Book excerpt: Published in 1996, this book presents a broad overview of the development of educational policy for schools in England and Wales since Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative administration took office in 1979. It reviews the separate strands of education policy as it relates to curriculum, equal educational opportunities, diversity and choice and management policies, and combines these with an overall appraisal of the direction of the schools system in the two decades before it was written. The book thereby provides a comprehensive text for undergraduate and postgraduate students which raises issues for debate and includes support material for discussion. It will also be of interest to school governors, educationalists and all those who care about the direction of educational change.