ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a considerable contrast to the previous paper by Yeo. David Hutchinson, through his review in early 1993 of the ways in which government policy continued to impact on primary education through the early 1990s, conveys much of the commonly felt frustration of professional educators at the time. His analysis articulates with Moon’s chapter on the policy context of curriculum reform. However, we have placed it in this ‘classroom’ section because of the contrast which it provides with Yeo’s work and because of Hutchinson’s focus on the impact of the, so-called, ‘three wise men’ report (Alexander et al. 1992). This was the first attempt by government to influence actual teaching methods in classrooms. The article vividly conveys the succession of moral panics, government interventions, and expressions of professional concern which characterised the period. Hutchinson concludes, optimistically, by noting the strength of professional expertise and co-operation-but the story is far from over….
