Neoliberalism, neoconservatism and private sector influence on curriculum policy: the case of financial education in the UK

This paper re-examines the assertion that neoliberal and neoconservative discourses are necessarily aligned in framing education policy in the context of the school curriculum. We approach our task using evidence of private sector influence on the school curriculum. The financial sector has become emblematic of neoliberal influence on political and social relations, and we use the case of financial education to examine this further. Our evidence comprises 84 submissions, largely from private sector organisations, in response to calls from a UK 'All Party Parliamentary Group' on Financial Education in 2011 and 2016. We systematically analysed these submissions through story grammar narrative analysis and review relationships between the dominant narrative, neoliberal and neoconservative discourses. Our analysis shows that the school and charity sectors have accepted the narrative of individual responsibility for financial well-being that has been associated with the financial sector. Through this analysis we identify challenges to the assertion of alignment between neoliberal and neoconservative discourse in education policy. We also suggest that these discourses are brought towards alignment by (i) the way they both keep the role of capitals, and intergenerational transmission of capitals, hidden from view and (ii) they share a common interest in emaciating the power of professional teacher networks.