Policy Futures in Education |
ISSN 1478-2103 |
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Why policy futures in education? The shift of gravity in politics and public policy has moved beyond the post-war welfare state settlement with its institutionalised compromise between the demands of capital and labour. Neoliberalism, with an emphasis on privatisation of public assets and services, has dominated Anglo-American politics over the last 20 years and continues to exert a strong influence on Third Way politics and policies. Globalisation, underwritten by developments in telecommunications and information technologies and the ideology of 'free trade' agreements, has continued apace, promoting a form of world economic integration. There has been a progressive automation of the tertiary sector and a shift to service-oriented industries, which has accompanied the rise of the 'knowledge economy'. At the same time, state education at all levels is now open to competition from non-traditional providers, as evidenced by the recent GATS agreement, and teachers' work has been reconceptualised. National governments, under the banners of 'choice' and 'diversity', are experimenting with new forms of schools and education that are based on customised responses to individual needs. The Labour Government in the United Kingdom, for instance, has talked of the 'end of the comprehensive era' - the end of mass schooling as we know it, and seeks to develop a range of specialist schools. All of these factors and trends, in their complex interaction, have increased the significance of education both as one of the leading services of the future and as one of the few governmental means through which issues of social inclusion, social cohesion, national culture and identity, and citizenship can be addressed. Policy Futures in Education intends to highlight these policy issues and to address the question of educational futures in all its policy aspects. |
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