ABSTRACT
When the Year Book of Education was founded in 1932 by the Chairman of Evans Brothers, Sir Robert Evans, its Editor-in-Chief for the first four years (1932–35) was Lord Eustace Percy, formerly President of the Board of Education. Both these men of vision wanted the Year Book to be more than a volume of academic interest. They hoped it would be of value to politicians, administrators and educationists. Articles should help governments to formulate policy and inform a wide lay audience about contemporary education issues. Percy himself persistently advocated the reform of secondary education and the expansion of technical education. The early volumes reflect these and other concerns. Throughout its life the range of issues explored has been wide and it has never been the intention of the publishers, the editorial boards or the editors to publish articles which would simply or principally appeal to and satisfy the needs of research workers and scholars. They have always wanted the Year Book of Education to be a forum for discussions about pressing educational problems. It is against this vision that the volumes published between 1932 and 1940 and then between 1948, when it was revived after the Second World War, and 1973 should be judged.
