This book evaluates contemporary approaches to education with a particular focus on the ways
in which assessment shapes the educational experience and influences pupils and students. It
adopts a critical approach arguing that there is a need for students to develop critical
thinking skills be flexible and have the capacity for originality. Education has increasingly
come to be seen as a process with qualifications as the output however as economies change
attaining advantage increasingly relies on creativity and originality. Unfortunately in the
quest to remove uncertainty from education creativity and originality are often overlooked
and the result is that education is impoverished. Creasy argues here that there is no single
factor that has shaped education and led to this situation rather developments within
education can be seen as having been shaped by a range of forces such as neoliberalism New
Public Management standardization and internationalization. This is not to claim any
deliberate undermining of education but the cumulative effect is that education is less and
less fit for purpose. Written for anyone involved in education student teacher or manager
this book draws upon Educations Studies Sociology and Social Policy to offer a compelling
critique of contemporary education.
