ABSTRACT
Although bureaucratisation has been of major concern to social theorists, little if anything has been written from a historical perspective about the bureaucratisation of the English education system in the recent past. Yet, arguably, the transformations which have taken place in the scale, internal working and administration of our schools, colleges and universities have been among the most significant influences on their social functions, their overall impact on society and the extent and nature of their responses to wider social and economic change.
