Eric.ed.gov – Should Business Reform Public Education? A “Rainy Night” for Georgia Teachers and Implications for Science Education.

Into the “quality of public schools” issue step politicians with quick fixes–“proven” business practices variously rejected by experts Peter Drucker (Management by Objectives) and W. E. Deming (Quality Management). These include the following. Determine product quality by inspection–hence, compare school quality by testing teachers and students. Deming opposed maintaining quality by inspection, instead focusing on design Assume that the quality by product is not due to defective design, but due to incompetent personnel. Deming rejected making personnel the focus of problem solving. Make or perpetuate schools as authority oriented systems in which, paraphrasing Drucker (via Marc Tucker), teachers are treated as unskilled production line workers with little autonomy or pay. Apply a narrow focus on goals. In this case, they are economic. Public education has the long established purpose of educating citizens. Corporate America is concerned about the Math, Science, and English skills of prospective workers. An account of the recent history of educational reform in Georgia led by business interests is presented. (Contains 41 references.) (Author/MM)