Governing by Standards: The Fabrication of Austerity in the Italian Education System

Abstract

This article reflects on the fabrication of austerity in the Italian education system during the recent financial crisis and the resulting economic stagnation in the economic outlook. In particular, it describes the construction and emerging configuration of a mode of educational governance where standards, data analysis and performances play a growing and relevant role. By drawing on recent literature on a sociology of educational policy and practice (Lawn & Grek 2012; Landri 2012), the article depicts the dynamics of two policy technologies of austerity: standardisation and evaluation. The limits of the spending containment and of the standardisation underway are finally discussed in the article's conclusion.