School effectiveness: new managerialism, quality and the Japanization of education

School effectiveness is a microtechnology of change. It is a relay device, which transfers macro policy into everyday processes and priorities in scho ols. It is part of the growing apparatus of performance evaluation. Change is brought about by a focus on the school as a site-based system to be mana ged. There has been corporate restructuring in response to the changing pol itical economy of education. There are now new work regimes and radical cha nges in organizational cultures. Education, like other public services, is now characterized by a range of structural realignments, new relationships between purchasers and providers and new coalitions between management and politics. In this article, we will argue that the school effectiveness move ment: is an example of new managerialism in education. It is part of an ide ological and technological process to industrialize educational productivit y. That is to say, the emphasis on standards and standardization is evocati ve of production regimes drawn from industry. There is a belief that educat ion, like other public services can be managed to ensure optimal outputs an d zero defects in the educational product.