Policy in the pandemic: lost opportunities, returning to ‘normal’ and ratcheting up control

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Policy in the pandemic: lost opportunities, returning to ‘normal’ and ratcheting up control

Brooks, C; Perryman, J; (2023) Policy in the pandemic: lost opportunities, returning to ‘normal’ and ratcheting up control. London Review of Education , 21 (1) , Article 23. 10.14324/LRE.21.1.23. Green open access

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Abstract

In this article, we examine education policymaking in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on the period from 2020 to 2022. We argue that the pandemic, while obviously damaging materially, economically and psychologically, seemed to have provided a rare opportunity for a step change, a chance to recalibrate and reconsider values assumed as ‘truths’. However, policymaking in England appears to have been driven by a desire to return to normal as soon as possible or to double down on control. Through a rigorous policy analysis of two specific areas of policy – initial teacher education and inspection – we review policy and ministerial speeches, as well as academic papers, media articles and social media blogs published from the start of the pandemic in England, to analyse the extent to which policy formation was reactive in an attempt to maintain a steady state and return as quickly as possible to pre-pandemic normality and to previously stated intransigent policy positions. We suggest that this policy formation reflects a broader trend in policymaking, which seeks to use power and sustain privilege, underpinned by a constructed evidence base, to present a particular ‘truth’ about what needs to be done to improve education outcomes.

Type:	Article
Title:	Policy in the pandemic: lost opportunities, returning to ‘normal’ and ratcheting up control
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.14324/LRE.21.1.23
Publisher version:	https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.21.1.23
Language:	English
Additional information:	© The Authors 2023. Published by London Review of Education. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY) 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174519