Bibliographies du service Veille et Analyses, IFÉ

Education-focused area-based initiatives (ABIs) are attempts to vary the forms of provision and practice that are typical within an education system in order to respond to what are held to be the particular challenges of particular places. They have been used extensively in English education policy as a means of tackling educational disadvantage. This paper reviews the history of their use, but argues that their effects have been mixed at best. Critics have pointed out that ABIs have been based on inadequate analyses of local contexts, have deployed limited resources, and are incapable of tackling the socio-structural origins of disadvantage. However, the paper describes some “new style” ABIs which seem to overcome some of these criticisms. Although there is still only limited empirical evidence on these new ABIs, this paper outlines a theoretical basis for their likely effectiveness as part of a wider range of interventions.