追求教育品質和國家競爭力的提升一直是各國教育改革的主題，如何提升國家整體教育品質，也是諸多執政者及教育學者所關心的議題。其中教育改革引進市場模式，強調將學生與家長視為「消費者」的教育政策即為之一，80年代以來，為歐美各國教育改革理念之一。本研究將探討市場機制與教育市場化之興起及其影響，並藉此觀點來檢視20多年來英國保守黨與工黨在中等教育上之改革。 本研究共分6章。首先探討市場機制的理論及其選擇、競爭與供需原則等市場理念對教育發展之影響；其次探討英國1979年後執政的保守黨柴契爾夫人為因應全球化競爭、經濟危機與教育品質低落等困境，而提倡教育市場化以提升教育水平。再則1997年後執政的新工黨教改政策，除延續了教育市場化理念，並要全面提升所有學生學習表現。就中等教育的改革政策而言，兩黨均強調教育私有與企業化經營、績效與競爭並滿足家長選擇權，新工黨則特別重視夥伴關係與社會正義；本研究最後乃基於教育市場化的反省而提出建議，包括不容忽視教育機會均等、實現教育真正功能並重視政府管制教育之力量等建議，而教育市場化未來仍會是教育重要趨勢之一。 Elevating the quality of education and competition of state is still the main subject of education reform in all of countries all the time. How to improve the whole quality of national education is also the subject of debate that many governors and scholars care about. The implementation of market mechanism and the tendency of consumer-center in education is the one way of those educational reforms. The market mechanism was the main reform in Occident since 1980 period. The thesis will discuss the market mechanism and the beginning and influences of marketization in education which to check the development of secondary education policy in England over the past 20 years. This thesis is divided into six chapters. At first, it explores the theory of market mechanism and explains the influences of market mechanism such as choice, competition and the law of demand and supply on education development. Then it discusses the marketization of education supported by P.M. Thatcher, who wanted to solve the problems of global competition, economic crisis and the lower quality of education of U.K. since 1979. The education reform policy of New Labour continues the conception of marketization of education and wants to elevate the learning performance of all students. Besides this, the secondary reform policy of Conservative and Labour party both emphasize corporatization of education, effects and competition and meet the need of parental choice. New Labour also lay stress on the partnership and social justice. At last, the conclusion and suggestions of the thesis are that we can’t neglect the equality of education; we should achieve the real capability of education and respect the authority of state to control education. Nevertheless marketization of education will still be an important trend in the future.
