Abstract
The dominant discourse in education in Britain today is that version of ‘school effectiveness and school improvement’ which is endorsed by the Labour Government. In this article I examine the place of issues of equality and social justice in the discourse of ‘Official School Improvement’, making particular reference to issues of ‘race’. On the basis of a comparative analysis of the key elements of OSI and those of the tradition of egalitarian reform which has developed in Britain and elsewhere in recent decades, I argue that OSI is neither oriented to address issues of social justice in education nor equipped to respond effectively to them, and that this has fundamental implications for the wider school effectiveness and improvement movement.

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