Against quality: technocratic neoliberal teaching and the new Gradgrindism
FORUM - Print ISSN 1474-7685 - Online ISSN 2047-7171
Volume 68 Number 1 (2026)
Against quality: technocratic neoliberal teaching and the new Gradgrindism
David Abbott pages 94‑104
DOI: 10.3898/forum.2026.68.1.08
Abstract
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.
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To cite this article
David Abbott (2026) Against quality: technocratic neoliberal teaching and the new Gradgrindism, FORUM, 68(1), 94-104 . https://doi.org/10.3898/forum.2026.68.1.08