The encroachment of management speak into everyday life and how to deal with it

A story covered by the BBC News web-site today looks at how the business agenda has all but smothered formal education.

For example, instead of education establishments being assessed on the basis of teaching as an art or discipline, education establishments are increasingly judged on 'delivery', 'performance indicators', quantitative 'audits', 'effeciency gains', 'funding systems that respond to customer demand', etc., etc...

At the heart of the article is a Professor Pring, the lead author of a report, published this week by the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training, which looks at how the aims and values of education have come to be "dominated by the language of management".

Education is by no means a unique situation, and Orwellian-like speak is evident in nearly every domain of modern life.

So how should we respond to these threats (if you see it as threat)?

Well, for one, find the time to challenge anyone and everyone who uses the 'market forces' argument for the most basic dilemma!

For more details see Lesson one: no Orwellian language by Mike Baker.

1 comment:

John said...

Poor old Orwell! He wouldn't have been so chuffed about it either ;)
www.george-orwell.org/Politics_and_the_English_Language/0.html