Neo-Conservative Perspectives on Culture and Nationhood and Their Impact upon the School Curriculum in England and Wales

Abstract

This paper explores the ideological perspectives of Neo-Conservatism discourse in England and Wales and the manner in which it has shaped notions of culture and nationhood. The paper presents a critical analysis of recent writing by a coalition of politicians, educators and social commentators who have taken as their themes cultural relativism, the abandonment of a dominant historical narrative and a claimed decline in the spirit of nationhood. The paper attempts to place this debate within a wider context by linking it to similar debates in mainland Europe and the USA.