The passive revolution in English school reform : Hegemony from above

Stevenson, Howard

Abstract

In this chapter, we analyse education reform in England over a period of more than half a century. Progressive advance in the post-war years posed a serious threat to the status and stability of dominant groups, so there has taken place a sustained effort to reverse these developments. Restructuring public education has been central to the success of the hegemonic project of the political Right, which can be traced to the Thatcher era and beyond. This project in education is explained in Gramscian terms as an intervention in an ideological struggle to re-shape the common sense. However, the chapter also explores how successive governments have mobilised within the education system to develop a ‘new educational establishment’ as a bloc capable of exercising leadership across the educational system. The project has had some substantial successes, but it remains contested on multiple fronts and, therefore, must be considered as a passive revolution that has failed to build a strong base within the system.

Citation

Stevenson, H. (2023). The passive revolution in English school reform : Hegemony from above. In Educational Leadership and Antonio Gramsci: The Organising of Ideas (101-125). Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505102-5

• Publication Date: Sep 20, 2023
• Deposit Date: Nov 27, 2023
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 101-125
• Book Title: Educational Leadership and Antonio Gramsci: The Organising of Ideas
• Chapter Number: 5
• ISBN: 9781138585720
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505102-5
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/25394917
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429505102-5/passive-revolution-english-school-reform-howard-stevenson