Global new managerial policy developments enacted at local level in England and Switzerland

The paper draws on the findings from my doctoral research ‘contextualizing new managerialism in primary schools – teachers’ perceptions and experiences of policy change, teamwork and organisational culture’. The comparison between England and Switzerland allows explorations into the interplay between new managerial discourse invoking globalisation and local organisational culture and traditions. England and Switzerland provide an interesting comparison, as their political and education systems differ in terms of the prevalence of state education, the extent of local political accountability and the political cultures of decision-making. Their political cultures represent two extremes, based on an analysis of two factors, the political system of constituting the executive and the degrees of decentralisation: majoritarian for the United Kingdom, consensual for Switzerland, whereas many other European countries are characterised as combinations of the two to various degrees (Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2000). In relation to new managerial reform of the public sector, England is a fast-mover whilst policy makers in Continental Western Europe have placed different emphasis on new managerial reforms (Ferlie et al., 1996). The paper seeks to explore the processes of interplay between global ideologies such as new managerialism and local interpretations, which are influenced by traditions in the political and educational systems. It is argued that not only details of education policy making, but more so the political culture, political accountability and the traditions of professional culture are crucial to the understanding of differences in the enactment of new managerial policies in the two countries.