Education used for economic growth not improvements in society

Professor Paul Miller criticises government use of education in Cape Town keynote lecture

A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield professor who is a global authority on school leadership is critical of the way that governments around the world are using education as a tool for economic growth rather than improvements in society.  He was given a prominent platform for his views when he addressed a major event in Africa.

Paul Miller, who is Professor of Educational Leadership and Management at the University, was invited to be keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Association of Educational Development in Africa (AEDA), held in Cape Town.  His talk was titled Education as development? The (new) role of educational leaders.

Professor Miller says he is critical of the global trend because he believes that education is a tool for social change and not something to be used purely for utilitarian outcomes.

“Governments the world over have now put the responsibility for national development squarely on the shoulders of school leaders.  Lessons are now about developing a kind of work-ready learner, not about developing a learner who is well-rounded.”

During his Cape Town lecture, Professor Miller shared his highly regarded Economic-motor model of schooling diagram, which metaphorically characterises government policies as the fuel for a vehicle driven by school principals, with teachers as mechanics and students as components of the motor.

He told the AEDA delegates that “governments in both developing and developed countries are seeking to retain control of both the content and the role of education through policies which promote centralisation, pre-defined models for teacher training, surveillance and monitoring, testing and performance targets couched in the language of economic development instead of social transformation – which is a foundational aim of education.”

In preparing his keynote lecture, Professor Miller drew on some of his recent publications such as his 2016 book Exploring School Leadership in England and the Caribbean – based on research conducted with school principals in England and the Caribbean – and his 2018 book The Nature of School Leadership, based on interviews he conducted with school principals in 16 countries located in five continents.

Professor Miller believes that the trend towards education as tool for economic growth is now worldwide and is becoming increasingly embedded as part of the everyday practice of schools.

“I don’t think there is any way back.  Governments are always looking to increase the wealth of the nation, but are also looking at passing the buck,” he said, adding that the financial crisis that began in 2008 was a watershed moment.

“There has always been a link between education and personal development or national development.  But it became something that was built more into national policy agendas after the global economic collapse.”