The Role and Status of LEAs: Post-war pride and fin de siècle uncertainty

Abstract

From the mid-1940s until the mid-1970s, most of Britain's political 'establishment' shared a tacit governing philosophy which embraced a broad commitment to the concept of 'a national system of education, locally administered'. More specifically, it was believed that the tripartite partnership established between central government, local government and the individual schools and colleges involved a network of checks and balances which would ensure the effective distribution of power throughout the system. This partnership survived the local political battles over comprehensive schooling in the 1950s and 1960s, but began to break down in the 1970s when economic dislocation and a national identity crisis ushered in a new era of accountability and sanctions. This 'breakdown' encompassed the trust and confidence that central government had once reposed in the competence of local education authorities. The erosion of confidence in LEA effectiveness intensified under the Thatcher and Major administrations and is further threatened by the privatising agenda of New Labour.