Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neoliberalism, Education Policy, and Leadership Observations

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management Discourse

Abstract

“Neoliberalism” has become society’s dominant organizing framework influencing all aspects of life, including education – its purposes, underpinning values, policies, discourses, practices, and leadership. This chapter explains the origins and major tenets of neoliberalism and the attendant intersecting influences of globalization and free market economics. It documents how neoliberalism emerged as a prevailing force, why and how education policy has become caught up in neoliberal pursuits, and responds to foundational questions such as: “what are education’s purposes?” “whose interests do they serve?” and “what are the effects on practice?” The chapter then focuses more specifically on neoliberalism’s effects on leadership practice and canvasses both intended and predictable outcomes, as well as unexpected consequences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Al-Rhodhan, N. A. F., & Stoudmann, G. (2006). Definitions of globalization: A comprehensive overview and a proposed definition. Geneva, Switzerland: Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. (1994). Education reform: A critical and post-structural approach. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. (2016). Neoliberal education? Confronting the slouching beast. Policy Futures in Education, 14(8), 1046–1059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bazalgette, S. P. (2017). The empathy instinct: How to create a more civil society. London, England: Hodder & Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch, K. (2017, November 3). What exactly is neoliberalism? The Conversation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch, K., Tyfield, D., & Chiappetta, M. (2018). From neoliberalizing research to researching neoliberalisms: STS, rentiership and the emergence of Commons 2.0. In D. Cahill, M. Cooper, M. Konings, & D. Primrose (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of neoliberalism. London, England: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boas, T. C., & Gans-Morse, J. (2009). Neoliberalism: From new liberal philosophy to anti-liberal slogan. Studies in Comparative International Development, 44(2), 137–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, E. (1983). Hayek: His contribution to the political and economic thought of our time. London, England: Temple Smith.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, B. (2008). Reconceptualizing the self-managing school. Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, 36(2), 235–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chomsky, N. (1999). Profit over people: Neoliberalism and the global order. New York, NY: Seven Stories Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. (2013). The neoliberal cascade and education: An essay on the market agenda and its consequences. Critical Studies in Education, 54(2), 99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enfield, N. (2017, May 15). Navigating the post-truth debate: Some key co-ordinates. The Conversation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and freedom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamble, A. (2001). Neoliberalism. Capital & Class, 25, 127–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F. A. (1944). The road to serfdom. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F. A. (1976). The mirage of social justice, vol. II, Law, legislation and liberty. London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 108–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F. A. (1979a). Social justice, socialism and democracy: Three Australian lectures. Turramurra, NSW: Centre for Independent Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek, F. A. (1979b). A conversation with Friedrich A. von Hayek: Science and socialism. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkings, S. (2018). Brief answers to the big questions. London, UK: John Murray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hertz, N. (2001). The silent takeover: Global capitalism and the death of democracy. New York, NY: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutton, W. (1995). The state we’re in. London, England: Jonathan Cape.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, J. M. (1919). The economic consequences of peace. London, England: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litz, D. (2011). Globalization and the changing face of educational leadership: Current trends and emerging dilemmas. International Education Studies, 4(3), 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (1993). Education and public policy in Australia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (1997). Markets and education. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mudge, S. (2008). What is neo-liberalism? Socio-Economic Review, 6(4), 703–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murgatroyd, S. J., & Sahlberg, P. (2016). The two solitudes of educational policy and the challenge of development. Journal of Learning for Development, 3(3), 9–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2014). Education at a glance, 2014. Paris: OECD Printing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phelps, E. (2013). Mass flourishing: How grassroots innovation created jobs, challenge, and change. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Proctor, R., & Schiebinger, L. (Eds.). (2008). Agnotology: The making and unmaking of ignorance (1st ed., pp. 1–36). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1972). A theory of justice. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, R. (2017). Economics in Wonderland: A cartoon guide to a political world gone mad and mean. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, J. (2010). Promoting social justice in schools: principals’ political strategies. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 13(4), 357–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sang Ben, M., & Van Der Horst, A. (1992). Ideales de antaño, necesidades presentes: el liberalismo dominicano como filosofía emergente. In B. B. Levine (Ed.), El Desafío Neoliberal: El Fin del Tercermundismo en América Latina. Bogotá, Colombia: Editorial Norma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, M. (2017). Is the politics of lying the slippery slope to post-truth society? Media release. Retrieved on April 1, 2017 from: http://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/media-releases/articles/is-the-politics-of-lying-the-slippery-slope-to-a-post-truth-society

  • Smith, A. (1759). The theory of moral sentiments. Edinburgh, Scotland: Alexander Kincaid & J. Bell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (1776). Wealth of nations. London, England: Strahan & Cadell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, J. (Ed.). (1993). A socially critical view of the self-managing school. London, England: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, K. (1999). That roar that lies at the other side of silence: An analysis of women principals’ responses to structural reform in South Australian education (Ph.D. thesis). University of South Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, K. (2012). Above and beyond the bottom line: The extraordinary evolution of education business manager. Camberwell, VIC: ACER Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, K. (2015). Education game changers: Leadership and the consequence of policy paradox. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, K. (2019). Education policy, neoliberalism, and leadership practice: A critical analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. (2012). The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers our Future. New York NY: WW Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E. (2015). The great divide: Unequal societies and what we can do about them. New York, NY: Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taubman, P. M. (2009). Teaching by numbers: Deconstructing the discourse of standards and accountability in education. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Venugopal, R. (2015). Neoliberalism as concept. Economy and Society, 44(2), 165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waddock, S. (2016, December 6). Neoliberalism’s failure means we need a new narrative to guide the global economy. The Conversation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang. F. (2018). Subversive leadership and power tactics. Journal of Educational Administration, 56(4), 398–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, N. (2001). Leadership, ‘Bastard leadership’ and managerialism. Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, 29(3), 275–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelizer, J. E. (2015). How education policy went astray. The Atlantic, April 10, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Karen Starr

Authors
  1. Karen Starr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Starr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Leadership, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA

    Fenwick W. English

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Starr, K. (2022). Neoliberalism, Education Policy, and Leadership Observations. In: English, F.W. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management Discourse. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99097-8_98

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation