The author is a long-time advocate inside the Labour Party for ending selective education and the 11-plus. She outlines how Labour Party frontbenchers routinely ignore or deflect calls from Party members to stand up for comprehensive education in both word and deed. As UKIP, whose policy is to extend selective education more widely, rises in the…

This essay addresses the question: given the flattening out of the cultural hierarchy that was the vestige of colonialism and nation-building, is there anything that might be uniquely common about the common school in this postmodern age? By "uniquely common" I do not mean those subjects that all schools might teach, such as reading or arithmetic.…

This paper, while broadly arguing in favour of the common school, nonetheless accepts the possibility of distinct specialist institutions in the later years of secondary schooling. It also argues for a careful distinction between a comprehensive school and a comprehensive classroom; further distinguishing between grouping by reference to alleged…

A comprehensive school health education program should maintain, reinforce, or enhance the health, health-related skills, and attitudes of students. An overview of the components of such a program, as well as criteria defining significant elements, is provided. (DF)

The similarities among comprehensive high schools in the United States promote equity and social integration rather than educational excellence. Increased specialization would encourage competition for students and provide schools with a sense of mission, two factors critical to developing strong faculties committed to improving education. (PGD)

Analyzes data on racial and sex differences in vocational education enrollments and wage and employment opportunities for vocational education graduates. Examines variations in vocational education program quality in urban districts and suggests that programs in centralized facilities are of higher quality than those in the comprehensive high…