Introduction

This chapter sets out the purpose of the research the book is based on, exploring the changing experience of teaching history across the period 1985 to 2011. It sets the scene in 1985 when, under the neoliberal regimes of Thatcher and Reagan, a global education reform movement emerged, introducing test-based accountability policies. It provides a summary of the justification for the research, the oral history approach, the research questions and the way findings are set out across the rest of the book. It also positions the author as a teacher of history and teacher educator during the period in question.