responsibility for the administration of schools lay with individual local education authorities and schools. 36. Section 1 of the Education Reform Act of 1988 made the Secretaries of State for Education for England and Wales responsible for ensuring that the curriculvim of publicly funded schools prepared young people for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. The guidelines issued to schools by the Department of Education and Science made it clear that schools should ensure that their programmes of work-related activities were free of both overt and covert stereotyping and should pay particular attention to equal opportunities. 37. The Secretaries of State for Education for Wales and Scotland were empowered to intervene directly in cases where they judged that discrimination, other than that relating to employment, had occurred in most publicly funded educational institutions. 38. While curriculim developments in individual schools remained largely a matter for local decision, the introduction of the Education Reform Act established a framework for equality in the provision of education. Girls would be following the same broad and balanced curriculum as boys, up to the age of 16. Any current sex discrimination and stereotyping in subject choice would thus be eliminated. Both boys and girls would study science, technology and a modern foreign language up to the age of 16. Through the Act's emphasis on the preparation of pupils for adult and working life, the teaching of cross-curricular themes, such as personal and social education, would be included in the whole curriculum for boys and girls up to the age of 16. That would focus attention on issues such as sex discrimination and stereotyping and encourage positive changes in attitude. 39. Local education authorities and schools themselves had also taken equal opportunity initiatives. Some had appointed full-time advisers while others had 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the policies and regulations surrounding education in England and Wales, specifically with regards to equal opportunities and the elimination of sex discrimination and stereotyping in schools. The focus is on the curriculum, subject choice, and the preparation of pupils for adult and working life.

**Category**
Education