ABSTRACT
Transformation in the schooling of boys and girls was one of the most significant educational changes in the late twentieth century. Yet gender equality in education has rarely been on the UK government policy agenda. In this chapter, we explore the intended and unintended effects of government policies since the 1970s, by comparing the continuities and discontinuities between social democratic and New Right policies and by pinpointing the effects of central and local relations on gender. We emphasise the complex interplay between educational policy and the often neglected key part played by family policy and values. We also focus on the role of a major social movement of the late twentieth century – education feminism.
