and Wales along with inspections of local education authorities, teacher training institutions and youth work, during 2001, OFSTED became responsible for inspecting all 16-19 education and for the regulation of early years childcare including childminders7.
The trend of educational prospects has also significantly changed over the past 30 years as there has been a decrease of British school leavers who go straight into employment or unemployment than was the case in the 1970s. This trend for young people was to continue in education after the compulsory school-leaving age, however, this increased the level of higher education rates were mitigated by the relatively low levels of qualifications of many young people2. Many changes in education have risen since the late 1970s as there was a decline on further reduction whereas at present more young people are going into higher education or further education as in comparison to young people leaving education in the 1950s and 1960s, people today, of all ages, face a broader range of higher education and training opportunities.
The labour government has set a target for at least 50% of the age cohort to have a higher education experience2 . this expansion set by the government increased the number of people going onto higher education despite knowledge of whether a person is from a high, middle or low-class background or whether being able to pay fees ect. This shows significant developments as years go on as a person with low or no income is just as eligible to be able to succeed onto higher education than compared to a high-class person.
Between 1985 - 1988, facts arose that girls were most successful than boys aged 16-19. However, household class characteristics explained only a small proportion of the variance in pupil performance.8 the education reform was significant to the future of education and peoples careers.
Educational qualifications are now a principle determinant of job opportunities. Schools are thus a vital link in the allocation of individuals to places in the workforce. Even two decades ago the number of school-leavers had increased therefore the level of education expected for specific jobs had risen.
In education, higher education specifically, there have been a myriad of changes, through the funding mechanisms such as the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and the Higher Education Funding Councils (HEFC), through institutional autonomy which has turned the majority of higher education institutions into universities, and through developments in terms of managerial. Such moves have led to increased institutional competitiveness and rivalry within and groups of higher education institutions.
In conclusion , it can be argued that markets now predominate in education at all levels, leading to considerable amounts of inequity of access and outcome, despite the fact that such developments have allowed for the growth of a mass system of further and higher education. These latter trends may have more to do with labour market circumstances than with the provision of education.
In the twenty-first century more and more people are continuing onto further education rather than hauling straight into a workplace. This significantly implies that education is improving and developing as years go by with more opportunities and choice for everybody bar race, religion, gender and income.
www.s11.stanford.edu/projects/tomprof/newtomprof/postings/325.html
2Baldock, Manning, Viker staff, Social policy, 1999, p.364
2 Baldock, Manning, Viker staff, Social policy, 1999, p.364
3 Niche 1997:8
4 www.cra.org/crn/html
5 John E. Chubb & Terry M. Moe, A lesson in school reform in Great Britain, The Brooking Institute, 1992
6 www. Publications. parliament. uk
7 www. ofsted. gov .uk
2 Baldock, Manning, Viker staff, Social policy, 1999
2 Baldock, Manning, Viker staff, Social policy, 1999, pp.380
8 Abercrombie and Warde et al. Contemporary British Society.1988
