Are education and efficiency antithetical?. Education for democracy vs the “cult of efficiency”
| Pages | 160-173 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230410525586 |
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| Author | William Lowe Boyd |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Are education and efficiency
antithetical?
Education for democracy vs the
“cult of efficiency”
William Lowe Boyd
Penn State University, University Park, Pennslyvania, USA
Keywords Education, Equity theory, Management accountability, Leadership, Economics
Abstract Are education and efficiency antithetical? Does the pursuit of efficiency in education
inevitably lead to misguided practices and measurement attempts that distort the character and
purposes of education? Despite legitimate fears about misguided efforts at efficiency, history shows
that efficiency and enlightened educational leadership can be combined beneficially. Indeed, if we
want to use educational resources as wisely and effectively as possible, to benefit as many students
as possible, we must evaluate the efficiency of alternative policies and practices. This article
explores the issues involved, and steps required, for a balanced and appropriate pursuit of
efficiency that preserves educational values and avoids the dangers of the “cult of efficiency.”
Are education and efficiency antithetical? Are they in direct and unequivocal
opposition? Does the pursuit of efficiency in education inevitably put the
schools on a slippery slope, sliding or even plunging headlong toward
misguided mechanistic practices and measurement attempts that distort both
the character and purposes of education? Many critics on the left seem to think
so, and most of them link efficiency efforts to the crass culture of capitalism
and commercialism. Examples include such publications as:
.Kohn and Shannon’s (2002) book, Education, Inc.: Turning Learning into
a Business.
.Giroux’s (2001) book, Stealing Innocence: Corporate Culture’s War on
Children.
.Saltman and Gabbard’s (2003) book, Education as Enforcement: The
Militarization and Corporatization of Schools.
.Molnar’s (1996) book, Giving Kids the Business: The Commercialization of
America’s Schools.
.Molnar’s recent reports, School Commercialism, Student Health, and the
Pressure to Do More with Less” (Molnar, 2003a); and “No student left
unsold” (Molnar, 2003b).
On the other side of the ledger, conservative critics bemoan what they call a
“productivity collapse” in public education, that is, ever increasing educational
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
Keynote address delivered at the 8th Annual Values and Leadership Conference, October 16-18,
2003, State College, Pennsylvania, USA.
JEA
42,2
160
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 42 No. 2, 2004
pp. 160-173
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/09578230410525586
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