Taking networks seriously: Education policy in Britain

Abstract

Abstract This paper argues against the merely metaphorical use of concepts such as ‘network’ in the analysis of policy processes that involve relationships between government and interests. It juxtaposes some contributions from anthropology and sociology with the more familiar literature of political science and policy studies. It considers the question of norms, upon which an analysis of networks has some bearing. Next, it focuses upon the understanding of human agency and trust as a micro-analytic strategy for research on meso-level interactions, or ‘networking’. In the light of this, it then looks at the education policy process in Britain, with particular reference to Scotland, as seen in recent literature. It ends by discussing the changing education ‘partnership’ in Britain, construing this concept as one that serves both actors as well as observers, and which has affinities with other analyses of policy networks.

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