Social Research and Social Reform

This book provides a timely reassessment of the relationship between social research and social reform. A. H. Halsey's work on educational opportunity is a particularly significant example of the study of this relationship, and his retirement from the directorship of the Department of Social and Administrative Studies at the University of Oxford provides an opportunity to review his contribution to date. It has been a rare oeuvre, combining a strong moral commitment to egalitarian social reform with a vigorous concern for evidence and quantitative research.

In this book leading scholars attempt to come to terms with Professor Halsey's contribution by offering essays in their own specialisms that reflect his continuing influence on their work. The range of subjects covered reflects the breadth of his influence and interests: Canon Barnett on ethical socialism; changing conceptions of social work; community and citizenship; social groups and movements within both State and market; an assessment of European Poverty Programmes; the reform of secondary education; options for reform of post-16 education and training; higher education policy in Britain and the USA; social mobility and meritocracy; the role of social research in community development; women's studies in sociology, and the role of evaluation research in social policy in the USA and Sweden.

In the face of current scepticism about its effectiveness, Social Research and Social Reform provides important evidence on the influence of social research and suggests new ways in which its relationship to social reform should be viewed.