New managerialism as an organisational form of neoliberalism

This chapter demonstrates why new managerialism is not a neutral management strategy but rather a political project, borne out of a radical change in the spirit of neoliberal capitalism (Boltanski & Chiapello, 2005). It shows how it operates as an ideological configuration of ideas and practices that is instituting new orthodoxies in the running of public education in Ireland, aligning it more closely with the organisational logic and practices of the private market system. Although united by its ideological re-configuration towards market-place logic, managerialism is realized differently across countries; it is shaped by the historical antecedents and the specifics of nation-state politics. Drawing on three empirical studies undertaken by the authors on the impact of managerialism across primary, secondary, further and higher education (Grummell, 2014; Lynch, Grummell & Devine, 2015; Lolich & Lynch, 2016) the chapter explores the cultural and political specifics of managerialism across the education sectors in Ireland. It also explores the resistance to market norms, the counter-hegemonic actions of educational mediators within the machinery of the state and across the community (Lynch, 1990; Fitzsimons, 2017a).