School Education as Social and Economic Governance: Responsibilising communities through industry-school engagement

Abstract

This article examines shifts in educational and social governance taking place in Queensland, Australia, through Education Queensland’s Industry School Engagement Strategy and Gateway Schools program. This significant educational initiative is set within the context of Queensland’s social investment agenda first articulated in its education policy framework, Queensland State Education-2010.The article traces the historic extension of this overarching governmental strategy through establishment of the Gateway Schools concept, brokering statewide industry-school partnerships with key global players in the Queensland economy. Industry sectors that have formed partnerships in Gateway projects include Minerals and Energy, Aerospace,Wine Tourism, Agribusiness, Manufacturing and Engineering, Building and Construction and ICT, with more industries and schools forecast to join the program. It is argued that this ‘post-bureaucratic’ model of schooling represents a new social settlement of neoliberal governance,which seeks to align educational outcomes with economic objectives, thereby framing the conditions for community self-governance in Queensland.