ERIC Number: EJ901848
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1745-4999
EISSN: N/A
The "Regulatory" State and the Use of "Independent" Agencies as Legitimising Mechanisms of Educational Reform
Gouvias, Dionyssios
Research in Comparative and International Education, v2 n4 p297?312 2007
The emergence--at the dawn of the new millennium--of "independent agencies", "national commissions" and "councils" around the world, has been based and justified on grounds of "impartiality", "reliability", "democratic-principles guardianship", or even "technical competence". These "independent" agencies are compared to state agencies, which traditionally have been responsible for the formulation of education policies. By using analytic tools from the Marxist, as well as from the neo-Weberian theoretical traditions, it is argued that the constitution of these new "independent agencies" is a response to the post-modern State (what the author calls the "regulatory State") legitimacy crisis. By including representatives from various interest parties, the dominant interests within the State mechanisms--always in accordance with the current power balance in the various social fields--vest the inherently unequal social relations with the magic cloak of "social partnership". (Contains 2 online resources and 4 notes.)
Descriptors: Educational Change, State Agencies, Educational Policy, Global Approach, Foreign Countries, Intervention, Equal Education, Evaluation, Higher Education, Educational Opportunities, Comparative Analysis, Postmodernism
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece; United Kingdom (England); United Kingdom (Wales)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A