Educational markets in space: gamekeeping professionals across Australian communities

Doherty, C. , Rissman, B. and Browning, B. (2013) Educational markets in space: gamekeeping professionals across Australian communities. Journal of Education Policy, 28(1), pp. 121-152. (doi: 10.1080/02680939.2012.692394)

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Abstract

This paper argues that the logic of neoliberal choice policy is typically blind to considerations of space and place, but inevitably impacts on rural and remote locations in the way that middle-class professionals view the opportunities available in their local educational markets. The paper considers the value of middle-class professionals’ educational capitals in regional communities and their problematic distribution, given that class fraction’s particular investment in choice strategies to ensure their children’s future. It then profiles the educational market in six communities along a transect between a major regional centre and a remote ‘outback’ town, using publicly available data from the Australian Government’s My School website. Comparison of the local markets shows how educational outcomes are distributed across the local markets and how dimensions of ‘choice’ thin out over the transect. Interview data offer insights into how professional families in these localities engage selectively with these local educational markets or plan to transcend them. The discussion reflects on the growing importance of educational choices as a marker of place in the competition between localities to attract and retain professionals to staff vital human services in their communities.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Doherty, Prof Catherine
Authors: Doherty, C., Rissman, B., and Browning, B.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Journal Name:Journal of Education Policy
Publisher:Taylor and francis
ISSN:0268-0939
ISSN (Online):1464-5106
Published Online:10 July 2012

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