Optimizing the educational subject between testing and inclusion in an era of neoliberalism: Musings on a research agenda and its future perspectives

In 1960, Philip H. Coombs (1915-2006), who was programme director for education at the Ford Foundation and head of the US delegation to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), wrote: ‘[There is] a potential conflict between education’s obligation to promote the growth and freedom of the individual for its own sake and the necessity to serve the growth and security of society as a whole’. The quote stems from an OEEC publication on how to redesign education to better accommodate economic growth, improve education planning in light of the Cold War, and improve national educational data for the purpose of comparing Western education systems (OEEC, 1960). The quote eloquently sums up a fundamental schism regarding the very purpose of education that is not the least reflected in a political and professional tug of war over what education is and should be: Should education be a production factor in the achievement of economic prosperity – an economistic and highly utilitarian perspective – or should education serve personal development values, Bildung, and making students capable of leading rich and fulfilling lives? To what extent should education have a life of its own based on notions about its intrinsic values and to what extent should external political goals be taken into consideration? And what if these political goals are conflicting or even incompatible? These questions have been recurring themes throughout this volume, and they clearly intertwine with the tensions between testing and inclusion documented in the chapters.