ENGLAND:

NEW LABOUR,
NEW
Presentation by SCHOOLING
Kevin Lucey, and
Adam Wasilko
January 23, 2012

Outline

Introduction
The Social Fabric
Schooling in England
Successes
Key Debates and Challenges
Concluding Observations

Introduction

Lets start with a frame of reference:

Test Scores: How does England compare to

the United States on standardized tests?

Government: How are English government

and politics different from the United
States?

Standardized Test Scores

Readi
ng
ENG
=
539
USA
=
540

Math
ENG
=
513
USA
=
508

Scienc
e
ENG
=
542
USA
=
520

English Government
Parliament

Upper
House:
House of
Lords

Lower
House:
House of
Commons

Membershi
p by
appointme
nt

Democratic
ally elected

English Politics

3 main political parties

Conservative (Tory) center-right

Labour (now, the New Labour) center-left
Liberal-Democrat radical center, center-left

Labour party was the Majority party 19972010, now they are the Official Opposition

The Conservative party is currently in power

New Labour

Tony Blairs vision for New Labour was

for a progressive educational and social
agenda aimed at attacking a series of
deep seated issues, including:

Social inclusion,
Educational failure, and
Access for all to quality educational service

New Labour

All of these reform goals are aimed at

addressing an age-old conflict in the
English school system:

The sharp and widening gap between the

haves and have nots, in respect to an
individuals opportunity to access highquality schooling.

The Social Fabric Demographics

Population

Population Density

ENG = 48 million USA = 312 million

ENG = 20% between 0 and 14 USA = 24% under 18
ENG = 1,023/sq mi

USA = 87.4/sqmi

Englands population is concentrated in 5 major

urban centers

Rapid transition from industrial to service or commercial

centers
Diverse (racially, culturally, economically)
Disadvantaged

The Social Fabric

Economic

Political

Local - responsible for education, health, welfare and the environment

Central - controls finances and policy matters for these institutions

Cultural

Capitalist economy top 4 in Europe

Member state of the EU

Traditional divisions in English society are becoming blurred

Over of the children in the UK are living at or below the poverty line
2/3 of minority groups in England live in metropolitan areas

Religious

Church of England and Roman Catholic remain influential in schooling

Schooling in England

In 1997, New Labour ushered in a tide of

new governmental policy and initiatives in
the following areas:

Organization and Governance of Schooling

Legislation, Guiding Philosophies, and
Policies
Curricula
Pedagogical Theory and Practice
Evaluation
Teacher Training

Organization and Governance of Schooling

Central Government

Local Government

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

Policy
Broad framework for
schooling
Introduce and
disseminate
legislation on
education
Fulfills an inspectoral
function

Local Education
Authorities (LEAs)
Employment and payment
of teaching and nonteaching staff
Building and maintenance
of schools
Transportation
Recreation
Support services for pupils

1988 Education Act

LEAs = Less power, Schools = More power

This gave schools greater control over their

finances:

Schools gained direct control over their budgets

Some schools even chose to remove themselves
entirely from LEA control
These schools became Grant Maintained Schools
(GMS), which in 2000 changed to Foundation
Schools

Legislation, Guiding Philosophies, and

Policies

Prior to New Labour, the previous

Conservative government summarized
its policy on education with five great
themes:

Quality
Diversity
Parental Choice
Greater Autonomy for Schools
Greater Accountability

Legislation, Guiding Philosophies, and

Policies

2004 Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners

Greater personalization and choice, with the needs of

learners at center stage
Opening up services to new and different providers
Freedom and independence for head teachers (principals)
and front-line teachers
Commitment to staff development
Emphasis on partnerships with parents, employers, and
volunteers

Overriding theme of New Labours policy on education:

Breaking the link between social class and educational

achievement

Curricula

The National Curriculum (NC) was introduced to English

schools in 1988.

