Although England was not included in the International Instructional Systems Study because it was not a high-performing jurisdiction by the Study's definition, contributors largely were England-based. Analysing the Study's nine overall aspects of instructional systems, this paper finds that England is out of step with many of the high-performing…

Set against a period of rapid change, education has grown in political importance and policy development has moved from the local authority to central government with a key role being played by the Secretary of State. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews, with 10 politicians who have served as Secretary of State for Education, this…

This paper attempts to propose an alternative policy frame for higher education policy by demonstrating the inadequacy of the market approach adopted by the 2011 English higher education policy in addressing the economic and social agenda, and by reframing higher education as a mechanism that selects and distributes talents to vocational sectors…

As of September 2012, the undergraduate tuition fee cap at English universities was raised from £3375 to £9000 per annum. This article explores the rationales underpinning prospective students' decision whether or not to apply to higher education following the fee increase, specifically, how this decision is influenced by perceptions of…

This paper presents a comparative critique of key education and teacher education policies in England adopted by New Labour (1997-2010) and the Coalition government (2010-2015). It focuses on direct measures intended to alleviate the effects of poverty on young people's educational outcomes, and on teacher education policies with implications for…

The "Revised Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales" presents statutory guidance under section 29 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. This guidance states that "Schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive topics, including terrorism and the extremist ideas…

This paper is a study of collaborative partnerships in education. It uses qualitative research methodology to explore case studies of three partnerships within a British city. Written from the 'insider' perspective of a headteacher, it uses personal reflection to make sense of experience in relation to a context of unprecedented change in…

In this paper, I draw on a study of school leaders' experiences of inspection to argue that repeated changes to school inspection policy in England constitute a post-panoptic regime. Thinking with and against Foucault, I elaborate post-panopticism, here characterised by: subjects' visibility; "fuzzy" norms; the exposure of subjects'…

This paper examines the promises made in education policy regarding people's future education, employment and social mobility. Specifically, the paper analyses how the term "potential" functions in education policy texts and discourses to make tacit promises at an affective level. Contemporary education policies often invoke the need to…

What is meant by fundamental British values? How are they constructed and can they be taught in schools? In trying to address these questions, this paper revisits a small-scale research study commissioned by the UK's previous New Labour government. The research was concerned to understand the extent to which schools delivered a diverse curriculum…

Spain suffered a severe political and moral crisis in the final years of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth. Pedagogues and politicians belonging to the "Institución Libre de Enseñanza" (ILE), or those close to it, did not consider it possible to regenerate the country without attending to education and Britain…

This paper explores the governance of school-based and early education in England under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government (2010-15). It draws on three prominent Coalition policy areas--the academies programme, the pupil premium, and free part-time early education--and focuses on changes to the role played by central government…

This article explores the administration of the teacher and teacher education from a critical governmentality perspective. It explores some of the current authorities and knowledges implicated in the governing of teachers, and how these characterise, connect to and operationalise a neo-liberal modality of government. A case study of the…

The complex nature of the work of a teacher in England was thrown into fresh relief in 2010 by the marked contrast between the outgoing New Labour administration and the incoming Coalition. The paper addresses the false dichotomy between views of teaching as craft and teaching as profession and proceeds to a consideration of the actuality of the…

The role of local government in addressing issues of social equity is undergoing significant reconstruction in current educational policy reforms in England. The current conceptualisation of social provision places individual rights at the centre of policy, and social responsibility is represented as the work of individuals. Drawing upon a…