Education Policy & Contemporary Politics

By Jack Demaine
May 2000
Macmillan UK
ISBN: 0333682505
240 pages
$110.00 hardcover


Education policy is at the very top of the political agenda - the proclaimed top priority of the 'New Labour' government. Yet Labour has inherited a quasi-market education system and remains under the direction of reform during the coming year. This book examines new directions on issues of selection and educational opportunity, gender and racism and the question of school effectiveness and school improvements. The politics for the National Curriculum and its assessment are explored, alongside issues of lifelong learning and IT policy. The book explores the key questions of the future reform of education in contemporary Britain with contributions from the leading experts in education, education policy, politics and sociology.

Contents:
Introduction
Education Policy and Contemporary Politics; J.Demaine
Moving Back from Comprehensive Education?; T.Edwards, S.Power & G.Whitty
Educational Reforms, Gender and Families; M.David
School Effectiveness, School Improvement and Contemporary Educational Policy; D.Reynolds
Race, Nation and Education: New Labour and the New Racism; D.Gillborn
Beyond the Bell Curve: New Politics for the National Curriculum; B.Moon
Educational Assessment in an Era of Reform; R.Murphy & J.Wilmut
Challenging Tripartism in Post-compulsory Education; D.Gleeson
Education Policy and IT; Virtual Reality?; P.King & P.Wild
Education Policy: The Next Ten Years; S.Sexton
Index

Author Biography:
JACK DEMAINE is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at Loughborough University. His publications include, Contemporary Theories in the Sociology of Education (1981) and Beyond Communitarianism: Citizenship, Politics and Education (with Harold Entwistle) (1996). He is a member of the editorial board of International Studies in Sociology of Education.

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