Radical Reforms

During the past decade, international commentators and researchers have likened England to a science laboratory where the rate of experimentation has developed at a frenetic pace. Some governments have watched this situation with interest but from a distance, others have attempted to transfer policies and interventions across geographical and cultural boundaries. The current political climate would suggest this trend is likely to continue. Focusing on education as a major area of public policy in England, this book explores a decade of rapid and intensive modernization and draws out the lessons for those concerned with developing education systems across the globe.In 1997, "New Labour" set out to transform the public sector in general, and education in particular. This book focuses specifically on reform in key areas: Standards and accountability; Workforce reform; Choice and Diversity; Every child matters; and, beyond. Such reforms are contested, and can be polarized, with discourses which stress the opportunities created, while others reveal the erosion of professional values. "New Labour" uses a 'score card' approach to measure their reforms, but this book goes much deeper and wider than this. Drawing on the framework which "New Labour" has developed to assess the approaches to and outcomes of interventions and the extent to which policies can deliver promised transformations, the authors present a critical account of reform by studying examples of policies, and conceptualizing the interplay of policy, practice and research. This book will be of interest to researchers in education, education policy and school leadership in the UK and beyond.