Excellence at What Cost? Austerity and the Reform of the School System in England (2010–2016)

Françoise Granoulhac ()
Additional contact information
Françoise Granoulhac: LARHRA SAVOIRS - Savoirs - LARHRA - LAboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes - UMR5190 - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Université de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA [2016-2019] - Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019]

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: The reform of the school system, which has been conducted by the Coalition and Conservative governments since 2010, has largely been austerity-driven. In spite of the governments' pledge to protect their budgets, schools have been severely hit by spending cuts. The reform programme has itself been integral to the fiscal consolidation plans by promoting a more cost-effective system of state schooling. This article discusses the relationship between austerity and reform, and looks at the consequences for the concept of public service. Some specific aspects of the new institutional framework are examined, especially the creation of an independent state sector made up of academies and free schools, which has entrenched the involvement of private sector firms in education. The overhaul of the school system, which started nearly thirty years ago, has now reached a new decisive stage. However, considering the complex relationship between multiple actors and the opposing forces at work, one cannot say with any certainty that it will cause the demise of public service state education.

Keywords: England; education policy; austerity; academies; Free schools; public service (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-09
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Political Quarterly, 2017, 88 (3), pp.434-442. ⟨10.1111/1467-923X.12375⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01580819

DOI: 10.1111/1467-923X.12375

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().