The tragedy of state education in England: Reluctance, compromise and muddle by The British Academy published on 2018-04-06T10:51:11Z Sir John Cass's Foundation Lecture, delivered by Professor Stephen Ball FBA, on 7 March 2018 (venue: The British Academy). Current education policy in England is underpinned by ad-hocery, compromise and persistent social divisions, and shaped by the whims of ministers and the interests of unelected philanthropists. From its origins in the 19th century and despite the fleeting possibilities of comprehensive schooling in the 1970s, England has never had a proper national system of education. In this lecture Stephen Ball explores the history of reluctance and muddle that has got us to where we are today and makes a proposal for a different way forward. Organised in partnership with Sir John Cass's Foundation. Speaker: Professor Stephen Ball FBA, Distinguished Service Professor, UCL Institute of Education Chair: Professor Maggie Snowling FBA CBE FMedSci, President of St John's College, Oxford. Genre News & Politics