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ID: 092376

Choice in public services: crying 'Wolf' in the school choice debate / Goodwin, Mark

Goodwin, Mark	Journal Article
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Publication

2009.

Summary/Abstract

Choice, diversity and personalisation have been key to the New Labour project in public services. With the emergence of a reinvigorated Conservative party as a credible electoral threat, and the end of the Blair era, it seems appropriate to consider the continuing viability and longevity of the New Labour public service project. In this article, I approach the issue of choice in public services through an examination of the long-running controversy over choice in the English secondary school system. I argue that the opponents of choice have been reluctant to engage with the notion of choice in public services due to concerns over the supposed negative effect that consumer choice has on the equity and quality of service provision. This paper aims to challenge the claim that any element of choice in education necessarily has deleterious effects on social justice. I argue that the case against school choice has not been decisively made and that school choice can, in principle, form part of a socially progressive educational project by redistributing power to service users and helping to maintain popular support for public provision of education.

Key Words

Education policy ; Public Services ; New Labour

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ID: 107207

English education policy after new labour: big society or back to basics / Goodwin, Mark

Goodwin, Mark	Journal Article
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Publication

2011.

Summary/Abstract

This article considers possible future directions for education policy and public service governance under the Conservative-led coalition government. The article considers the extent to which Conservatives might develop a distinctive strategy for managing public services that breaks decisively with that of the New Labour era. The coalition faces a markedly different political and economic context for public service reform compared to its predecessor. This article argues that these contextual constraints make a continuation of the New Labour governing strategy less viable, but unresolved tensions in the coalition education policies enacted to date may hinder the development of a novel project for education reform. As a consequence, the New Labour education project seems likely to remain largely intact for the foreseeable future.

Key Words

Education policy ; Conservative Party ; Big Society ; Free Schools ; Academy Schools

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