School choice as the problem of educational governance in a pluralistic frame

The aim of this article is to indicate critical aspects related to contemporary educational governance in a pluralistic frame. The problem of educational governance is shown from the angle of school choice, i.e. choice as a response to differentiated social pluralism, and choice as a move toward democratic governance, to stress the era of active citizenship and a post-dichotomised, network-based providers’ model. Using three ideal-typical educational governance models, the article illustrates how the role of choice, the meaning of education, and the education system’s ability to contribute to the public good has been changed. The conceptual model of integrative choice and reflexive educational governance is proposed by combining deliberative forums and the mechanism design approach.