The expansion of the state remit to include education resulted from the Forster Education Act of 1878 and the Balfour Education Act of 1902. Although it was always intended that this expansion would give expression to a variety of educational aspirations and ideals, it was also firmly linked to an overriding pragmatic concern: The need to create a highly differentiated labour force equipped to fill the range of occupational roles appropriate to the advancement of a modern industrial society. Read more…