Half a century of learning: 1976-2026. A personal history of educational resistance and alternatives

FORUM - Print ISSN 1474-7685 - Online ISSN 2047-7171
Volume 68 Number 3 (2026)

Half a century of learning: 1976-2026. A personal history of educational resistance and alternatives
Eddie Playfair pages 39‑52
DOI: 10.3898/forum.2026.68.3.04

Abstract

This article is an account of educational change in England over the 50 years since 1976; a period of fightback by global capital against the economic and social gains of previous decades. It touches on some of the representative trends at the system level, as well as offering a parallel personal narrative from my perspective as an engaged but critical participant.

At several points in that half century, different trajectories were possible, other paths could have been chosen and capital’s advance arrested. For each decade, some counterfactual imaginaries are shared to show how particular struggles and resistance could have created alternative futures.

For history to be our teacher, we must be attentive students. I consider what we can learn from this period to help us build a more just, post-capitalist, future for education and for society as a whole. 

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To cite this article
Eddie Playfair (2026) Half a century of learning: 1976-2026. A personal history of educational resistance and alternatives, FORUM, 68(3), 39-52 . https://doi.org/10.3898/forum.2026.68.3.04

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