Phillip Brown

Education : culture, economy, and society

Education aims to establish the social study of education at the centre of political and sociological debate about post industrial societies. It looks at major changes which have taken place in the late 20th century and at educational policy.

The ‘Third Wave’: education and the ideology of parentocracy

In this paper it will be argued that we are entering a ‘third wave’ in the socio‐historical development of British education and that similar trends are also evident in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The ‘first wave’ can be characterised by the rise of mass schooling for the working classes in the late nineteenth century. The ‘second wave’ involved a shift from the provision of education based upon what Dewey called the “feudal dogma of social predestination” to one organised on the basis of individual merit and achievement. What is distinct about the ‘third wave’ is the move towards a system whereby the education a child receives must conform to the wealth and wishes of parents rather than the abilities and efforts of pupils. In other words, we have witnessed a shift away from the ‘ideology of meritocracy’ to what I will call the ‘ideology of parentocracy’. This paper will consider the evidence to support this conclusion and examine its sociological significance.

Globalisation, knowledge and the myth of the magnet economy

This article examines the dominant view of the changing relationship between education, jobs and rewards in the global knowledge economy. This asserts that the developed economies can resolve issues of individual aspirations, economic efficiency and social justice through the creation of a high‐skills, high‐wage ‘magnet’ economy. Here the authors examine four of the key dimensions of this account and argue that while there has been a fundamental change in the relationship between education, economy and society, their conclusions are far removed from the assumptions that currently inform public and policy debates.

Education, meritocracy and the global war for talent

Talk of the rise of a global war for talent and emergence of a new global meritocracy has spread from the literature on human resource management to shape nation‐state discourse on managed migration and immigration reform. This article examines the implications that the global war for talent have for education policy. Given that this talent war is a product of neoliberalism, it raises many of the same concerns for educators as neoliberalism in general: the embrace and promotion of social, economic and educational inequality; and a narrow, market‐based conception of education, skill and talent. This article argues, however, that the global war for talent represents a new phase in neoliberalism, as it seeks to liberalise the global movement not just of capital and commodities, but of high skill labour as well. In this, it threatens to undercut some of the founding assumptions and goals that have shaped national education policy in OECD countries throughout the post‐World War II period, and raises serious concerns for how we are to think about and pursue equality, inclusion and fairness in and through education in the future.

Education, globalisation and the future of the knowledge economy

The dominant view today is of a global knowledge-based economy, driven by the application of new technologies, accelerating the shift to high-skilled, high-waged European economies. This view is reflected in the expansion of higher education and the key role of higher education in national and European economic policy. The Lisbon agenda seeks to make the European Union ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’ (European Commission, 2003, p. 2) Not only is education believed to hold the key to international competitiveness but to the foundations of social justice and social cohesion. This article will outline the underlying assumptions of this mantra, which in many respects has changed little since the 1960s when human capital theory gained increasing prominence in education and economic policy (Halsey, 1961). It will then examine the prospects for the creation of high-skills economies throughout Europe in light of new realities of the global economy. This analysis is based on interviews with senior managers and executives in leading transnational companies and government policy makers in seven countries including China and India. In conclusion, we will outline a series of issues as a contribution toward a new agenda for education and the knowledge economy within the European Research Area.

Globalization and the political economy of high skills

This paper seeks to develop a methodology for the comparative study of the political economy of skill formation with a particular focus on policies designed to develop routes to a high skills economy. It is argued that the advanced economies face a series of ‘pressure points’ in common which can only be addressed by making a series of policy trade‐offs. But while the pressure points are common to these economies the trade‐offs will be determined by the politics, culture and history of a nations economic and social development.

Education, opportunity and the prospects for social mobility

There has been renewed policy interest in intergenerational social mobility as a route to a fairer society, but in ignoring the sociological evidence this article will argue that the current policy agenda will fail to achieve its goal. Based on an analysis of ‘social congestion’, ‘social exclusion’, and ‘social justice’, it also argues that existing sociological research on education and social mobility needs to be extended. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, the experiences of working-class and middle-class students and families are not defined by intergenerational social mobility, but by social congestion and an opportunity trap.

Sociology of education: a critical history and prospects for the future

This paper examines the sociology of education from the perspective of its recent history and attempts to assess the current state of the field. The authors argue that cognate disciplines such as economics and social policy have taken over some of the key questions that were once the preserve of sociology of education. This raises the question of what is lost if the sociology of education is no longer making a significant contribution, in key areas, to the major educational, social and economic issues of the day.

Education, Economy and Social Change

In advanced industrial societies the educational system has been identified as making a major contribution to national economic prosperity. In this paper we examine how the educational system should be organised to meet the social and economic challenge of the late twentieth century. In asking this question the intention is to redirect current debates towards a more thorough going discussion about the interrelationship between education, economy and society. It will be argued that this broader perspective is essential if we are to fully grasp and understand the implications of the changing social and economic conditions of the late twentieth century, as well as the likely consequences of recent policy reforms.

Economic restructuring and social exclusion

An investigation of social divisions in Europe, providing broad coverage of the important issues. The book explores options for European integration and implications for social justice, citizenship, democracy and East European market reform.