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In this article, we provide a critical explanation and critique of neoliberalism. We attempt an innovative focus ranging from the wider contemporary political and ideological shifts, to the way in which neoliberal policy specifically influences higher education and the consequences thereof. We follow a narrative logic in three parts where we first explore the bigger picture, then concentrate on specific examples, finally taking a long-term perspective with regard to class struggle. In the first part, we lay out neoliberalism and explicate its basic principles in abstraction. This is necessary for part two, where we contextualize neoliberalism specifically within the English higher education system with specific reference to the policy agenda of successive governments since 1979. In the third and final part of the article we suggest an alternative higher education model that simultaneously exists and flourishes along with and against the neoliberal hegemony. We conclude by suggesting the strengthening possibility of class formation and struggle in this moment of history when neoliberalism is expanding and deepening.

This article, written in December 2016 following the election in May 2016 of a majority Conservative government, and the election to the leadership of the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn, a left-wing social democrat, "Old Labour style socialist", revises and updates substantially a previous article of June 2015 published in this journal (Hill et al, 2015). We set out, in Part One, empirical data about the current stage of capitalism, the Immiseration stage of neo-liberal capitalism in England and highlight its relationship with conservatism and neo-conservatism. We identify increased societal inequalities, the assault by the capitalist State on its opponents such as local councils and trade unions. In Parts Two, and Three we describe and analyse what, respectively, neoliberalism and neo-conservatism have done and are doing to education in England--in the schools, further education, and university sectors, and the continuity with policies of previous Conservative and Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition governments. In Part Four, we present three testimonies about the impacts of neo-liberalism/ neo-conservatism, two from the school sector, one from the further/ vocational education sector, and briefly signal areas and forms of resistance. [For "Neoliberal and Neoconservative Immiseration Capitalism in England: Policies and Impacts on Society and on Education," see EJ1082139.]

In this article we firstly set out the facts about the current stage of capitalism, the Immiseration stage of neoliberal capitalism in England. We note its relationship with conservatism and neo-conservatism. We identify increased societal inequalities, the assault by the capitalist state on its opponents, and proceed to describe and analyse what neoliberalism and neo-conservatism have done and are doing to education in England--in the schools, further education, and university sectors. We present two testimonies about the impacts of neoliberalism/neo-conservatism, one from the school sector, one from the further/vocational education sector, as a means of describing, analysing, and then theorising the parameters of the neoliberal/ neoconservative restructuring education and its impacts. We conclude by further theorising this. With the election of a Conservative majority in the May 7, 2015 general election in the UK, the policies and processes of neoliberalisation and neoconservatisation are being intensified.

In this article, the author explores the way that neo-liberalism is becoming more entrenched in the fabric of the education system in England. The article begins by setting out a very brief historical trajectory of neo-liberalism to provide a working definition of a complex and disarticulated socio-political and economic system. In part two, this context then allows for a focused analysis of the way that neo-liberalism is becoming part of the higher education system in England, and the way that it is reconfiguring the purpose of universities and practices of academics and students. In part three, a similar analytical treatment is applied to schooling, drawing particularly on the example of the Academies Programme, which represents a move away from state-provided education but fails to deliver on promises of improvement in achievement. The final part of this article discusses resistance, highlighting a grass-roots campaign against the Academies Programme and an example of an alternative model of higher education emerging. In this final section, the author also explores some of the limitations to such initiatives and concludes by suggesting that, whilst these initiatives may be limited, it is vital to have optimism and rally against the pessimism engendered by fatalism.

The London bombings of 7th July, 2007 (7/7) were a pivotal moment in British society, not only because of the loss of life and injury, but because it was the first time Britain had been attacked by non-white British citizens. This point was underscored by Chancellor Gordon Brown when he stressed that "the uncomfortable facts" have to be faced that the bombers were "British citizens, British born, apparently integrated into our communities, who were prepared to maim and kill fellow British citizens". Here we assess competing explanations for the role of "race" in contemporary society: Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Racialisation. Two central tenets of CRT are critiqued from a Marxist perspective, and the Marxist concept of racialisation is put forward as having most purchase in explaining manifestations of intensified Islamophobia and xenoracism in post 7/7 Britain. (Contains 10 notes.)

In this paper, we explore educational inequality through a theoretical and empirical analysis. We use classical Marxian scholarship and class-based analyses to theorise the relationship between education and the inequality in society that is an inevitable feature of capitalist society/ economy. The relationship between social class and the process of capitalization of education in the USA and UK is identified, where neo-liberal drivers are working to condition the education sector more tightly to the needs of capital. The empirical evidence is utilised to show how capital accumulation is the principal objective of national and international government policy, and of global capitalist organizations such as the World Trade Organization. The key ontological claim of Marxist education theorists is that education serves to complement, regiment and replicate the dominant-subordinate nature of class relations upon which capitalism depends, the labor-capital relation. Through these arguments we show that education services the capitalist economy, helps reproduce the necessary social, political, ideological and economic conditions for capitalism, and therefore, reflects and reproduces the organic inequalities of capitalism originating in the relations of production. We also note that education is a site of cultural contestation and resistance. We conclude that, whether in terms of attainment, selection, or life chances, it is inevitable that education systems reflect and express the larger features of capitalist inequality.

This article traces "race" policy and practice in Britain and flags up seminal moments from the 1960s onwards. Although settlement of Asian, Black and other minority ethnic immigrants can be traced back to 1948 with the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush from the Caribbean, it is in the 1960s that "race" became most visible in parliamentary politics. The article tackles each decade individually, highlighting events and laws that have shaped and defined macro policy and also the micro experiences of the Maisuria family. It is argued that it is of huge importance to establish a connection between macro politics and micro struggles in a liberal democracy to see how the policy of the state links with lived lives.

This article traces the demise of creativity in the national curriculum in England and Wales. It is argued that the creative dimension in the national curriculum has been purged by various government directives since the Ruskin speech in 1976, all aiming to introduce provisions of standardisation, centralisation, and vocationalisation of education. The plethora of centralised testing regimes and quality assurance measures has not only damaged the esteem of teachers and pupils, but has also turned education into a game where teachers teach the art of passing exams, and pupils realise the academic dangers of non-conformity. In the second section of this article it is suggested that despite New Labour's infatuation with measurable standards, it seems the assault on creative subjects is being reversed somewhat, and various efforts have been introduced to bolt creativity onto the national curriculum with the aim of re-energising teachers' and pupils' creative spirits. The article finishes by offering further avenues of thought and concludes by suggesting that a truly inspiring, satisfying and rewarding curriculum can only result from moving from a business-education-orientated education system to a child-centred learning experience. (Contains 2 notes.)

This article reports research exploring students’ perceptions of higher education in traditional and local universities in England and Cuba. The study has explored parallels identified in the course of researchinformed teaching that harvested qualitative questionnaire data from students at two English universities. One a Traditional (high-status and elite) institution, the other a Local (post-92 widening participation) university. This data was analysed in relation to pre-existing qualitative data from two Cuban universities with similar profiles. Thematic analysis extrapolates parallels in relation to students’ experiences and motivations, and considers the relative impact of political culture, systems of access and choice, and the community character of each of the institutions. Key findings suggest that the marketisation of the system in England provides choice that is dependent on (and therefore reinforces) socio-economic status. They further suggest that both a participatory political culture and local modes of study can be effective in developing perceptions of higher education that are more closely aligned with social contribution and the collective good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]