Marketisation, Choice, and Scottish Education: enhancing parent and pupil voice?

Abstract

Current educational policy in many parts of the world is dominated by the discourse of the market. Choice is seen as a lever by which quality will be enhanced through its direct effects on providers. Choice is intended to provide an exit for users but, in doing so, it is argued by policy makers that it makes user voice more effective. This paper examines the relationship between exit, voice and loyalty in public services using Scottish education as a case study where choice is constrained by both geography and political factors. We consider the implications of Le Grand’s (2003, 2007) analysis of public services in terms of characterising providers as “knights” or “knaves” and users as “queens” or “pawns” and discuss the advantages and difficulties of maintaining a system of knightly providers and queenly users.