TY - JOUR

T1 - Developing the Labour Party’s comprehensive secondary education policy, 1950-1965

T2 - Party activists as public intellectuals and policy entrepreneurs

AU - Olsson-Rost, Anna

AU - Collinson, Marc

N1 - 18 month embargo at publication

PY - 2022/10

Y1 - 2022/10

N2 - The main aim of this article is to use the case study of comprehensivisation to examine the role of party activists as policy entrepreneurs and public intellectuals during the period 1950-1965. The intention is to widen the traditional notion of the public intellectual in order to better evaluate policy-making processes within the Labour Party. It will be argued here that these figures were also policy entrepreneurs, who actively created and advocated new policy solutions, not just unconnected idea merchants hawking impractical or ignorable ideas without a clear strategy. Previously, Labour policy on comprehensivisation was viewed as a ‘missed opportunity’, a case study of ambivalent policymakers lacking vision. However, this article demonstrates that, over a long period of time, a methodical policymaking process considered and adopted a position that advocated a more comprehensive schooling system. In this process, the sustained activities of Fabian Society and NALT members, acting as policy entrepreneurs within the Labour Party’s policymaking organs to transform often non-committal and vague conference resolutions into a usable policy solution.

AB - The main aim of this article is to use the case study of comprehensivisation to examine the role of party activists as policy entrepreneurs and public intellectuals during the period 1950-1965. The intention is to widen the traditional notion of the public intellectual in order to better evaluate policy-making processes within the Labour Party. It will be argued here that these figures were also policy entrepreneurs, who actively created and advocated new policy solutions, not just unconnected idea merchants hawking impractical or ignorable ideas without a clear strategy. Previously, Labour policy on comprehensivisation was viewed as a ‘missed opportunity’, a case study of ambivalent policymakers lacking vision. However, this article demonstrates that, over a long period of time, a methodical policymaking process considered and adopted a position that advocated a more comprehensive schooling system. In this process, the sustained activities of Fabian Society and NALT members, acting as policy entrepreneurs within the Labour Party’s policymaking organs to transform often non-committal and vague conference resolutions into a usable policy solution.

KW - Fabians

KW - Labour Party

KW - Labour Teachers

KW - circular 10/65

KW - comprehensivisation

KW - policymaking

KW - public intellectuals

U2 - 10.1080/00071005.2022.2131731

DO - 10.1080/00071005.2022.2131731

M3 - Article

VL - 70

SP - 1

EP - 17

JO - British Journal of Educational Studies

JF - British Journal of Educational Studies

SN - 0007-1005

IS - 5

ER -