Learning from Langland: theo-poetic resources for the post-Hind ...

One factor which increases the complexity is, as indicated above, the fact that theological
education is inextricably intertwined with HE provision, both historically and practically.
Since the education reforms of the nineteenth century and the establishment of national
regulation, the Church of England has found ways of working with the national systems,
and has kept some of its own foundations, such as the fourteen-strong Cathedral Group,
within the mainstream of HE. Thus there has been a close relationship within English
education between Church and State provision, with complex funding arrangements
enabling schools and colleges to retain a distinctive Church status. It is within this context
that theological education exists in England, in a relationship with the state which is
different from, for example, the United States or Europe. The institutions addressed by
Hind are independent colleges and courses, funded by the Church of England and training
its ministers on behalf of the Church as a whole. However, these bodies have responded to
the demand for training to be accredited by an HE institution, and thus are already in
relationship with those larger validating bodies. Because of the closeness of this
relationship, theological education is closely bound up with trends in HE as a whole. It is to
these that we now turn.
The Hind settlement: Higher Education
Hind One appeared at a time of rapid change and expansion in HE. The policy of the 1997-
2010 Labour administration to enable access to higher education for an ever greater
percentage of young adults, and the increased funding of vocational degrees, were two
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