The commodification of education and its effects on developing countries: A focus on China

Abstract

The commodification of education is a process within a general set of contemporary movements in the terrain of the social. In terms of policy discourse, this is not simply a technical change in the modes of delivery of education but a social and cultural change in what education is, what it means, and what it means to be educated. Within such a policy context, the fundamental principle of capitalism is expanding rapidly and sectorally across many parts of the world. Privatisation is seen as the solution to the problems and failings of public education. Education is treated as a commodity. By fetishising commodities, the primacy of human relationships in the production of value is denied. Beliefs and values are no longer important. It is output that counts. Using China's experience as an example, this article interrogates the process of commodification of education. It argues that the management of the delivery of educational services that displaces beliefs and values is particularly detrimental to social development in developing countries.