BEFORE the Thatcherite 1988 Education Reform Act passed, the renowned educational historian Brian Simon argued that its long-term objective was to break up the state education system. Then in the longer term it could be parcelled up and privatised.

In many respects the current coalition government represents a key phase in trying to realise that objective. In 2010 there were a handful of academy schools, which exist outside of local authority control.

Now at the end of this government 60 per cent of secondary schools are now academies and there are a growing number of free schools, which can be set up by groups such as parents, charities or religious organisations.

Although these schools are nominally state schools, private-sector interests have substantial and growing involvement in running them.

Significant sums of public money are already being siphoned into the private sector through academy chains, while the possibility of full “for-profit” provision might not be far away.

It is important not to underestimate the scale and significance of this transformation. Michael Gove clearly intended to push the system so far towards privatisation in a single term of office that he believed the process could not be reversed.

Although the challenge of turning the tide on this policy remains considerable, what is becoming apparent is that the possibilities are looking increasingly optimistic. I have spent two years researching those who have challenged the drive towards academisation and there is growing evidence that their struggles are winning results.

There can be no doubting the scale of the challenge.

The research has revealed the sheer determination of the state to drive through the academies policy and to mobilise its resources to achieve this.

While many academy conversions have been championed enthusiastically by head teachers and governing bodies (although often with much less enthusiasm from staff), very many more have only been achieved either by force, or more commonly — but less visibly — the use of bullying and intimidation tactics to drive head teachers into the hands of academy sponsors.

Threats of dismissal from so-called academy brokers to non-compliant head teachers are agreed to have been commonplace.

Ofsted, the Department for Education, academy brokers, academy chains and the media are just some of the forces that have been mobilised to achieve the stated aim of all schools becoming academies.

And yet despite this determination the Thatcherite dream of a privatised school system remains far from realised.

Rates of academisation have slowed down dramatically, while in the primary sector academisation has never gained serious momentum.

To date only 14 per cent of primary schools are academies. There is growing evidence that the ground is shifting and that the future of the project looks vulnerable.

There are three factors that can help explain this change in circumstances.

First, it is becoming increasingly clear that the coalition government has already got its “easy wins” — for example, those schools where head teachers were always keen to remove their schools from local democratic accountability through the local authority system.

It is now proving much more difficult to persuade, or indeed force, schools down the academy route.

The second factor is that the policy has now been established long enough for its flaws and contradictions to be much more apparent.

Research shows that academies are clearly not contributing to raised academic standards, while local experience demonstrates that promises of autonomy look hollow as local authority “control” is increasingly being replaced by academy chain control.

The business model of schooling that underpins academisation is now becoming much more transparent, and the more visible it becomes the less attractive it is to teachers, parents and the community. This highlights the third factor — community resistance.

The drive to academisation has often been challenged by those in schools and communities who reject a business model of schooling.

This has by no means been a universal experience, and in very many instances there has been little visible sign of resistance.

My research revealed complex reasons for this, but the importance of a fear factor cannot be underestimated.

In some schools to express dissent is seen as an act of disloyalty that brings with it the potential for consequences. Indeed the closing down of opportunities for open debate in some schools should now be seen as a serious cause for concern.

Despite these pressures there are countless examples of how teachers and parents have stood up to the academisation juggernaut — and now there is increasing evidence of their successes.

However, identifying a formula for such success is elusive and it is important to recognise the unique circumstances of every situation. In some cases teachers’ unions have mobilised, but not always been able to connect with parents.

In other cases parents have challenged academisation, but not been able to develop an alliance with teachers.

Where campaigns have been particularly successful is where a coalition of parents, teachers and the wider community has formed, and as a result it has become possible to challenge the arguments for privatisation.

One of the earliest and highest profile examples of such a campaign was that of Downhills School.

However, despite extraordinary effort, and huge public support, the campaign could not prevent the school being turned over to the Harris Federation. However, the Save Downhills campaign cannot be considered a complete defeat.

Rather than depress other campaigners, the Save Downhills campaign has served as an inspiration. Others have looked to it as an example of what a major campaign can look like, and very many groups have now actively connected with the Downhills campaigners to learn from their experiences.

More recently campaigners at Hove Park School in Brighton forged a similar alliance between parents, teachers and the community, and in this case the drive to academisation was halted.

Without the Downhills campaign there may have been no Hove Park campaign.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the ground is shifting in the debate about academies. The policy is being exposed to a much more robust critique and a local school’s potential academisation is increasingly being seen as something that is controversial and to be questioned.

As the policy unravels the drive to school privatisation is being challenged. Local campaigns play a central role in this process. It is through these campaigns that the arguments for academies are being taken on.

Often the proponents of academies seek to promote a fatalistic determinism among the school community — “there is no alternative.” Local campaigns are capable of challenging this fatalism.

Not only do they make the case for an alternative, but they help build the confidence that a more optimistic vision of schooling is achievable if the community mobilises to support it.

Local campaigns play a crucial role in reframing what is often cast as impossible and making it look possible. Even though not all campaigns are successful, every campaign makes a contribution to helping people realise that there is no such thing as “no alternative.”

It is a strategy that will win by waging the battle of ideas from the bottom up.

Professor Howard Stevenson is director of research at University of Nottingham school of education.