This dissertation is concerned with the relationship between a state and its public education system. It is based upon the premise that the system in England and WaIes is inherently rooted in its nineteenth century past and that recent educational policies have only served to strengthen this fact rather than reforming the system to give it more relevance for a society about to enter the twenty-first century. This orientation serves to perpetrate epistemological, sociological, economic and vocational perspectives which are more appropriate for the nineteenth century than for our own times. The dissertation makes the point that educational policymaking at the end of the twentieth century in England is based on outmoded thinking, outdated concepts of statehood, society, the relationship between citizen and state, knowledge and, therefore, education itself.
The thesis concerns itself with a comparative overview of the development of 'statehood' and a consideration of the notion of 'ideology'. It examines the ideological sources and development of education in three historical settings. This is followed by a detailed examination of the sources of the national system of education in England. The current educational climate is considered in the light of developments since the enactment of the legislation of 1944. This is centred upon a close study of the parliamentary debates which preceded the Acts of 1944 and 1988 which clearly demonstrated that the educational agenda, in political terms, is still dominated by nineteenth century thinking, not the least important aspect of which is religion.
The conclusion argues that, with the advent of postmodernism, a new relationship is needed between education and the state. Indeed, the whole structure and methodology of education will need to be re-worked to take advantage not only of new means of understanding available, but also of new understanding of knowledge itself
