Educational Policy: Selection to Marketisation

Educational policy in England has undergone dramatic transformations since the Second World War. The AQA specification requires you to understand the key policy phases — from the 1944 tripartite system through comprehensive education to the 1988 Education Reform Act and the introduction of marketisation. For each policy, you must understand its aims, how it worked, and its impact on educational equality. You must also be able to evaluate each policy from different sociological perspectives.

Key Definition: Educational policy refers to the plans, strategies, and legislation introduced by governments to organise and regulate the education system. Policies reflect the ideological assumptions and priorities of the government that introduces them.

---

The 1944 Education Act: The Tripartite System

The 1944 Butler Education Act introduced free, compulsory secondary education for all children for the first time. It established the tripartite system, which divided secondary education into three types of school, allocating pupils to each based on their performance in the 11-plus examination taken at the end of primary school.

The Three Types of School