Is the Education System in the UK a Meritocracy?

The history of the British education system is long and varied. Above all, its progression into the system we see today has been a process that has gradually developed since the late 19th century. The purpose of this piece is to assess the extent to which the UK education system is a meritocracy. By meritocracy we mean is the overall system based on a foundation of merit and as such, equal for all. In order to accurately assess whether such is the case it will be necessary to examine the development of the UK education system since the late 19th century through to the present day. However, as will be shown below, over the last 130 years there have been a number of landmark turning points in education beginning in 1870. Other important dates include 1944 and 1988. By looking at such developments and progress it will be possible to chart the history of education in Britain and assess to what extent both previous systems and our modern one are based on the principle of meritocracy.


In 1868 William Gladstone led the Liberal Party to a resounding general election victory. In relation to education and a whole variety of other issues the election of this government is very important for us. Above all, Gladstone’s Liberal Party was very concerned with the issue of meritocracy. In many forms the first Gladstone administration attempted to instil the virtues of meritocracy, including in the armed forces (Pearce and Stewart, 2002). However, the defining piece of legislation regarding education policy came in the form of the 1870 Education Act. The act was an attempt to widen the scope of the Education system to include a greater number of people. However, many at the time who hoped to see a universal national education system brought about by the act were disappointed (Pearce and Stewart, 2002). Although the act did make greater educational provision for the poor and instilled a greater sense of meritocracy in the system, the old system of privilege continued to be dominant. Also, many poor families were reluctant to allow their children to spend more time in education as they needed them to go out and work. Therefore, although the 1870 Education Act did move the education system forward in many ways, it nonetheless failed to meet the expectations of many radicals at the time (Pearce and Stewart, 2002).


The British education system remained relatively unchanged from this point until the Second World War. The Liberal governments before the First World War had put in place a number of limited measures but it was not until 1944 that a wholesale reform of the education system as whole really took place (Pearce and Stewart, 2002). As the war was just coming to an end, many in the British government began to think of ways in which Britain could be made a better and more equal society after the war. Education was one of the main areas that was seen to be lacking equality and meritocracy. Gladstone’s 1870 act had little to reverse the fact that privilege and money were more important in the education system that ability and merit. As such, in many ways the 1944 Education Act put through by Conservative Education Minister Rab Butler was an attempt to deal with this problem (Pearce and Stewart, 2002).


From 1944, for the first time in British history wholesale secondary education was made free to all. Furthermore, it was now law that all young people had to attend school up to at least the age of 15. As well as this, the new system aimed to place meritocracy at the centre of education in Britain. This was to be done by setting up three different types of secondary schools; grammar, secondary modern and technical schools. However, although there were a small number of technical schools set up, the bulk of the system consisted of grammar and secondary modern schools.


Now in an attempt to place meritocracy at the centre of the system a new exam was established that all children aged 11 had to sit. The exam was called the 11 plus and whether a child passed or not guided which school they would attend. Those who passed went to a grammar school whilst those who did not attended a secondary modern school. As such, it is possible to see that the 11 plus system allowed for meritocracy to develop in the education system. The idea was that children that were capable of good levels of achievement in school would go on to the best school based not on access to money or privilege, but on merit (Dorey, 1995).


However, the new system did come under criticism from a number of areas and for a number of reasons. The 1944 Education Act was passed by a Conservative Education Minister although it was during the war and therefore during the wartime coalition government. When the Labour Party came to power in 1945 they set about a widespread process of legislation that aimed to make Britain a fairer and more equal country. These aims were carried out in a variety of areas such as; social security, social insurance and health (Dutton, 1996). However, with education the Labour government was content to leave the 1944 Education Act in place and simply put in into action. Therefore, although many people at the time were calling for a nationwide system of comprehensive education to be established, the new government did not do this. Indeed, there was no wish on the part of the Labour Party’s leaders to carry out such wide ranging reforms. As such, although there was clearly an element of meritocracy in the new 11 plus system it was still very unfair. Secondary modern schools were much worse in their standards and resources than that of grammar schools. Furthermore, testing children at the age of 11 and then putting them into a school system that would set them on a certain path for the rest of their lives was unfair. Above all, the eleven plus system failed to take into account the possibility that certain young people develop skills and abilities in education later than the age of 11. In addition, the system did not allow for the problems that can be caused by poverty and lack of resources. Children from poorer families were far more likely to fail the 11 plus and therefore go into the secondary system that would not assist them in furthering their educational potential. Therefore, although the new system established in 1944 was a step in the right direction, the opportunity to develop an education system based on wholesale meritocracy and equality for all children was lost (Cook and Stevenson, 1996).


