The public service school in a competitive context

In recent years schools have been faced with the need to present results so that these can be announced to parents and the general population through the media. The educational 'contract' to which they were subject with their students also became dependent on comparisons between schools. This gave rise to a competitive market between institutions to which they were not entirely indifferent. The logic behind the actions that schools have been taking differs in terms of their needs and purposes but market logic has gained expression in the need to attract the best students in order to achieve the best results. The expression 'public service' is no longer associated with a sense of community and civic duty but rather with the industrialization of education and product-centered regulation.