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The French have a sayingplus ca change plus c�est la meme chose. The English colloquial equivalent ‘same old same old conveys a sense of the inevitable, a reminder that if we haven‘t learned the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat them. In over half a century, what have we learned about education, about schools as places for education, a

The processes for allocating places at secondary schools in England are perennially controversial. Providing integrated coverage of the policy, practice and outcomes from 1944 to 2012, this book addresses the issues relevant to school admissions arising from three different approaches adopted in this period: planning via local authorities, quasi-market mechanisms, and random allocation. Each approach is assessed on its own terms, but constitutional and legal analysis is also utilised to reflect on the extent to which each meets expectations and values associated with schooling, especially democratic expectations associated with citizenship. Repeated failure to identify and pursue specific values for schooling, and hence admissions, can be found to underlie questions regarding the ‘fairness'of the process, while also limiting the potential utility of judicial responses to legal actions relating to school admissions. The book adopts an interdisciplinary approach which makes it relevant and accessible to a wide readership in education, social policy and socio-legal studies.

This collection draws together contributions from leading researchers and participants to explore a major reform process of the state and education system in particular. The shift from welfare-based provision of public services to the quasi-market with private delivery and philanthropic investment is an issue that needs a thorough examination through evidence and rigorous argument. This book seeks to do this by not only charting events and providing detailed examination about what is happening but also by locating these developments within a contemporary political and social analytical framework. Topics covered include:• the legal and political process of establishing Academies• the working and impact of Academies using a range of data and perspectives• the debates and issues regarding this major reform, with comparative perspectives. The State and Education Policy shows how the Academies Programme in England is an important site for examining the growth of neoliberal ideas and practices in the framing and delivery of public services such as education.