人皆生而平 等」是民主國家的立國精神與努力目標。國內外許多的研究，特別是地位取得(status attainment)研究指出:職業是代表個人社會地位的最佳單一指標，而教育是影響職業取得的最重要變項。藉由教育的力量來促進社會的公平，於是有教育機會均等的理念產生。1980年代以後，民玊國家在政治與經濟掛帥、追求卓越績效與自由選擇權的潮流下，其教育政策，正如其化的生產營利事業一樣，企圖以促進競爭來提高績效;教育猶如商品一般，個人可自由選擇學校教育進行消費，創造個人的福祉。這種主張自由化、個人化與市場化的全球化思潮，學者通稱為「新右」(The New Right)。新右派的概念相當複雜，其中有些要素包含彼此矛盾的新自由主義與新保守主義的概念。尤其新自由主義的經濟學者，如Hayek，其大市場vs.小而能的國家主張，對英、美等國近二十餘年的教改政策有重大的影響。而教育機會均等政策的歷史發展亦深受新右派教改的衝擊。我國近年來教育改革正圍繞在「教育鬆綁」的主軸上，不但已實施高學費政策與推薦甄試、家長教育選擇權及學校本位管理等呼聲也不斷湧出，這種自由化、市場化的運作機制，與國外新右派教改思潮相當接近，對教育機會均等勢必產生一定程度的衝擊。這樣的教改政策是否造成教育機會的不均等?值得探討。 本文旨在闡述英、美新右派教改潮流對教育機會均等的影響，基於西方的經驗與研究論文，本文呼籲對當前國內的教改政策與實務給予更多的反省，並警示其對教育機會均等與社會正義可能的負面影響。

“Human beings are born equal” is the spirit of any democratic country and the goal it strives for. Many studies, especially status attainment studies, have found that occupation is the best single indicator of a person’s social status, and education is the most important variable in occupation acquisition. The idea of the equality of educational opportunity thus emerged of the premise that education is an important force in advancing social equality. There concepts have dominated the educational reform policies in most democratic countries since the 1980s. They are: liberalization, individualization, and marketization. Education is viewed as commercial merchandise and is governed under the same rules of any entrepreneurial enterprise, which include competition, free choice, and accountability. The current of thought underlying such policies was labeled “the new Right” by scholars and has had significant impacts on the practice of educational reform as well as the conceptualization of the equality of educational opportunity in the Western countries. In recent years, educational reform in Taiwan centered on the idea of deregulation, a economics concept, and brought into practice such policies as heightened tuition in higher education, the commendation and application system for upper secondary and tertiary education enrollment, parental school choice and school based management. The tendency underlying such reform efforts was apparently in line with the New Right in the Western countries. What will their impacts be? Will they lead us into the trap of “social Darwinism?” Will the equality of educational opportunity be sacrificed? These issues are worth probing. This study reviews the impacts f “the New Right” educational reform movement on the equality of educational opportunity in both the Great Britain and the United States, and foreshadows their possible impacts on and implications for educational policies and practice in Taiwan. Based on the Western experience and research literature, the author calls for further reflections on the meanings of current reform policies and practice and warns against their possible negative effects on the equality of educational opportunity and on social justice.