Education Contested : Changing Relations Between State, Market and Civil Society in Modern European Education

Education Contested discusses the relationship between state, market, civil society and education. It focuses on the relations between state and education, for example the development in the inspectorates of education (Kotthof; Moutsios), between the market and education, e.g. the way in which universities are stimulated to support themselves financially (Weiler), and lastly between civil society and education, for example the way in which French secondary education prepares its students for citizenship (Thelot).The reality, however, is far more complex than these bilateral relations suggest, as the examples above already illustrate. The inspectorate of education may evaluate schools with regard to their results, which is where the market becomes involved. In the case of the relation between the market, universities, civil society, and secondary education, it is difficult to gain an accurate impression of the role of the state. It shows that state, market, and civil society cannot easily beseparated in their relation to the educational system. Therefore the editors have developed a model of analysis to explore the complex relations between state, market, civil society and education. This model may give the reader a tool to understand and place the contributions of the several authors in a broader perspective.