Neoliberal Crises and the Academisation of the English School System: Why Governing Boards Choose to Join Multi-Academy Trusts

This book examines the impact of neoliberalism on the academisation of the English school system. The growth of multi-academy trusts (MATs) has been a significant change in the English educational landscape. While some schools have been forced to join MATs, many of them have made this change because their governing board has chosen to do so. The author of this book examines the reasons why many governing bodies have still decided to join a MAT, despite numerous controversies linked to them. He applies the theory that neoliberalism perpetuates itself by creating crises which require more neoliberal policy solutions. Using three case-study schools, the extent to which various crises in the English education system have encouraged governing boards to join MATs is studied. The book will be of interest to academics and students of education policy, schooling, and the sociology of education.