Fantasies of Empowerment: Mapping Neoliberal Discourse in the Coalition Government's Schools Policy
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| Title: | Fantasies of Empowerment: Mapping Neoliberal Discourse in the Coalition Government's Schools Policy |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Wright, Adam |
| Source: | Journal of Education Policy. 2012 27(3):279-294. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2012 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Neoliberalism, Empowerment, Discourse Analysis, Educational Change, Social Problems, School Restructuring, Fantasy, Self Esteem, Political Attitudes, Educational Policy, Ideology, Commercialization, Parent Role, Teacher Role |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2011.607516 |
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 |
| Abstract: | The swift nature of school reform enacted by the new Conservative-led coalition government has sparked debate over the future of state education in Britain. While the government rhetoric suggests a decisive break with past policies, there is evidence to suggest that these reforms constitute the next stage of a long revolution in education reform, centred around neoliberal market discourse. In the following paper, I examine the current government's education policy discourse and, by employing techniques of post-structuralist discourse analysis, reveal the government's attempts to rearticulate education around the logics of market, responsibilisation and self-esteem, which act to shift responsibility for social problems from the state to the individual. Furthermore, I shall argue that such rearticulation has been coupled with an ideological fantasy of "empowerment", which conceals the subordination of actors to these neoliberal logics by constituting the parent and, more recently, the teacher as powerful actors who have been freed from legal and bureaucratic constraints forced upon them by central government. (Contains 1 note.) |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 40 |
| Entry Date: | 2012 |
| Accession Number: | EJ986900 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The swift nature of school reform enacted by the new Conservative-led coalition government has sparked debate over the future of state education in Britain. While the government rhetoric suggests a decisive break with past policies, there is evidence to suggest that these reforms constitute the next stage of a long revolution in education reform, centred around neoliberal market discourse. In the following paper, I examine the current government's education policy discourse and, by employing techniques of post-structuralist discourse analysis, reveal the government's attempts to rearticulate education around the logics of market, responsibilisation and self-esteem, which act to shift responsibility for social problems from the state to the individual. Furthermore, I shall argue that such rearticulation has been coupled with an ideological fantasy of "empowerment", which conceals the subordination of actors to these neoliberal logics by constituting the parent and, more recently, the teacher as powerful actors who have been freed from legal and bureaucratic constraints forced upon them by central government. (Contains 1 note.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0268-0939 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/02680939.2011.607516 |
