'Justice is the first virtue of all social institutions.' 2 This article discusses the astonishing ignorance at all levels as to how Britain has become a multiracial, multicultural society in a ...post-imperial age, the hostility towards changes in the education system which would help
clearer understandings of the imperial past, and the efforts of teachers and other educators to assist in the creation of a socially and racially just society.
The English mass state education system, developing over 150 years, has created subsystems for children and young people who had difficulty in functioning at or beyond 'mainstream' schooling, or ...whose behaviour was deemed inappropriate. While many descriptions and labels proliferated
in the education system, by 1981 children notionally had been categorised with 'special educational needs' (SEN) with disability added in 1995 (SEND) and/or were increasingly placed in what became alternative educational provisions (APs). By 2021, this dual subsystem was attempting to deal
with around one and a half million children, a majority still in mainstream schooling in what was considered to be inclusion, others designated as 'high needs', mainly within (expensive) segregated special schools or units, and other children were subject to temporary or permanent exclusions
from school. In March 2022, with a follow-up in 2023, the government, driven largely by financial considerations and a lack of oversight of existing provision, proposed that the expanding special educational needs and AP subsystems be formally linked. This article examines these emerging proposals
through an historical lens, and considers what these may mean for teachers, associated professionals and the children.
In March 2007, the last report of the English Equal Opportunities Commission, before it was merged with a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, concluded that women with young children ...suffered more discrimination at work than any other group. This came as little surprise for most working mothers, who are accustomed to searching for a part-time job that can accommodate their children’s needs or being shunted onto what is now known as the “mummy track” in business or the professions. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported in 2005 that 70 percent of all British women aged fifteen
This article examines a number of connecting themes concerning home-school relations over the last 20 years. We argue that the position of parents in relation to the education system can be seen as ...an instructive case study for the broader trends and shifts in the relationship between citizens and public sector institutions. As such we conclude that the important developments, upon which future analysis should concentrate, are those where parents seek to define for themselves new understandings of what constitutes an 'appropriate' parental role, rather than being captured within a hegemonic discourse of 'good' parenting. The incursions of consumerism into public sector institutions is obviously a major theme throughout the paper, and we seek to highlight some flaws in the notion of parent as consumer. In particular, we argue that the apparent agency embedded in the role of consumer does not necessarily influence parents' relationships with teachers once a choice of school is made. At school level notions of 'partnership' are still dominant. We examine the ways in which 'partnerships' are played out in practice, and argue that the concept is increasingly used to justify mechanisms, such as home-school contracts, which seek to control the behaviour of parents and their children. The third theme within the paper explores the possibilities for parental agency and activity, using examples drawn from parents' groups organising around special education. The final section considers the potential for future research on home-school relations.
Education rightly remains a tool for competing in the global economy & thus an aim of governments worldwide, but there are problems with viewing formal education alone as the means to a good working ...& personal life. Policies that encourage a work culture (including better work conditions & opportunities for further training) may lead to a better pay-off in terms of individual needs as well as a better economy. With the rapid development of technology & concurrent areas of employment, continuing education/training is a necessity. Employers offering, & workers taking advantage of, the advancement of worker capability are going to be the most competitive, thereby making their countries more competitive in the global economy. Other measures are necessary as well, including improved accessibility for young people in depressed areas first to education & then to good work opportunities. This paper explores how a new economic system can bring together educated workers & progressive industries to promote their mutual growth. Adapted from the source document.
Encouraged by the ideologies and the funding policies of the major international organizations - the IMF, the WTO and the World Bank - a major aim of the New Labour government from 1997 was to raise ...levels of investment in education, from both public and private sources, and raise qualification and skill levels, with the declared aim of improving economic competitiveness. There is certainly an argument to be made for regarding young people as human capital and encouraging (or requiring) them to stay in education and training, with continual skill upgrading, but there are problems with a simple equation that says: improve education and skill levels, and the countries' position in a global market economy will automatically improve.
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