From Ruskin to the Learning Country: Education policy, the State and educational politics in England and/or Wales, 1976-2001

Abstract

The period 1976-2001 was an immensely significant one in the history of education in England and Wales. It began with the speech by a Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan on 18 October at Ruskin College, Oxford which signalled the so-called 'Great Debate' on education, and ended with the publication of two important White Papers on education, also by a Labour government. In the meantime, of course, the period was dominated by successive Tory governments, which set about attempting to transform the educational system in a series of ways. This paper discusses the nature of these changes by focusing attention upon three important years--1976, 1988 and 2001. A central argument is that Welsh education has always had distinctive elements, but that after 2001, the duality between England and Wales is likely to be more radically pronounced in the future.