Abstract

This chapter examines the difficulties that occur when political theorists misrepresent a key domain of human activity – in this case education – by obscuring the core content of that domain. Theorists privilege questions of control – whether by the state or the market – over questions about the nature of education as a distinctive human activity, with its own internal criteria of excellence and claims upon our allegiance and resources. Such theorising creates damage well beyond the academy, supporting near-useless reform agendas and diverting attention from vital needs in primary and secondary education.