The Language of Education Policy

There can be no doubt about the increased role of promotional language in the practice of contemporary politics. At the same time education policy has come to be seen in the UK as a key strategy for securing economic prosperity. For this reason there is growing critical interest in the relationship between policy, rhetoric, and the often conflicting demands of economy and society. The Language of Education Policy explores this dynamic in three decades of UK education policy spanning five prime ministers from Heath to Blair. Using critical discourse analysis the book examines the textual dynamics of changing forms of educational governance, and critically examines the tensions and inequalities inherent in shaping a knowledge-based, learning society. By devising a computer-aided method of analysis, this book also presents a means of systematically applying CDA to a large body of historical data. Key themes in the book include the increasing use by New Labour of a personalised, inclusive style of political rhetoric to legitimize contentious policy claims, and the increasing language of managerialism in contemporary governance.