Against “Progressivism”: Schooling and the Cohering of Conservative Interests in Australia, 1970s–1980s

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article charts how a disdain for progressivism in schooling was central to the development of conservative interests across the 1970s and 1980s. It does so by examining the Australian Council for Educational Standards (ACES) Review (1973–1987). This under-examined newsletter offers important insight into the cultivation of cultural conservatism, having links with the influential Australian conservative think tank the Centre for Independent Studies and the literary journal Quadrant, as well as comparable international outlets. First, this article identifies the diverse conservative interests and actors—including prominent conservative Australian figures—who set an agenda to intervene into educational practice via the newsletter. Second, I demonstrate how ACES Review writers depict progressivism as dangerous social engineering in contrast to their defence of traditional disciplines and educational standards. Third, I examine how ACES Review writers position themselves as speaking on the outside of power, as providing a voice of dissent against progressivism in government bureaucracies, and taking a leading role in conservative challenges to union leadership.