The weakening publicness and democracy of public education and growing intervention of non-state actors in education governance: the case of Denmark, France, and Portugal

This article discusses how the increasing interventions of non-state actors in education governance are shaping democratic decision-making in public schools. We focus on the effects of these interventions in public schools in Denmark, France, and Portugal regarding the interconnected dimensions typically advocated by non-state actors: the use of international large-scale assessments, accountability, datafication and digitalization of education. Despite the different cultural traditions and historical trajectories in these three countries, the paper shows that the intervention of non-state actors is being reinforced and tends paradoxically to weaken publicness in schools.