Author Description

This paper argues that, in the current educational environment, the pursuit of the public and democratic purposes of education calls for a reassessment of established arguments. It is noted that while the dominant defence of public education has tended to focus on the question of funding, this should not be the only response, as this limits the parameters of the public/private debate and can stifle new ways of thinking about it. The author argues that one way to move beyond the confines of the established parameters of the debate is to shift the focus on education systems to a focus on the concept of the 'publicness' of education. It aims to offer some possibilities rather than pin down specific policy approaches. In particular, it explores ways to break down the binary between public good and individual choice. [Introduction, ed].