Progressive Education and the National Curriculum: findings from a global education research project

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Abstract
Research into INSET on global education, based on in‐depth interviews with primary and secondary teachers, is used to explore the effects of the implementation of the National Curriculum on the aims and practices of progressive education. The findings challenge some of the most pessimistic predictions of progressive educationalists. It is argued that the original Conservative party policy intentions have been mediated and transformed by an amalgam of influences at all levels of decision‐making. Moreover, the ways in which teachers translate new initiatives into practice are dependent upon their prior beliefs and practices. This is illustrated by the different ways in which primary and secondary teachers in the sample reacted both to global education and to the introduction of the National Curriculum. Findings from the study are compared and contrasted with those from other research which reports the practical classroom implications of the National Curriculum, and are also considered in the light of recent political developments.