Did the rising tide of state education lift all ships? An investigation into the secondary education and attainment policy towards white working-class boys in England, 1997-2010

Tiplady, Joseph

Abstract

This thesis is an evaluation of the secondary education and attainment policies of the New Labour governments, from 1997 to 2010, and of the extent to which that improved educational outcomes for white working-class boys in England. The study begins by mapping the intellectual development of the Labour Party’s secondary education policy from 1941 to 1994. The main body of the thesis appraises the performance of New Labour’s flagship policies during the premierships of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Finally, a case study chapter seeks to set out the quantitative data on the GCSE performances of white working-class boys in some of the lowest performing local authorities in this period and broadly considers the influence of both cultural and social factors.
This thesis contends that New Labour’s efforts to improve the educational attainment of white working-class boys was successful to a limited and partial extent. The success can be attributed to interventionist policies that raised the quality and standards in schools, albeit these initiatives were often narrow and geographically or institutionally defined. Furthermore, New Labour’s conception of the state prevented it from considering wider cultural and social issues that can have an influencing effect on educational attainment.
The original contribution of this thesis is a major assessment of the flagship domestic policy of the most recent period of Labour government filling a gap in the literature of contemporary British political history. A further claim to originality is the use of interview material to inform this thesis, drawing upon conversations with elite political actors from the period facilitates new insights and a deeper understanding.

Citation

Tiplady, J. Did the rising tide of state education lift all ships? An investigation into the secondary education and attainment policy towards white working-class boys in England, 1997-2010. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4500690

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 18, 2024
• Keywords: Politics; Education
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4500690
• Additional Information: School of Politics and International Relations; University of Hull
• Award Date: Nov 29, 2023