Learning outcomes

At the end of this module students should be able to:

• discuss and assess the historical developments of the education system in England and Wales;
• apply their own educational experiences to the broader contexts of social and political change within the education system;
• show an awareness of current education issues and discuss the significance of such issues within the political context.

Brief description

This module provides an introduction to education policies and issues in England and Wales. It sets current education policy in the historic context of educational developments and change, whilst introducing some major contemporary education issues.

Aims

• To offer students a clear historical framework in which they can place and interpret the current education system.
• To encourage students to critically analyse their own experiences of education within the context of social and political change.
• To introduce and clarify some important education issues.
• To provide opportunities for students to discuss the education issues currently being addressed in parliament and the media.

Content

Lectures are based on the following topics:
   

• Introduction - The anatomy of an education system
• The growth of a schooled society
• The Education Reform Acts of 1944 and 1988
• Control, choice and accountability: Who decides, what, when and how?
• `Education, education, education?: New Labour Education policies in Wales and England.
• Issue 1: Elitism, democracy and equality
• Issue 2: Educational standards
• Issue 3: Wales - Nationality, culture and schooling
• Issue 4: 16-19 Curriculum and higher education
• Issue 5: Higher education and the future

Tutorials provide students with the opportunity to discuss selected lecture topics and essays, as follows:

• Your `Educational Autobiography?
• The 1944 Education Act
• Grammar versus Comprehensive Schooling
• Current education issues
• Perspectives on Higher Education

Reading Lists