The political economy of education in times of austerity: Mechanism of crisis management in the Catalan education policy

Austerity policies have been a common response to the economic crisis of many European governments. The cuts in the social sphere have affected educational budgets and have forced states to manage the crisis with political and discursive strategies. This article develops a critical analysis on how the Spanish State and the Catalan government in particular have managed educational change in a context of economic austerity. Based on Bob Jessop's approach to cultural political economy and using data on the Catalan case, the article explores the mechanisms and technologies of crisis management and shows how the crisis, rather than restricting government policy action, has in fact been used as a political opportunity to build a new model of educational policy.