An 'Open College' system derives from a policy designed to redress educational inequalities among the inner city adult population. It is a development in the post-school sector of education which brings together different types of institutions in a quasi-federal structure. Its aim is to develop course provision for adult returners which will facilitate their progression to higher education, further education and/or into employment. Whether or not a policy achieves what the policy-makers intended, it is hypothesised, depends on the way in which it is perceived by the key people within the organisation and the action which they take to effect its implementation. Successful outcomes are dependent on there being "commitment, communication and capacity" at each level of the operation. A case study is an appropriate means of examining the relative importance of the various factors. It involves in-depth interviews with the policy-makers (the politicians and administrators), the policy-implementers (the central co-ordinators and principals in the institutions) and the policy-deliverers (the co-ordinators and tutors in the institutions). To ascertain the factors which ultimately make for successful outcomes for those concerned, a longitudinal study of adult students in one of the designated areas of course development was undertaken. An eclectic theoretical research model is adopted, because no one perspective is thought to be appropriate at all levels of the processes of policy formulation and implementation. Attention is paid to the political, social and economic context of London and Britain in the 1980s. The micro study in a macro framework also facilitates generalisation. In establishing what factors make for successful outcomes for a policy concerned with equal opportunitiees in education in a deprived inner city area, it is hoped that it might be possible to throw some light upon the factors which make for the successful implementation of policy more generally.

The process of decentralization and moves to greater self-management in schools have been part of an international trend for some years. In England and Wales, the most extreme form of self-management was introduced by the Conservative Government which established grant-maintained schools in the 1988 Education Reform Act. It was, arguably, the most controversial development in education policy in this country. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the GM policy, its implementation and impact on practice, through the study of a single grant-maintained school, its struggle for incorporation and its operation during a turbulent period. The subject of the case study is Stratford School in East London, one of the earliest schools to opt out. The research, which draws upon documentary evidence and interviews with governors, staff and pupils, has five areas of focus: the opting-out process, the role of head and governors, relationships with the local education authority, school improvement and parental involvement - choice and diversity. In many respects, the Stratford experience supports the outcomes of other research and mirrors what happened in other GM schools. There are findings from this research, however, which run counter to what took place in most GM schools. The story vividly illustrates how a GM school could go wrong and slide out of control. Yet, despite its many difficulties, the school not only survived to prove its opponents wrong, it flourished, gaining public recognition for its progress and the substantial improvement in pupil achievement. The researcher presents Stratford School as a unique case which throws light on both the GM policy during its ten year life span and the concept of self-management which is still very much on the agenda of both major political parties. It, therefore, is of historical interest and contemporary significance to those interested in self-management in schools.

The 1944 Education Act left open how the secondary schools system was to be organised. This study traces the functioning of the system in the second largest local education authority in the country over a period of twenty years. The effects on administration resulting from changes in political control are documented. Certain policy decisions are described in considerable detail in order to analyse the variety of roles played by administrators at local and central government level, by elected representatives, by teachers and by parents. The thesis is organised into three main parts. First the general background is outlined, covering the relevant issues that arose during the war-time debate on education, the 1944 Education Act and national secondary schools policy since that Act, and the local government structure established after 1944 for the provision and administration of the education service in Middlesex. The second part reviews policy-making and administration within the framework of a selective schools system. Here the formulation of the early post-war development plans and the establishment of comprehensive schools are discussed. A detailed account is given of the administrative and political complexities arising from selection at the age of eleven. The third part deals with fee-paying day grammar schools to which a minority of pupils were sent at public expense. This section assesses the nature of the inter-dependency between the private and state sectors of education, and shows the extent to which this affected local education authority decisions at various levels. It is concluded that the impetus for change in the secondary schools system does not come from any single group in society, and that changes in administrative practice are closely related to changes in public opinion. Indeed, these two factors reinforce each other.