MANAGING THE STATE AND THE MARKET - NEW EDUCATION MANAGEMENT IN 5 COUNTRIES

Within the field of education management studies, recent reforms promo ting devolution and choice are often seen to provide exciting new oppo rtunities. It is claimed that the 'new' education management, with its emphasis on site-based decision-making and consumer accountability, w ill enable headteachers and principals to 'take control' of their scho ols and make them more productive environments in which to work and st udy. However, our review of research findings from five different coun tries that are putting in place devolution and choice policies suggest s that these new opportunities are more illusory than real Positioned between the competing demands of the state and the market, school mana gers are becoming increasingly isolated from colleagues and classrooms - leading to a growing divergence between the managers and the manage d. The paper considers the implication of recent developments for mana gers in general and for women managers in particular and concludes by discussing the relationship between the personalisation of responsibil ity and the legitimation of crises within the state and public educati on.