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My School , My Market.

Authors :
Gorur, Radhika
Source :
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education; May2013, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p214-230, 17p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Diagram
Publication Year :
2013

Abstract

Australia's Education Revolution, launched in 2008, emphasised equity as a key reason for reforms. It identified ‘pockets of disadvantage’ as one of the main problems that needed to be addressed through its reforms. Through a series of translations, the problem of ‘pockets of disadvantage’ was converted to one of a lack of information, a lack of comparable metrics and the absence of an informed public, leading to a number of solutions such as the development of a national assessment scheme and theMy Schoolwebsite. In this paper, using the theoretical and methodological resources of actor-network theory, I argue that these translations were also, simultaneously, the processes by which the Australian education space was further ‘marketised’. These marketisation processes involved homogenisation, whereby schools were rendered comparable through the development of common evaluation and common metrics; the development of informational resources that enabled parents to function as economic agents and exert ‘market forces’; and coordinating the activities of the actors through theMy Schoolwebsite. The paper concludes with a discussion of how such descriptive analyses might serve as critique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
01596306
Volume :
34
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
88089261
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2013.770248