At the time of publication of this volume, education systems were experi-
encing a change of paradigm. The groundwork for the transformation was
laid in the 1980s when the spirit of the times began to change with the
movement of the so-called new public management. In many countries,
governing by defining goals to be met by agencies rather than by stricter
regulation became fashionable together with a decentralisation of the re-
sponsibility for the achievement of these goals, more citizens’ choice and
more competition.
These solutions were considered to be the proper answer to a growing
criticism of the performance of publicly provided services. More specifi-
cally, criticisms of education systems were enhanced by the mediatisation
of comparative studies and table leagues. Since the first International
Study of Achievement in Mathematics in 1964, comparisons have multi-
plied: Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in
1995, Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2001,
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) since 2000 and In-
ternational Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) since 1992, just to mention the
most commonly cited.
The economic downturn of the 1990s and the resulting government fis-
cal crisis, together with the fact that the education system represents a
large share of public expenditure, reinforced the social demand for policy
reforms.
As a result, the change of paradigm represented by market-oriented re-
forms was considered the appropriate solution. However, private-sector