Policy Press Networks, new governance and education

The public sector is going through a period of fundamental change. Service delivery, policy making and policy processes are being carried out by new actors and organisations with new interests, methods and discourses, related to the emergence of new forms of governance. This timely book from bestselling author Stephen Ball and Carolina Junemann uses network analysis and interviews with key actors to address these changes, with a particular focus on education and the increasingly important role of new philanthropy. Critically engaging with the burgeoning literature on new governance, they present a new method for researching governance - network ethnography- which allows identification of the increasing influence of finance capital and education businesses in policy and public service delivery. In a highly original and very topical analysis of the practical workings of the Third Way and the Big Society, the book will be useful to practicing social and education policy analysts and theorists and ideal supplementary reading for students and researchers of social and education policy. Review "This is a slim volume but one that is thick with information. For those interested in another of 'the other sides' of school reform, Networks, New Governance, and Education is a particularly useful tool. In addition, however, it is also extremely helpful in bolstering one's understanding of the new hybridity that characterizes what is now the education market rather than the education sphere. Finally, it has particular relevance for those interested in new ways of examining the networks of people and organizations that have increasing influence on life in the 21st century."--Cat McManus "Anthropology & Education" (3/8/2012 12:00:00 AM) "This is a sumptuous book: rich in detail and scholarly in conceptualisation. Ball and Junemann have undertaken a forensic analysis of actor interactions and so made the business of philanthropy transparent and intelligible. Living within and so far surviving ongoing reform experiments is exhausting, but these authors help make sense of unfolding and complex processes through their political science knowledge and expertise."--Helen Gunter, University of Manchester (2/13/2012 12:00:00 AM) "This is by far the best account of the social shapes of privatization that we have. Abounding in brilliant insights and startling detail, it maps a new landscape of education. It will have a decisive influence on educational and policy sociology."--Ken Jones, University of London (3/8/2012 12:00:00 AM) About the Author Stephen J. Ball is Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and author of a series of books on education policy and politics including The Education Debate. Carolina Junemann is a researcher and teacher at the Institute of Education, University of London. Her research interests focus on student dropout, social class and education policy.