ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with how they regarded and realised the autonomy associated with a devolved education system, although the extent to which it is a system has been questioned. It deals with how autonomy sat with the increasing levels of external accountabilities and scrutiny that have been associated with this devolution. In relation to schools, concerns about unfettered marketisation – where schools and their systems are dis-embedded – have led to increased accountability regimes through, for example, Ofsted, Regional Schools Commissioners and professional standards for teachers and head teachers as well as a variety of school networks and collaborative agreements. These accountability mechanisms have re-embedded education markets but reflect ambivalences of emancipation. The move of the Co-operative Society into education has been well documented and some on the left have suggested that this move might actually demonstrate an opportunity for promoting social justice through schooling. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
