An analysis of the rhetoric and practice of educational partnerships in the UK: an arena of complexities, tensions and power

Abstract

Partnership is a concept that is increasingly being used in the UK political arena. This article seeks to contribute to the existing understanding of the theory and practice of educational partnerships. It argues that although partnerships are usually defined as necessary, pragmatic and benevolent ways of organizing social welfare, in practice they are complex, contradictory and even paradoxical social phenomena. Drawing on research on working partnerships, this paper argues that there is a mismatch between the political rhetoric on partnerships and empirical partnerships. It suggests that these disjunctions are the manifestation of the effective rhetorical power of partnerships. The notion of partnership constructs a vision of public policy that stresses efficiency, devolution and participation and in which everyone seems to benefit. However, when the actual practice of partnerships is explored, a different picture appears. Rather than inclusive, symmetrical and democratic social practices, current partnerships are revealed to be facilitating and legitimating central policy decision‐making as well as the private sector involvement in the delivery of public policies.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Stephen Ball, Carol Vincent and the two anonymous referees for their comments on earlier versions of this paper.