Converging us softly: how intergovernmental organizations promote neoliberal educational policy

Abstract

In recent years, international organizations (IOs) and, more specifically, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have played an important role in educational policy‐making at the national level. These organizations encourage world change and promote particular ideologies through a set of complex actions and policy recommendations that exploit growing world interconnectedness. This paper discusses some of the ways in which IGOs are affecting educational policy‐making at the national level and the ways in which national Governments are engaging with IGOs in order to develop their educational policies. The paper separates the manner in which IGOs influence national educational policy in a movement towards global ‘soft’ convergence by creating four distinct constructs through which we can better understand how IGOs such as the World Bank, the OECD, and even UNESCO are able to perpetuate a neoliberal agenda through global educational policy influence.