Research Catalog

Title

The crisis of the meritocracy : Britain's transition to mass education since the Second World War / Peter Mandler.

Author

Mandler, Peter

Publication

Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 361 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

Before the Second World War, only about 20% of the population went to secondary school and barely 2% to university; today everyone goes to secondary school and half of all young people go to university. How did we get here from there? The Crisis of the Meritocracy answers this question not by looking to politicians and educational reforms, but to the revolution in attitudes and expectations amongst the post-war British public - the rights guaranteed by the welfare state, the hope of a better life for one's children, widespread upward mobility from manual to non-manual occupations, confidence in the importance of education in a 'learning society' and a 'knowledge economy'. As a result of these transformations, 'meritocracy' - the idea that a few should be selected to succeed - has been challenged by democracy and its wider understandings of equal opportunity across the life course. At a time when doubts have arisen about whether we need so many students, and amidst calls for a return to grammar-school selection at 11, the tension between meritocracy and democracy remains vital to understanding why our grandparents, our parents, ourselves and our children have sought and got more and more education - and to what end.

Subject

• 1900-1999
• Education and state > Great Britain > History > 20th century
• Education > Great Britain > History > 20th century
• Educational equalization > Great Britain > History > 20th century
• Merit (Ethics)
• Education > Great Britain > Public opinion
• Education
• Education and state
• Education > Public opinion
• Educational equalization
• Great Britain

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-350) and index.

Contents

Meritocracy vs democracy -- Before the Butler Act -- Crisis of the meritocracy -- The transition to comprehensive education -- The Robbins Principle -- What has happened to the students? -- The transition to mass education -- The swing away from science -- Effectively maintained inequality -- Epilogue: More and more education.

Call Number

JFE 21-5185

ISBN

• 9780198840145
• 0198840144

LCCN

2019956693

OCLC

1142525527

Author

Mandler, Peter, author.

Title

The crisis of the meritocracy : Britain's transition to mass education since the Second World War / Peter Mandler.

Publisher

Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-350) and index.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Research Call Number

JFE 21-5185