Reviews

This article seeks to evaluate critically the proposals set out in Sir Ron Dearing's report published in March 1996 (Dearing, 1996). Despite being broadly welcomed across the political spectrum, most of the proposals have yet to be implemented. The General Election of 1997 delayed the process, with the start date for a partially reformed system now set at September 2000. While there have been some moves away from what Dearing recommended, his review remains the key policy text in this area, particularly as his consultations did much to educate the professional audience. The report has attracted thorough examination (Hodgson and Spours, 1997; Spours and Young, 1996; Young, 1998) and much will be drawn from such sources. However, the key argument will be made that within the Dearing Report, and within much of what has been written about it, there is a reluctance to engage with fundamental issues of curriculum philosophy and values. Hence what is proposed, while seeming reasonable and pragmatic, does in fact attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. There is no evidence to suggest that the Labour government will address these issues. With the exception of the New Deal, the whole area of post-compulsory education represents policy continuity rather than radical innovation (Hodgson and Spours, 1999). Paradoxically the greater freedom and voluntarism in this area does offer the possibility of innovation at a local level.