Overview

Education Policy Unravelled examines the nature of contemporary education policy, its purposes and political formation. It charts the continuity of policy development along neo-liberal lines, taking an historical perspective and moving from New Labour to the emerging position of the Coalition government. Contrary to popular belief about recent radical change in education policy, the author team draws attention to the fact that there have been strong similarities and nuanced disagreements between successive modern governments. Written in an accessible style, the book contains a number of activities and pedagogical features designed to appeal to students, to inform thinking and understanding around key policy issues. This is an invaluable guide for engaging with education policy as it uses a variety of key elements of policy theory in order to support students through some of the complexities involved in contemporary policy analysis and critique.

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9781441130730

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Reviews

'We need to talk about education policy, and Dean Garratt and Gillian Forrester have provided the scholarship and agenda to be able to do this and to do this well. This is an ambitious text and they have presented not only a framework for engaging with policy, but also the debates about key issues challenging the security of public education. They show that we need to talk about matters to do with the curriculum and workforce, in schools and the post compulsory sector, and that these discussions need to be linked to bigger issues of social justice and democratic renewal. This is a book worth reading and thinking about tough issues with, and it will help children, parents, professionals and researchers to directly engage with issues that directly affect their engagement with education.' Helen Gunter, Professor of Educational Policy, Leadership and Management, University of Manchester, UK 'Educational policy is a subject of constant praise and condemnation, especially when, as at present, radical changes are being made in England through the creation of academies and free schools outside the control of local authorities - a reversal of the arrangements established by the 1944 Education Act. But such praise or condemnation would benefit from a deeper and more philosophical understanding of what we mean by policy making. This book provides, in a most accessible style, that understanding. It does so through a brief history of policy changes, illustrated by concrete examples (for example, the changes in higher education access and fee structure), but also through an examination of the underpinning discourse and the broader philosophical assumptions which underlie that discourse - often unacknowledged and unexamined. That discourse has shifted over period covered by the book from 1870 to the present day - liberal humanism, market individualism, social democracy, social justice and community (and a strange mixture of several together). This is a most valuable addition to educational books at a time when this kind of analysis is much needed.' Richard Pring, Emeritus Professor, Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK 'Dean Garratt and Gillian Forrester should be congratulated for their wide-ranging analysis of education policy. They draw on the most significant arguments locating these in their historical and contemporary contexts. This book is a valuable addition to the field of education studies.' James Avis, Professor of Post-Compulsory Education and Training, University of Huddersfield, UK

Author Information

Dean Garratt is Professor of Education in the Faculty of Education and Children's Services at the University of Chester, UK. Gillian Forrester is Principal Lecturer and Deputy Centre Leader for Education and Early Childhood Studies in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University, UK.

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