New Labour and Secondary Education, 1994-2010

Clyde Chitty is Visiting Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK. He is the author, co-author, or editor of over 30 books and reports on education, including Thirty Years On (with Caroline Benn, 1996), Education Policy in Britain (2004, 2009), and Eugenics, Race and Intelligence in Education (2007). He was formerly Goldsmiths Professor of Policy and Management in Education at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

"For those attempting to understand what is happening to our education system, this book offers a lucid and detailed account of New Labour education policies from 1994 to 2010, which dismantled the postwar consensus of local and central partnerships, attacked the notion of a comprehensive education for all, and reduced the professionalism of teachers to deliverers of a competitive service in a creeping, privatized industry." - Sally Tomlinson, Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK, and Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Oxford, UK "Written with Clyde Chitty's characteristic clarity, flair and commitment, this book is essential reading for all those committed to a socially just, humanly fulfilling, publicly funded system of education. Not only does it help us understand why the Labour Party has such an ambivalent commitment to truly comprehensive education, it also helps us to understand why it is an ideal still worth fighting for." - Michael Fielding, Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute of Education, University of London, UK "In this insightful and incisive new book, Clyde Chitty provides a detailed deconstruction and critique of New Labour's education policy on secondary education. He eloquently argues that New Labour's education agenda is a continuation of the previous conservative government's policies, which set in motion the dismantling of the secondary school system. New Labour and Secondary Education 1994-2010 is essential reading for all those concerned with the future of secondary education and the comprehensive school in particular." - Rosalyn George, Professor, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK

• 1. Introduction 2. The Origins of Political Parties in Britain: Consensus or Conflict? 3. Labour Education Policy, 1944 to 1994: Fifty Years of Missed Opportunities and Uneasy Compromises 4. A Change of Direction: The Origins of New Labour's Education Philosophy 5. Choice, Diversity, and Selection: The Steady Abandonment of the Comprehensive Ideal 6. The Privatization of Education 7. The Erosion of the National Curriculum 8. International Perspectives 9. Conclusion