CHANGES IN EDUCATION OUTPUTS IN ENGLISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES, 1949–1974
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1983.tb00511.x |
| Author | KEITH HOGGART |
| Published date | 01 June 1983 |
| Date | 01 June 1983 |
CHANGES IN EDUCATION
OUTPUTS
IN
ENGLISH
LOCAL
AUTHORITIES,
1949-1974
KEITH HOGGART
The literature on local outputs is dominated by cross-sectional investigations which
suggest that the local socio-economic environment is a critical determinant
of
local policy.
This paper argues that there is insufficient theoretical justification
for
adopting
a
cross-sectional methodology. It examines changes in education outputs in
57
English
county boroughs and
28
English county councils over the period
1949-74
and concludes that
long-term trends in out ut change were little affected by local socio-economic conditions,
changes in party controfor changes in senior administrative personnel. The results suggest
that case study analyses
of
internal policy-making processes are likely to give more insight
into policy determination than current local output analyses.
As
pointers to the determinants of local public policy, statistical investigations of
inter-authority output variation have serious theoretical shortcomings (Jacob and
Lipsky 1968; Coulter 1970; Newton and Sharpe 1977). Most important
is
their
inadequate explanation of how the local
socio-economic/political/administrative
environment is translated into a given level or pattern
of
outputs. The outputs
literature is dominated by cross-sectional analyses which carry the implicit
assumption that existing policies are solely determined by existing conditions. Yet
existing policies are an amalgam
of
responses both to past and
to
present
conditions.
To
understand the determinants of existing policy, the determinants
of policy change must
be
identified. The most illuminating evidence on policy
change (or indeed policy maintenance) has come from case studies of individual
local authorities, although these studies can be criticized for playing down (or
even virtually ignoring) the effects
of
the local environment on policy
determination (e.g. James 1981); they are weak in precisely those areas in which
statistical output studies are claimed to be strong.
If
our understanding
of
policy
determination is to advance, qualitative case study approaches and comparative
statistical output analyses need to complement one another. For this to occur
output studies must focus on temporal change in policy outputs.
The principal object of this paper
is
to establish whether output changes show
consistent relationships with features of the local environment over time. The
study seeks to ascertain whether output patterns and local socio-economic
characteristics are as strongly correlated in a temporal setting as in a
Keith Hoggart
is
a
Lecturer
in
the Department
of
Geography,
King’s
College, University
of
London.
Data collection
for
this paper
was
undertaken with the assistance
of
the University
of
London Central
Research Fund.
Public Administration
Vol.
61
Summer
1983 (169-178)
0
1983
Royal institute
of
Public Administration
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