Values, Power and Instrumentality

Abstract

The policy agenda of the Labour government embodies both continuities and discontinuities with its Conservative predecessor. Its new departures, especially those which involve increased central direction from Whitehall, imply a number of assumptions about the values which should underpin the management of the education service, the ways in which power should be distributed within it and the mechanisms through which policy objectives can be best translated into actual changes in schools and colleges. This article explores how far the concept of managerialism contributes to our understanding of institutional responses to the new policy environment and draws some conclusions about possible future directions for research in education management.