Research article

Emerging discourses within the English 'choice advice' policy network

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Abstract

This paper examines regulating discourses 'spoken' within the complex multi-sector network of educational policy and provision that has grown from a recent introduction of choice advisers in England. Choice advice documentation from across the network is examined and four discursive themes are identified: equity; parental responsibility; independence/impartiality; and realism. The paper suggests that choice advice – as an English policy case illustrating broader social and political trends – superficially promotes empowerment for disadvantaged parents with a depoliticised, managerial approach while disempowering them by diverting attention away from wider stratification and shifting responsibility for educational quality away from the state.

Keywords: CHOICE ADVISERS, DISCOURSE, POLICY NETWORKS, PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

How to Cite:

Exley, S., (2009) “Emerging discourses within the English 'choice advice' policy network”, London Review of Education 7(3), 249–260. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14748460903290249