ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the process of reorganising secondary schools has changed over time since the Second World War. It analyses for making clear the changing procedures and administration of institutional reorganization in terms of the dominant values and power relations of the period. The 1944 Education Act was aimed at radical change. It was committed to the values of expanding education and establishing universal secondary education for all. The political and legal challenge of parental interest groups to LEA procedure has been part of a wider judicialization of local government decision-making. LEA consultation with parents was limited and councillors and officers typically had little enthusiasm for involving parents seriously in the policy process. The phase of reorganization saw a relationship between dominant values, organization and procedure in the government of education. The commitment to expand educational opportunities pointed to the importance of planning and encouraged partnership between central and local government.
