policy from several quarters [2], and the development of local policies by a minority of LEAs [3]. It is our contention that this national policy vacuum can only be understood by an examination of the politics of educational decision-making. Strangely, this has been an area of enquiry neglected not only by those interested in issues specifically relating to 'race' and education, but also by educationalists generally. Instead, much recent work in the sociology of education has exhibited what Sharp & Green have termed methodological localism [4], resulting in a tendency for the macro or societal aspects to be ignored [5]. Policy formation and decision-making constitute important elements of this wider framework within which schooling takes place; yet as Parkinson has commented:
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Dorn et al. (1982) studied this question.
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