Participation<i>as</i>governmentality? The effect of disciplinary technologies at the interface of service users and providers, families and the state

McKay, Jane; Garratt, Dean

doi:10.1080/02680939.2012.752869

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…(Christie, ; Gillies, ; McKay & Garratt, ). This perspective incites one to broaden the scope of the actors under study.…”

Section: A Steering Trilogymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research

Theisens

Hooge²,

Waslander³

2016

Euro J of Education

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Many policy systems and education systems have grown more complex in the last three decades. Power has moved away from central governments in different directions: upwards towards international organisations, sideways towards private institutions and non‐governmental organisations and downwards towards local governments and public enterprises such as schools. Where once we had central government, we now have governance, which can be defined as the processes of establishing priorities, formulating and implementing policies, and being accountable in complex networks with many different actors. Steering in such complex education systems emerges from the activities, tasks and responsibilities of state and non‐state actors, operating at different levels and from different positions and often has un‐deliberate, un‐intentional and un‐foreseen consequences. There are many conceptual models that encapsulate this complexity, but this article suggests that there is a real need for empirical research. Without empirical research it remains unknown whether and how steering in complex networks works out in practice, what are its effects and for whom. Moreover, it is only through empirical research that we can find out whether central government has become less dominant, or rather whether its appearance has changed and it has become less visible, but not necessarily less influential. Foucault's governmentality perspective is a useful notion on which to build such a framework for empirical research which allows for a careful study of the interactions that signify steering. Inspired by Foucault, this article develops a trilogy of assumed conditions for steering to take effect in modern societies. Following this reasoning, ‘something' first needs to be made thinkable, calculable and practicable by different actors for steering to occur. This trilogy is a promising starting point for empirical research into very specific phenomena which can help us to understand how steering in complex education systems works.

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“…(Christie, ; Gillies, ; McKay & Garratt, ). This perspective incites one to broaden the scope of the actors under study.…”

Section: A Steering Trilogymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; and Who are considered relevant actors (and who are not)?, Who ascribes which (steering) role to whom? Discourse analysis often focuses on government policies and the role of central governments (Christie, 2006;Gillies, 2008;McKay & Garratt, 2013). This perspective incites one to broaden the scope of the actors under study.…”

Section: Thinkablementioning

confidence: 99%

Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research

Theisens

Hooge²,

Waslander³

2016

Euro J of Education

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“…Introducing the role of advocate then problematizes the notion of children as active participants in their own right, and the advocate themselves become subject to the disciplinary techniques that emerge from and within participatory discourses, as the family becomes an instrument of government (Ball 1990;McKay and Garratt 2013). Young people then are not only the objects of participatory policy, but are subject to the additional technology of disciplinary power through the observation and representation of parents and carers, themselves 'subjected to a field of visibility … assum[ing] responsibility for the constraints of power; becom[ing] the principle of their own subjection' (Foucault 1977, 202).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young people’s voices: disciplining young people’s participation in decision-making in special educational needs

McKay¹

2014

Journal of Education Policy

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In recent years, education and family policy in the UK has sought to incorporate the views of children and young people through an active participation agenda, in the fulfilment of children's rights under the obligations of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child. Drawing on empirical evidence, this paper suggests that this aspiration is flawed. The inclusion of young people's voices in decision-making is context dependent, and influenced by individual relationships, both positive and negative. It is framed by policies that subjugate children within disciplinary technologies that determine a regime of 'truth' about effective and appropriate participation. Drawing on data gathered as part of a wider study on the relationships between services users and services providers in special educational needs, this paper demonstrates that active inclusion of the voice of the child can be illustrated to be at least variable, and at worst prejudiced. It is suggested that the notion of participation produces tacit forms of 'government' that further classify and divide young people, magnifying their marginalization.

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“…User involvement has been theorized in terms of, for example, governance and disciplining (McKay & Garratt, 2013), power relations (Hodge, 2005), professionalization (El Enany et al, 2013) and participatory spaces (Näslund et al, 2017). The aim of this article is to highlight how the concept of cooptation can be used to understand the relationship between the public administration and the collective of service users that the practice of user involvement produces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Four features of cooptation

Eriksson¹

2018

Nordisk välfärdsforskning | Nordic Welfare Research

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The article draws on a three-year ethnographical study investigating how "service user involvement" was constructed (i.e. understood, implemented, and performed) within two large Swedish welfare organizations-a county-based psychiatric organization and a municipal social service administration (see Eriksson 2015). When analyzing the interactions between the user movement and the welfare organizations, a relationship much like cooptation (Selznick, 1949) was revealed. The article outlines four characteristic features of this coopting relationship: (1) The bonding between the parties, incorporating the user representatives in the organizations and their institutional logic; (2) The organizational framing of the user involvement activities; setting the initial rule for how to act/speak, where to act/speak, when to act/speak as well as what to speak about; (3) The organizational control exercised as the activities took place, directing the discussions and interaction to align with the interests of the welfare organizations; and (4) The resistance exercised by user representatives, enabling them to influence the organizations and contribute to change. Together, these four features disclose service user involvement as a "sanctioned resistance": At the same time as the institutionalized service user involvement controls and constrains the way service user representatives act and pursue their goals, it gives them a possibility to challenge the welfare organizations from within. However, the influence that is permitted can be understood as adjustments within the prevailing institutional logic, rather than changes that transformed the organizations in more profound ways.

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Participationasgovernmentality? The effect of disciplinary technologies at the interface of service users and providers, families and the state

Cited by 17 publications

References 25 publications

Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research

Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research

Young people’s voices: disciplining young people’s participation in decision-making in special educational needs

Four features of cooptation

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