Participation as government technique under the new public education system in Chile

Abstract

For 40 years, the Chilean education system has been subject to private management of public services, known as New Public Management (NPM). This management promotes competition and the high-stakes testing, and atomizes the educational system, diluting the participation of educational communities in political decisions that directly concern them. To reverse these effects, different regulations have emerged in recent years, such as Law 21.040 of 2017, one of the most important by creating a new public education system under direct state responsibility, with emphasis on local participation. From a qualitative perspective, this paper presents an analysis of the conceptions and modes of participation that emerge from this law, making use of Foucault's governmental theory. The results point to a persistence of the notion of participation under the NPM, crossed and tensioned by an emerging notion of participation of local resistance from the educational communities. Finally, we discuss the scope of the changes introduced by Law 21.040 and the necessary elements for a new public education system that is truly inclusive and democratic for schools and educational actors.