The need for policy stability in education | Our research

The need for stability: Factors driving so much change

Within this document, the authors examine in detail the causes of educational policy changes, and institutional enablers of change, such as:

  • the high turnover of Education Ministers,
  • that frequent ministerial change is facilitated by low or no parliamentary scrutiny,
  • and OFSTED power and key judgements that affect policy and requirements.

Drivers of change such as little consensus on fundamental questions of education; multiple organisations competing for influence; ad-hoc consultation; lack of monitoring and evaluation and poor institutional memory are all illustrated. This is a 22 page report plus references. There is a high level of original quantitative research written in 2020.