Neoliberal and Neoconservative Vectors in the Administration of the Public School: policies and practices

Abstract

With this article, we intend to approach the redefinition of the public school administration as a structural element in the mandates of the educational policies during the 80s and 90s in one central countrs, England. The selection of this context is due to the fact that this country have started shifts in the educational policies, namely regarding school administration. Moreover, this choice is also justified by the central position that this one country occupy. Thus, the policies regarding public schools administration in central countries become a point of reference to the analysis of the educational policies of countries that have a semi-periphery position, such as Portugal (cf.Afonso, 1998 and Sá, 2004). Besides this analysis to the policies, it is also intended to bring into the discussion the results of the already made investigations in this country which allow us to ponder on the impact of those new policies in the public schools/school actors. Underlying this option, is the supposed idea that in the educational policies analysis it is crucial to integrate the micro-political and the neopolitical dimensions, in order to break the “constant condescending look”, which doesn’t question the big political and legislative (central) decisions, bearing in mind its rippling effect on the several management units (periphery) (cf. Lima & Afonso, 1992:11).