Against quality: Technocratic neoliberal teaching and the new Gradgrindism

This article argues that quality , and in particular the idea of continuous improvement , while presented as a neutral and commonsense policy concept, serves to depoliticise education and functions ideologically. Another key element of quality discourse, also framed as self-evident, is the claim that teachers are the most important determinants of educational outcomes. Not only are these notions incorrect; they also act to decontest ‘choice’ and ‘diversity’, thereby enabling inegalitarian forms of measurement and evaluation to dominate and distort the educational process.