Reclaiming purpose: A critical reflection on education, policy and practice

This article offers a critical reflection on the evolving purpose of education in England, drawing on my practice as a school improvement advisor, former head teacher and former Ofsted inspector. Framed by theoretical contributions from Ball, Biesta, Bourdieu and others, it explores how neoliberal policy technologies, particularly performativity and marketisation, have narrowed educational aims to what is measurable, performable and publicly auditable. In doing so, the article highlights the erosion of teacher agency, the reconfiguration of leadership around performativity measures, and the displacement of ethical and relational dimensions of practice. I argue that reclaiming education’s purpose requires not only a critique of dominant policy logics but also a reassertion of democratic values, professional trust and the moral complexity of teaching. It also considers the broader purposes of education ‐ qualification, socialisation and subjectification ‐ and how these are increasingly marginalised by performativity. Rather than offering fixed solutions, the article invites dialogue, within and beyond schools, about what education is for, and how we might resist reductive paradigms in pursuit of more humane, inclusive and hopeful futures.