Schooling and enterprise culture: pause for a critical policy analysis

This paper claims that current preoccupations with ‘enterprise culture’ in the policy and practice of schooling deflect attention from crucially important problems such as deindustrialization and the changing nature of work, the creation of meaningful work opportunities for the young, social justice, and moral and social regeneration. It is also claimed that ‘enterprise culture’ draws upon a social pathology, which locates problems in individuals and whose function is to shift responsibility for economic growth and stability on to individuals and their schools. It is all part of a rush to find simple solutions to complex problems - solutions that promote the values of the business sector.