Reconstructions of Secondary Education Theory, Myth and Practice since the Second World War

<p>British secondary education has changed in major ways since 1945. This book examines some consequences and implications of both change and stability, drawing on a unique series of national surveys of school leavers in Scotland. The authors provide an empirical and theoretical account of central problems of contemporary schooling. Their analysis covers: certification, curriculum and selection; the effects of educational expansion; trends in educational inequality; the impact of comprehensive reorganisation; truancy and alienation from schooling; the explanation of differences in performance between schools and the implications for the public accountability of schools. From these analyses the authors develop a critique of the e~theorye(tm) of the education system that underpinned expansion. They examine this theorye(tm)s logical and empirical status as e~mythe(tm) and elaborate how the political system and social science might jointly overcome some of the methodological difficulties that beset social and educational research. </p>