The NC focuses on three core curricular strategies:

Literacy
Numeracy
Information and Communication Technology

Recent additions to the NC include:

Greater emphasis on math and reading

Strengthening of coverage of creative subjects
New curricula for citizenship, and personal, social, and health
education

Pedagogical Theory and

Practice

1960s & 1970s

Current practice

Progressive approach vs. grouping by

ability

Differentiated pedagogy

The result has been:

Complex and diverse classrooms

Greater commitment to social justice and
equality

Evaluation

Evaluation of English schools is the

responsibility of OfSTED

Inspections are required every four years

Reports are public and provide

information on:

Quality of education provided

Standards achieved
Spiritual, moral, social, and cultural
development of students including
behavior

Teacher Training

Prior to New Labour, teacher training was highly

scrutinized and viewed with negativity

The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) has become the key

regulating body for teacher training

Developed standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)

Make teaching an evidence and research-based profession

Teacher training is now viewed more favorably and has

gained a higher profile in institutions of higher
learning.

Successes

Areas of widespread success:

The national curriculum

Early years education
Special education
Childrens services
Professional status of teachers
Emotional health focus

The National Curriculum

Introduced by the Tory government in 1988

Highly detailed/prescriptive requirements

Politicians were looking for schools to be more

accountable
Better Schools
Raising

standards
Balance across different subjects
Differentiated instruction

First time the national curriculum was

evaluated this way

Report seen as a champion of equal

opportunity

Special needs were seen as greatly

benefitting

Some saw the national curriculum as too

restrictive

Revised in 1995 & 2000

Schools were given more freedom
Still continues to be refined
Broad,

balanced, differentiated, and relevant

Early Years Education

Dramatic change to bring together the

maintained, private and voluntary
sectors in the spirit of co-operation and
genuine partnership, based on existing
good practice

Teacher training courses and national

qualifications aimed at local operation keep
programs uniform

National initiatives that are operated locally

Support

to family in raising children

Promoting
Help

early childhood development

children in disadvantaged settings

Special Education Needs &

Inclusion

Great change over the last 20 years

Children with learning difficulties viewed

as having important and undeniable
rights

All learners have access to mainstream

schools

All teachers share responsibility to

promote inclusion

All schools have a special needs

coordinator
Works

with parents and students

Themes: early intervention, removal of

learning barriers, raising expectations and
achievements, and delivering
improvements in partnerships.

Childrens Services

Collaboration between agencies that

promote health, education, and social
welfare

Government recognizes that better

outcomes depend on integration of
services

Targeted and specialized help

Professional Status of
Teachers

Teacher Training Agency improves

standing of teachers in the eyes of
society

Previous negative attention was given to

teachers
Viewed

as resistant to change and responsible

for falling standards

National certification standards

Emotional Health & Positive Behavior

Problem of disengagement in the

classroom

Behavioral/interpersonal skills seen as

important

Emotional intelligence

Children given more choices in the

classwork

Debates and Challenges

Highly political debate over the future of

these initiatives:

Curriculum
Governance
Pupil behavior
Educational & social inclusion
Personal & social education

Curriculum Issues

Looking for

broad
Balanced
Relevant
Differentiated

Presumed preoccupation with testing

Rigid control brings much criticism

Governance

Funding bypasses local government

Money flows from central government to

schools (amount depends on size)
Affects

the ability of some schools to attract

better teachers and resources

Rich

get richer

Student Behavior

Perceived gang cultures

National guidelines for

Behavior
Attendance
Bullying

Schools given greater power to expel

misbehaving students

Educational/Social Inclusion

Many still maintain that some students

should not be in mainstream classes

Special needs students

Misbehaving students

Personal & Social Education

Issues

Idea that the subjects tested (or tested

more frequently) are the most important

Undermines ideas of guidance and

emotional development

Not formally assessed, no incentive to care

Conclusion

The changes in England are a result of

globalization

Deep scrutiny of standards

Last decade has seen

uncharacteristically dramatic shifts in
education

Questions for reflection