The neoliberal cascade and education: an essay on the market agenda and its consequences

Education has been powerfully affected by the rise of a neoliberal political, economic and cultural agenda. The Australian experience since the 1980s is outlined. Educators need to understand neoliberalism, and also to think about the nature of education itself, as a social process of nurturing capa...

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Published inCritical studies in education Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 99 - 112
Main Author Connell, Raewyn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melbourne Routledge 01.06.2013
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Access to Education
Accountability
Australia
Commercialization
Comparative Testing
Competition
Education
education as commodity
education systems
Educational Change
Educational history
Educational markets
Educational Policy
Foreign Countries
Free Enterprise System
Job Security
Knowledge
Knowledge (Theory)
Liberalism
markets in education
National Assessment Plan - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
Neoliberalism
Politics of Education
Role of education
Standardized testing
Student assessment
teacher accountability
Teachers
Testing
Australia
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Summary:Education has been powerfully affected by the rise of a neoliberal political, economic and cultural agenda. The Australian experience since the 1980s is outlined. Educators need to understand neoliberalism, and also to think about the nature of education itself, as a social process of nurturing capacities for practice. Education itself cannot be commodified; but access to education can be. Markets require a rationing of education, and the creation of hierarchies and mechanisms of competition. Hence, the redefinition of schools and universities as firms, and the striking revival of competitive testing, as well as the expansion of public funding of private schools. Teachers are placed under performative pressures that tend to narrow the curriculum in schools, and make the sector's workforce more insecure. Even the knowledge base of education is impacted, with technicization of professional knowledge and a growth of cultural fakery around education. Bases for alternatives exist, but have not yet found institutional articulation.
Bibliography:Refereed article. Includes bibliographical references.
Critical Studies in Education; v.54 n.2 p.99-112; June 2013
Critical Studies in Education, v.54, no.2, June 2013: (99)-112
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 14
ISSN:1750-8487
1750-8495
DOI:10.1080/17508487.2013.776990