The paper aims to reveal how educational policies in England have shifted over time revealing ‘policy eras’ and underpinning ideologies using Hodgson and Spours (2006) framework from 1944 to 2011. I take a critical policy historiography approach to map the processes and systems of educational developments and reveal the potential relationships between the problems and issues of the present and the past. Two key political eras are identified. The first is an egalitarian approach and engagement with community interests underpinned by respect and recognition for diversity within and amongst human beings. The second era focuses on self-interests within neo-liberal market forces of supply and demand. The argument I make is the nation faces a challenge of how to provide socially just education processes and systems that balance these two interests whilst facilitating civic engagement, or ‘participation’ with education systems and processes through evidence informed participatory policy making and implementation.