A post‐fordist reworking of Australian education: the Finn, Mayer and Carmichael reports in the context of labour reprocessing

Like its counterparts overseas, Australian education has recently been the subject of scrutiny and review, particularly in respect to its relationship to the economy and work. Concern about an economy in decline and a labour force with limited skills and educational capacity prompted an examination into the direction of its education. To offset Australia's alleged poor performance in these areas, a number of policy options have been adopted which would bring schools into a closer relationship with the demands of the workplace. In effect we are witnessing a resurgence of human capital Imperatives in educational policy. But unlike its manifestations in the past, which contained Fordist and Taylorist elements, the new nexus which is now being forged between school and work is post‐Fordist in character.