Introduction

In most countries, the state is directly responsible for the bulk of educational provision and regulates any part of the service provided privately. Consequently, the influence of politics on education and the character of educational policy-making have attracted considerable research interest. This chapter provides an overview of three aspects of contemporary British politics that have particularly influenced education provision. These are the impact of public expenditure restraint, the role of political ideologies in recent educational developments, and the relative power and influence in education of different governmental agencies. The chapter outlines the development of ideas concerning three themes (equality of opportunity, unequal cultures, and education and unemployment) in relation to issues of the 1980s, and which illustrate both positive and negative views of the social role of education. Finally, the chapter presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book.