‘Good’ education in a neoliberal paradigm: Challenges, contradictions and consternations

Abstract

Perhaps there is no single answer to the question of what constitutes a ‘good’ education within schooling systems. If there were, one would hope that it would have been found by now. In his book looking at the big questions in life, contemporary philosopher Simon Blackburn gives an insight into the difficulties of answering this type of complex, philosophical question; ‘There will be many answers in different contexts, rather than one big answer, and it is progress to realize this.’ (2009, p. 1). Nevertheless, it is an inescapable reality that education matters, and providing a ‘good’ education matters. So while there are still students for whom the current systems are failing (Mounk, 2017), the question must continually be placed in the way of those who are responsible for delivering education, from policy makers, to academics, to educators themselves. Why? Because, in the words of the late South African president Nelson Mandela, ‘education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’ (de Villiers, 2015, para 1).