Modernización conservadora y privatización en la educación: el caso de la LOMCE y la Nueva Gestión Pública

Education privatization policies have become a global phenomenon. In Spain, the Conservative Party has promoted a conservative modernization in education through the so-called “Law for Improving Educational Quality” (LOMCE). This reform has introduced endogenous privatization policies inspired by New Public Management (NPM), such as school autonomy, accountability and the professionalization of school principals. The purpose of this article is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to review the existing literature on the use of evidence from the OECD and PISA in the adoption of LOMCE and in the construction of political discourse in education. Secondly, it tries to unpack and discuss some of the principles and contents of the law and its potential effects. The content of the law and other official documents of the Ministry of Education, press releases, and academic papers have been reviewed.