Nonetheless, although through the 1950s and 1960s the grammar school based system of 11 plus was the primary method of education in Britain there was still a steady growth in the number of comprehensive schools around the country. This steady growth rapidly increased during the late 1960s under the direction of the Labour Education Minister Anthony Crossland. In 1965 he directed local authorities to ready themselves for the wide-scale change from the grammar based eleven plus system to one that allowed for full scale comprehensive education (Dorey, 1995). Furthermore, during the early 1970s Conservative Education Minister Margaret Thatcher continued the drive towards comprehensive education so that by the mid 1970s the majority of young people were either in the comprehensive system or intended to be so in the future.


However, although the system of grammar education had been changed to one of comprehensive provision, the nature of the role of government remained unchanged in the process. However, in 1988 a new Education Act was passed by Conservative Education Minister Kenneth Baker. The new legislation christened ‘the Baker Act’ changed the nature of the education system more than anything since 1944 (Cook and Stevenson, 1996). The school system was allowed greater freedom from local authorities and market forces were allowed to direct the process. Also, for the first time a national curriculum system for schools was established along with inspection measures that would lead to things like OFSTED.


However, as well as the development of the national curriculum some have argued that a ‘hidden curriculum’ has been allowed to develop within the British school system. Hidden curriculum means the wider lessons and knowledge that young people gain outside of the traditional education system. Many argue that this hidden curriculum plays a substantial role in increasing inequality in education. Because young people gain knowledge and experience related directly to their social position or class, then this process is likely to mean that will be unable to progress and achieve their potential. As such, it is suggested that a sub culture has been allowed to develop in the comprehensive system. Naturally, the 11 plus system created sub cultures to an even greater extent; however they can also be seen present in the current system (Dorey, 1996).


As such, sub cultures and their effects have a considerable impact on the relationship between teachers and pupils. Social, economic and even political concerns are all present within the education system and this acts to curtail the ability of all within the system to progress. Ultimately, it is the nature of the education system that results in this problem. Because we now deem the comprehensive system to be entirely based on meritocracy and therefore wholly different to the 11 plus system we therefore think that all in the system have an equal chance. Now on the whole this is indeed the case, however there are many who deem the system to still be based on inequality in social and economic terms. As such, the system is perceived to fail a certain section of society (even when it may not be) and this perception then means that young people within the system react to this incorrect conception. This reaction makes the original untrue perception real in the minds of people and therefore real in reality itself. This is called a self fulfilling prophecy (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004).


Therefore, it is possible to see the extent to which social, political and economic factors all come in to play to impact upon the curriculum and education in general. Indeed, this has always been the case. During the nineteenth century the opposition to a national system of education for all was based on the idea that poor and less fortunate members of society should not be allowed to advance (Pearce and Stewart, 2002). Furthermore, this could also be seen to be the case in the 1944 Education Act. Therefore, it is important to highlight the fact that impacts and developments such as these still continue to affect the nature of the education system in Britain. As they affect the nature of the system itself then it is quite logical that they would affect the ability of the system to allow meritocracy to develop. Indeed, although such problems are not as evident and severe as they once were does not mean that they do not exist at all in modern Britain (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004).


In conclusion, the development of the education system in Britain and along with it the development of meritocracy has been discussed in detail. From 1870 onwards the were various pieces of legislation that dramatically altered the nature of the British education system. Each new change brought about different consequences and effects and really can only be understood when we consider it in its particular time. Indeed, this is especially the case with the 1988 Education Act. However, as we have also seen, it is possible to view general characteristics that have continued throughout the whole life of the education system in Britain. As such, although various attempts have been made to make the system based on principles of meritocracy, certain economic, social and political concerns have continued to stop this process being fully brought about. As such, it is first important that we fully understand the nature of these factors if the British education system is ever to be fully based on merit and not affected by other issues outside.


Bibliography


Bibliography


Cook, Chris and Stevenson, John. “Britain Since 1945” London: Longman, 1996.


Dorey, Peter. “British Politics Since 1945” Oxford: Blackwell, 1995


Dutton, David. “British Politics Since 1945” Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.


Haralambos, Michael and Holborn, Martin. “Sociology: Themes and Perspectives” London: Collins, 2004.


Pearce, Malcolm and Stewart, Geoffrey. “British Politial History: 1867-2001” London: Routledge, 2002.


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