Changes in the Tri-Partite Relationship Between Central Government, Local Government and Civil Society and its Implications for the Geography of the City: The Effects of Developments in Public Education Management on School Catchments in the Glasgow Division of the Former Strathclyde Region 1990-96

Stewart, Derek George (1998) Changes in the Tri-Partite Relationship Between Central Government, Local Government and Civil Society and its Implications for the Geography of the City: The Effects of Developments in Public Education Management on School Catchments in the Glasgow Division of the Former Strathclyde Region 1990-96. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Through examination of changes in Education management during the 1980s and 1990s, the study focuses on analysis of the factors altering the nature of the tripartite relationship between central government, local government and civil society. From the Education perspective, it assesses aspects of the power differential between each of these "parties", concluding that there has been a direct and indirect reduction in the autonomy and accountability of local government as a result of changes in its traditional roles, mandate and responsibilities. The fieldwork focuses on Education management within the Glasgow Division of the former Strathclyde Region. The views of senior Scottish Office and Regional Council officials are considered in light of an extensive review of the relevant literature and secondary statistics to set the context for the research. The fieldwork explores the implications of such changes on non-denominational secondary provision within the city, focusing on the particular experiences of five study schools drawn from a notional hierarchy of public provision. The views of the head teachers, parent school board members and parents are surveyed and analysed to relate actual experience to the broader theoretical considerations discussed in the opening contextual chapters. Consideration is given to the implications of the findings on particular locales and the overall socio-political geography of the city. The relevance of the findings is abstracted and applied at a more general level. The study acknowledges the important context of the broader social and ideological dynamism which frames the activity of government and influences the behaviour of civil society. Against this backdrop, it concludes that these broader factors (predominantly the New Right ideology of central government in the 1980s and 1990s and a purported move from Fordism to post-Fordism) have interacted with local circumstances to produce complex spatially-manifested patterns of access, expectation and opportunity effecting the life chances of individuals within and between different locales. As a result, "Professional" groups in each locale are more able and likely to access information, influence and service goods than those "residual" households at the bottom of the occupational hierarchy. The concentrations of these "residual" groups in more deprived locales gives these trends a spatial manifestation, affirming and altering aspects of the socio-political geography of the city. The research concludes that proposed central and local government initiatives in governance and public service provision would further impinge on the socio-political geography of the city if the traditional links between locale and expectation are challenged and additional powers are transferred from local government. It suggests that whilst changes may be seen to be radical, the status quo limits the expectations and opportunities of excluded groups and prevents broader community empowerment. The study closes by arguing that aspects of the various theories of local government continue to remain relevant and that exponents of each will have to "compromise" in the face of the competing demands of each party in the complex tri-partite relationship.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: Ronan Paddison
• Keywords: Educational administration, Education policy
• Date of Award: 1998
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1998-75268
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 21:24
• Last Modified: 19 Nov 2019 21:24
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/75268