J. Broadbent et R. Laughlin, CONTRACTS AND COMPETITION - A REFLECTION ON THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OFRECENT LEGISLATION ON MODES OF CONTROL IN SCHOOLS, Cambridge journal of economics, 21(2), 1997, pp. 277-290
This paper examines the extent to which recent legislative changes in
schools have introduced 'the market' as a mode of control. The legisla
tive reforms of the Education Reform Act (1988) can be seen as part of
an ongoing attempt to change the public sector in the UK and internat
ionally. In order to examine the changes, we build a heuristic framewo
rk to develop 'ideal type' models of markets, hierarchies and clans, t
hus developing the ideas of Ouchi (1979). We argue that the Education
Reform Act and the subsequent and related legislation form an initiati
ve which, while justified by an appeal to market-based control, has a
strong centralising tendency, seeking to restrict the autonomy of prof
essionals.