抄録
The purpose of this paper is to examine the process by which the education voucher idea was absorbed (by persons connected with the British Conservative Party), was developed and realized as a part of the education policy by the Party itself. One of the fundamental policies of the Thatcher Government, which has been in power since 1979, is privatization. Privatization is also important in educational policies. The education voucher issue can especially be thought of as one important element of privatization. Persons connected with the Party who supported the voucher scheme have been campaigning for introducing this into the Party and government educatinal policies since the 1970s. After a long struggle, it can be seen that this campaign, in the end, influenced the recent British education reforms to a greater extent. In this paper, which examines the thinking and policy process of the various policy groups and the involvement of key persons connected with the Party, I explain the following points about the policy process of the education voucher scheme, though in a different version from that being introduced into Party policy. 1) How did the persons connected with the Conservative Party absorb the education voucher idea, how and why did they campaign for its realization as the Party and government policy, and how did the Party itself react to it? 2) In spite of a possibility of this scheme being realized as the government education policy in the early 1980s, why did it fail ? 3) After this failure, what practical alternatives did the key persons and policy groups connected with the Party think of and develop, how were they absorbed in the party policy making process, and what influences did they exert in the recent government reforms of education, especially in the 1988 Education Reform Act? From these considerations, I point out in the conclusion that the education voucher idea is one of the most important principles underlying recent governmental education reforms in Britain. I should like to express my great appreciation for the help I have received from Lord Joseph, Professor and Mrs. Seldon and all the other persons who gave permission for interviews and replied to my questions by mail.
