School Community, Parent Participation and Non-Neutrality : Globalisation challenges and communitarian responses

Communitarianism evolved in response to increasing individual-ism and has had a remarkable impact upon educational theory and politics. At the same time, conservative versions clearly oppose globalisation processes and cosmopolitan identities, while moderate perspectives fully engage with effects of globalisation and uphold the recognition of religious and cultural identities in the public space. In this article, I will assess the issue of non-neutrality in education, the most relevant and the most widely spread of the ideas which grew from communitarian roots. I will also take into consideration pedagogical thesis of « reformed » or perfectionist liberals. More specifically, I consider the main theoretical perspectives on non-neutrality and investigate the issues of school community and participation as practical forms of non-neutrality, placing this in the wider socio-historical perspective. Keywords : parent participation, school community, non-neutrality, com-munitarianism, liberal education.