Mecanismos, actores y espacios de privatización en y de la educaciónneoliberalismo, performatividad y redes en la política educativa española

Resumen

This research is an analysis of contemporary power relations in the field of educational policy. The main objective is to examine new and old dynamics, actors and privatization spaces in and of public education. The implementation of some neoliberal policies in the Spanish public education system is analysed in order to give argumentation and answers to these processes of change. The last three decades have seen a relentless movement of educational reforms and counter-reforms in most countries. These political changes have been developed at the national and / or regional level, but based on overall educational agendas that demand the reformulation of policies in specific contexts. These school reforms are sponsored by the logic of globalization, the implementation of neoliberal policies and the development of new processes that privatize public schools. This has focused attention and generated much debate in the field of educational policy over recent decades. This present research is focused on providing data to understand some of these processes in the Spanish political arena. To account for this, this workexaminesnew contemporary power relations that are transforming the structures, practices and subjects following the implementation of neoliberal education policies in this specific context. The doctoral thesis has been divided into three distinct parts. The first is an introductory section tackling a number of theoretical notions that make up the epistemological body as a starting point for further analysis. The first part of the thesis consists of the study of some theoretical notions to understand how new contemporary power relations are modifying the structures, practices and subjects in public education systems. For this reason it mainly focuses on notions of neoliberalism, biopolitics, performativity and the State. The second part consists of six research items developed in different journals in the field of educational policy. And finally, the third part provides conclusions and describes some research lines that are expected to be developed in other studies. The hidden privatization in the Spanish system have been carried out through economic incentives for teachers, new practices of accountability and extending the system of standardization.These dynamics of hidden privatization are grounded in new forms of governance that individualize, totalize and enter into the subjects. They are mechanisms of neoliberal biopolitics. Individualization and totalization of population groups is developed by extending the system of standardization as a biopolitical device. Besides the changes that occur in practice and in the subjects, neoliberal policies are producing a strong transformation of the state. These transformations are giving way from a Keynesian welfare national state towards "competitive state" responsible for creating a market. Contemporary political changes are leading to the restructuring of the state that is being shaped by new private actors who support and defend neoliberal policies. Think tanks and philanthropic foundations are exercising an especial influence on these state changes.