The Public Good in English Private School Governance

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: School Choice in International Contexts

Abstract

There exist some rare private schools that attempt to mitigate the anti-democratic qualities of the private schooling sector in England. This paper considers to what extent the governance structures within these schools support their aspirations and what this means for the public good more generally. The schools reported here have a commitment to the public good that extends beyond limited public/state accountabilities to the Independent School Standards (2010), corporate law and the Charities Act, demonstrating the weaknesses of the public good as it is presently defined by the state and also advancing understanding on the extent to which the schools can be regarded as Fraser’s (1990) counterpublics.

Author

• Ruth Boyask, Plymouth University