Education Action Zones: An Initiative in the Making

Abstract

‘Zones’ are closely defined localities which have special status in terms of recent Government initiatives. This article begins by examining the early stages of the Education Action Zone (EAZ) initiative which was launched in 1998, and the policy context into which it fits. It offers a critique of the selection processes used in the first round of applications for EAZ status, and an account of LEA responses to the changes introduced for the second round of zones. The article concludes by identifying a series of tensions, problems and paradoxes which lie at the heart of the initiative-problems which may not have been solved by the revised application procedures.