A framework of analysis

By tracing the history of themes and variations within reform of the school system over the last 60 years it is possible to shed some light on the underlying tensions which bear upon the current construct of ‘the admissions question’. The essential position adopted here is that issues relating to school admissions must be viewed in the context of the broader processes of school reform. Offering a narrative history here of the reforms that have taken place could be useful and interesting, but it is important that this does not become an end in itself, as excellent examples of such work can already be found elsewhere (see Simon, 1991; Carr and Hartnett, 1996; Tomlinson, 2005). Rather, this chapter will focus on those landmarks that signify most clearly the changing power relationships within the system. In practice, this means focusing on the locus of decision-making power and, given the agenda set in the previous chapter, the accountability arrangements relevant to the deployment of such power.

What will become apparent is that, unsurprisingly, it is political debate and political power that has shaped the various settlements and re-settlements pertaining to education policy. It might therefore be expected that this would have also resulted in a set of values that would underpin the arrangements, but the processes of conflict and compromise inherent in the political fray have arguably left the value base much less strongly built than might be desirable. Indeed, the story that will emerge in this chapter is one of repeated compromise, the gravitational pull of pragmatism and the failure of political nerve and conviction in relation to the school system, at least as regards embedding a coherent set of educational values. While structural reforms have been introduced with commitment and vigour, much less movement is observable in terms of the introduction of a clear system of fundamental values for schooling. At the broadest level, a shift in emphasis is evident from the 1944 Education Act (EA44) to the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) and later, when schooling as a civic and personal good in itself was increasingly superseded by a priority placed on education in the service of the national economic interest.