The Impact of Thatcher’s 1988 Education Reform Act on the British Educational System

Abstract

After the Second World War, Britain witnessed a period of significant change in politics, especially during the Conservative Party leadership. This change later contributed to the establishment of a new set of policies. Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Prime Minister, introduced a set of reforms and regulations, which were influenced by the neoliberal ideology, into public educational system. This dissertation aims at examining the impacts of Thatcher„s 1988 educational reforms on the educational system that was established under the neoliberal philosophy. This research investigates whether the Post-War educational systemunder Thatcher‟s neoliberal ideology had changed during herpremiership or remained the same, and whether her educational policies really improved the education standards in state schools. During the last term of the 1980‟s, Thatcher worked on enhancing the quality of education via the introduction of market mechanism and competition in state schools. Following the 1988 Education Reform Act, a range of reforms were initiated including parental choice, grant-maintained schools and a national curriculum. The outcome of these reforms was a change in Britain‟s Post-War education system and learners‟ performance.