Abstract:
Neoliberal policy makers define education as a merit good and argue that investment by the state in public education is justified to the extent that such investment provides a return to the economy in the form of human capital as measured by the skills and abilities acquired by individuals for effective functioning within the labour market. Various social externalities are acknowledged as contingent but not necessary outcomes of state provided education.
This paper challenges the neoliberal position and argues that the educational reforms derived from it, with their emphasis on competitive individualism, marketisation, and new forms of meritocracy, produce conditions in which education itself becomes a major instrument of social exclusion. The paper argues that public education can contribute to the creation of social capital by fostering active citizenship, community involvement, socio-political literacy and moral responsibility. By eliminating barriers to social inclusion, public education, it is argued, contributes to the social well-being of society, providing necessary conditions for the effective functioning of markets and for enhancing economic prosperity. The state's investment in education, therefore, is viewed as a justifiable and necessary form of social investment and a precondition for the renewal of social democracy.
This paper challenges the neoliberal position and argues that the educational reforms derived from it, with their emphasis on competitive individualism, marketisation, and new forms of meritocracy, produce conditions in which education itself becomes a major instrument of social exclusion. The paper argues that public education can contribute to the creation of social capital by fostering active citizenship, community involvement, socio-political literacy and moral responsibility. By eliminating barriers to social inclusion, public education, it is argued, contributes to the social well-being of society, providing necessary conditions for the effective functioning of markets and for enhancing economic prosperity. The state's investment in education, therefore, is viewed as a justifiable and necessary form of social investment and a precondition for the renewal of social democracy.