The Gove Legacy and the Politics of Education after 2015 (3): Can the Legacy Endure?

Abstract

Coiffait, who founded NAHT Edge during the coalition years, assesses the likely longevity of any Gove legacy. Writing from a trade union perspective, he draws attention to the Gove years as ones of force-fed medicine’ imposed on schools, noting the drive and ambition of Gove and his policies, but noting also the divisive nature of Gove’s approach and, in particular, Gove’s relationship with the teaching profession and academic educationalists. Coiffait addresses the Gove legacy ‘in the round’, examining the reforms from a variety of perspectives including that of — in his view — confused parents struggling to make sense of the volume of changes.