ABSTRACT
Moral panic theory affords fruitful opportunities for analysis as various aspects of school education –comes under the metaphorical microscope, as, indeed, the interplay of school education and moral panic theory at the same time affords an intriguing opportunity for a study of how this affects people's understanding of moral panic theory. Throughout history, schools and school education often have been at the centre of a much broader social panic. Moral provocateurs deliberately behave in a public and controversial manner in order to provoke argument or other strong reactions. As a lens for historical analysis, the moral panic paradigm potentially affords an insightful analysis of more than a hundred years of school educational history in these three countries. Through examining decades of what may purport to be moral panics in school education, a more complete understanding of these moral constructs will increase the understanding of moral panic theory as drivers for school education policy.
