History, Politics and Policy-making in Education

Richard Aldrich, Emeritus Professor of History of Education, retired in 2003 after a 30-year career at the Institute of Education, where he continues to serve as Public Orator. In his scholarship, Aldrich has particularly emphasised the importance of historical perspectives and the relationship between the educational past, politics and policy-making. This wide-ranging volume of ten essays, by fellow historians of education who have been privileged to work closely with Aldrich, takes up the theme of history, politics and policy-making, examining such diverse themes as motherhood, gender, race, school curricula and inspection, the teaching of reading, approaches to educating gifted children, economic and historical perspectives on educational policy-making, university politics and national security. Controversies about politics and policy-making are to be found in each of these chapters, which demonstrate how an understanding of the historical past may help us to set in context current educational issues. The volume includes an introduction that pays tribute to Aldrich's leadership of the educational history field in the UK and overseas and a comprehensive listing of his major writings.