Community Education in Scotland, A Tale of Two Anniversaries: The Alexander Report (1975) and the Birth of the Performance Indicator (1985)

Abstract

2015 sees the passing of two significant anniversaries for community education. The first is well known, namely the 40th anniversary of the publication of the AlexanderReport, which brought together adult education, youth work, and community development, in the form of the Community Education Service. The second anniversary is a lesser-known event, but one I would argue - and I am being deliberately provocative here which is just as significant as Alexander in terms of its impact on the work of community educators. The second  anniversary occurred in 1985, the year the Conservative Government introduced performance indicators into the NHS, education services and local government. The birth of the performance indicator in 1985 heralded the arrival of a new era in the public sector, the era of performance management, and in this article I want to argue that the implications for the community education field of practice has been profound.