The Future in a Goody Bag: An Actual School-Market Investigation

• In Event: Networks of Contemporary Truth and Resistance

Abstract

This paper aims to explore educational markets literarily – in situ – at quite unique ‘real’ market places, where buyers and sellers of educational commodities meet and negotiate values and preferences. Thus, the place we chose for this study was some of the ‘school fairs’ held in huge exhibition halls all over Sweden every year. At these fairs upper secondary schools and prospective students in ninth grade are supposed to match, conduct and shape their future. Through ethnographical studies at these places we provide a rich, robust and nuanced understanding of educational marketization. We want to know how school markets becomes intelligible at these places and how different parts and positions of actors contribute to their intelligibility.

Authors

• Martin Harling, Linköping University

• Magnus Dahlstedt, Linkoping University