Where Should We Look to Find the Causes of Education Inequality?
Where should we look to find the causes of education inequalities?
Introduction
Education it seems has been at the heart of each new government’s agenda. Acts have been passed to better the education of children in the UK, policies introduced and agencies made responsible to ensure that schools, colleges and universities all deliver the best quality education. Despite these interventions, inequality in education still exists. To find the causes of educational inequalities, this essay will look briefly at the history of state education and key acts that helped define today’s system of education. It will then look at what educational inequalities exist and the reasons why – specifically Government policies and the way in which these can serve as an advantage to some sections of society and as a disadvantage to another. It will also look at stratification and its different representations, media representations of those from different classes, and dominant ideologies of the media. There are a number of issues currently affecting pupils and students in England; social class, race, gender, religion and disability are all contributing factors in the causes of educational inequality; however this essay will focus on social class as this appears to be a factor that can affect those from different races, gender, religion and whether they have a disability or not.
Brief History of Education
During the industrialisation of England, various types of schools were introduced to deal with the growing number of uneducated youth. Sunday schools taught children and adults to read the Bible and memorise its scriptures, however, writing and arithmetic were not taught as these were seen as unnecessary, even dangerous. Schools of Industry were introduced to provide poor children with training in areas where they would be able to find employment; knitting, sewing and housework for girls, and shoemaking or machine work for boys. Here, children were also taught the ‘three
Introduction
Education it seems has been at the heart of each new government’s agenda. Acts have been passed to better the education of children in the UK, policies introduced and agencies made responsible to ensure that schools, colleges and universities all deliver the best quality education. Despite these interventions, inequality in education still exists. To find the causes of educational inequalities, this essay will look briefly at the history of state education and key acts that helped define today’s system of education. It will then look at what educational inequalities exist and the reasons why – specifically Government policies and the way in which these can serve as an advantage to some sections of society and as a disadvantage to another. It will also look at stratification and its different representations, media representations of those from different classes, and dominant ideologies of the media. There are a number of issues currently affecting pupils and students in England; social class, race, gender, religion and disability are all contributing factors in the causes of educational inequality; however this essay will focus on social class as this appears to be a factor that can affect those from different races, gender, religion and whether they have a disability or not.
Brief History of Education
During the industrialisation of England, various types of schools were introduced to deal with the growing number of uneducated youth. Sunday schools taught children and adults to read the Bible and memorise its scriptures, however, writing and arithmetic were not taught as these were seen as unnecessary, even dangerous. Schools of Industry were introduced to provide poor children with training in areas where they would be able to find employment; knitting, sewing and housework for girls, and shoemaking or machine work for boys. Here, children were also taught the ‘three
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