Page 68 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 1-2: The Language of Neoliberal Education, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 68
šolsko polje, letnik xxix, številka 1–2
to participation and access in education. The discourse intervenes by dis-
puting the nature of education as a public or private good and reassesses
the respective merits of public versus private provision in education and
whether the benefits accrue to the community or to individuals.
Public Choice theory, a variant of rational choice theory devel-
oped by James Buchanan and Gordon Tulloch (1962) in The Calculus of
Consent, became the theoretical discourse that functioned as a political
meta-discourse comprised of the following principles that have been used
to restructure the public sector:
1. An emphasis on management rather than policy;
2. A shift from input controls to quantifiable output measures and per-
formance targets;
3. The devolution of management control coupled with new accounta-
bility structures;
4. Breaking up large bureaucracies into autonomous agencies;
5. Separation of commercial and non-commercial functions, and poli-
cy advice from policy implementation;
6. A preference for private ownership (e.g., contracting out);
7. Contestability of public service provision;
8. Emulation of private sector management styles;
9. An emphasis on short-term performance contracts;
10. Replacement of public service ethos of impartiality with monetary
sanctions and incentives;
11. A preference for litigation model for redressing personal grievance;
12. An emphasis on efficiency, profit, and cost-cutting.
Public Choice quickly established itself as the very essence of
new management theory and managerialism. In a few short years after
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were elected to power in 1979 and
1980 respectively the discourse of neoliberalism with its market prescrip-
tions was developed as public policy. The contest of discourses has taken
place much earlier. Certainly, the Keynesian employment state seemed the
answer and become the entrenched view during the Great Depression. An
enlarged central welfare state carried through reforms that provided ‘free
education’ provision at primary, secondary and tertiary levels through un-
til the Oil Shocks of the 1970s when populations began to increase rap-
idly and the demand for state services seem to outpace expected revenue.
The notion of public good was systematically challenged. The big state,
the nanny state, was also questioned shifting the balance and responsibil-
ity back to individual citizens. The state shed its load and responsibility
66
to participation and access in education. The discourse intervenes by dis-
puting the nature of education as a public or private good and reassesses
the respective merits of public versus private provision in education and
whether the benefits accrue to the community or to individuals.
Public Choice theory, a variant of rational choice theory devel-
oped by James Buchanan and Gordon Tulloch (1962) in The Calculus of
Consent, became the theoretical discourse that functioned as a political
meta-discourse comprised of the following principles that have been used
to restructure the public sector:
1. An emphasis on management rather than policy;
2. A shift from input controls to quantifiable output measures and per-
formance targets;
3. The devolution of management control coupled with new accounta-
bility structures;
4. Breaking up large bureaucracies into autonomous agencies;
5. Separation of commercial and non-commercial functions, and poli-
cy advice from policy implementation;
6. A preference for private ownership (e.g., contracting out);
7. Contestability of public service provision;
8. Emulation of private sector management styles;
9. An emphasis on short-term performance contracts;
10. Replacement of public service ethos of impartiality with monetary
sanctions and incentives;
11. A preference for litigation model for redressing personal grievance;
12. An emphasis on efficiency, profit, and cost-cutting.
Public Choice quickly established itself as the very essence of
new management theory and managerialism. In a few short years after
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were elected to power in 1979 and
1980 respectively the discourse of neoliberalism with its market prescrip-
tions was developed as public policy. The contest of discourses has taken
place much earlier. Certainly, the Keynesian employment state seemed the
answer and become the entrenched view during the Great Depression. An
enlarged central welfare state carried through reforms that provided ‘free
education’ provision at primary, secondary and tertiary levels through un-
til the Oil Shocks of the 1970s when populations began to increase rap-
idly and the demand for state services seem to outpace expected revenue.
The notion of public good was systematically challenged. The big state,
the nanny state, was also questioned shifting the balance and responsibil-
ity back to individual citizens. The state shed its load and responsibility
66
