Key Education Policy Research Articles

Teacher shortage in Croatia – a challenge for educational policy, initial teacher education and educational institutions

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to analyse teacher shortage in Croatia and ways in which educational policy reacts to teacher shortage in early childhood education and primary education. This paper presents descriptive study of current national shortage situation and a content analysis of national education policy documents. The data analyses reveal a significant shortage of early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers. In the first phase of compulsory education there is no shortage of class teachers, while in the second phase of compulsory education exists a permanent shortage of all subject teacher profiles, predominantly from the STEM area. Key educational policy documents analysis reveals the lack of a national strategy for attracting teachers to the profession. Pending a systemic solution, preschool institutions and schools are forced to solicit and employ unqualified staff for teaching positions, whilst the consequences of employing non-professional staff remain uncertain.

Funded, then forgotten: politics, public memory and national school reform

ABSTRACT Governments apply education policies and funding compacts to shape school reform. Yet, once agreements are endorsed and ratified, the ongoing commitment to the enactment of agreed education reforms can be ‘forgotten’. In this paper, the Australian National School Reform Agreement is examined as an illustrative example of the ways in which policy promises are articulated by politicians as key policy actors. We draw on Wodak’s discursive analytic framework, alongside Ricoeur’s conceptualisation of the ‘forgetfulness’ of collective public memory to demonstrate how successive politicians have attempted to frame public discourse through official ministerial pronouncements in ways that obscured earlier promises. By focusing on key discourses surrounding funding, achievement and equity, and collaboration, politicians have sought to redefine public accounts of school reform in deliberate ways, in which politics takes priority over policymaking. In doing so, politicians work as key educational policy actors who seek to discursively shape public sentiment and collective memory regarding school reform. Given the increasing emphasis on national school reform in Australia and elsewhere, it is important to ‘remember’ the need to work towards more deliberative mediations of national school reform, in which the purpose and value of policymaking is rendered purposefully in the collective public memory.

Research on the Reform of Integrating "Course Ideology and Politics" into the Course of Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control

Cultivating virtue and nurturing talents is a key educational policy emphasized in China. Integrating the reform of "course ideology and politics" into the course of "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control" is an effective measure to achieve the goal of cultivating moral character in education and teaching. In order to better stimulate students' enthusiasm for learning the course "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control", improve the teaching effectiveness of "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control", meet the demand for interdisciplinary development in the context of "new engineering" in the current era, and achieve the goal of cultivating diversified and innovative talents, this article first elaborates on the connotation of "course ideology" and the importance of integrating it into the "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control". Then, it points out a series of problems in the process of integrating "course ideology" into the "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control" course, and provides specific strategies for integrating "course ideology" into the "Principles and Methods of Engineering Quality Control" course, To provide reference and inspiration for relevant personnel.

How the concept of the “chain of command” is construed through problematizations in Swedish adult education policy

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on how the chain of command is construed in Swedish municipal adult education. With a qualitative research approach and by drawing on the theoretical and methodological framework ‘What’s the “problem” represented to be?’ (WPR) approach, the aim is directed at identifying, interrogating, and reconstructing problem representations. The empirical material consists of contemporary key adult education policy that focuses on the chain of command and was analyzed in NVivo. Ethical considerations as well as data credibility, validity and reliability reflections were made in the form of WPR-guided self-reflexivity. The results indicate that both heads of education and principals are held responsible for the ‘weaknesses’ of the chain of command. Different solutions are also construed to solve the ‘problem’ that calls for increased trust between the actors in the chain of command. However, this trust seems to be underpinned by a request for more follow-ups, rather than a trust in the principal’s pedagogical leadership. The way that these issues are construed as specific kinds of ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’ has effects on the individuals that are involved in adult education. Based on the analysis, the need for policymakers to work on understanding the unintentional consequences of policies is stressed.

Why Is It So Difficult to Contribute to Social Inclusion Through Vocational Education and Training?

This paper compares “recognition of prior learning” (RPL) schemes in four countries, to find out the impact of VET policy reforms on social inclusion. The study finds that RPL schemes have only made limited contributions to social inclusion in these countries, for the following reasons: firstly, there are challenges in upper secondary VET, which, in all four countries, requires a substantial level of general education and transversal competencies, on which the key educational policy actors are not willing to compromise. Secondly, some countries used RPL to provide access to non-formal qualifications. Still, such schemes were only successful when those non-formal qualifications were already well-established in society and the labour market (prior to having been made accessible through RPL). The article argues that, for RPL to contribute more to social inclusion, schemes need to be less complicated and should also include complementary education and training provisions for all those who lack work experience in sectors where access to employment depends on certain qualifications.

Teacher Language Awareness in Initial Teacher Education Policy: A Comparative Analysis of ITE Documents in Norway and New Zealand

Dramatically increased population flows since at least the 1980s, primarily through economic migration and refugee resettlement, have brought considerable ethnic and linguistic diversity to classrooms around the world. This diversity has been amplified by the rising recognition of in-country indigenous and minority languages. In such plurilingual learning environments, teachers require sophisticated language education skills. They need to be able to teach the dominant language/s across the curriculum, support plurilingual learners, and often teach foreign or additional languages. One conceptual lens through which to analyse the presence of these competencies in current teacher education policy is that of language awareness. While this term originally referred to the raising of student awareness of features and functions of language, it now incorporates knowledge about flexible languaging practices. Through a comparative analysis of the two key teacher education policy documents in Norway and New Zealand, we have investigated how the concept of teacher language awareness is incorporated in high-level policy documents pertaining to ITE in these two countries and how these converge and diverge in their treatment of language awareness. Our in-depth comparison of these important educational policies urges both jurisdictions, as well as others, to be aware of local particularities and broader patterns in meeting the needs of teachers to be plurilingually aware and equipped for 21st-century classrooms.

The international political economy of educational policy development in Nepal: 1950-2020

ABSTRACT The modern history of Nepal started after the Kingdom of Nepal was formed during the 1760s through a series of military battles, which is now known as a national unification campaign, led by Prithvi Narayan Shah. The history of mass education, however, started during the 1950s when a political uprising overthrew autocratic Rana regime that had ruled the country for more than a century. This paper aims to explore Nepal’s educational history by analysing key educational policy documents produced by the Government of Nepal as well as its major donor the World Bank from 1950 to 2020. The paper uses international political economy as a theoretical framework and critical policy sociology as a methodological approach. The key argument of the paper is that, since some of the problematic assumptions of modernism, nationalism, and globalism have guided Nepal’s policy agendas, its education system has not addressed multifarious challenges faced by its citizens. The theoretical and methodological approaches taken for exploring the interconnections between education, economy, and politics will be helpful for future researchers to understand the significance of education not only for economic development but also for the institutionalization of democracy in both developed and developing countries.

Through Jean Anyon’s “Screen Door”: The Differentially Racialized Incursion of the Neoliberal State in Milwaukee and Detroit Schools

Background/Context: Research has documented educational neoliberalization as a disrupter of “failing” urban schools and a driver of the remaking of urban space for development interests, through the dislocation of low-income communities of color. Such research draws upon Jean Anyon’s work on cities, schools, race, and inequality, yet undertheorizes the nexus of race and political economy by positing their interplay as straightforward and unvariegated. Purpose/Objective: This article documents differential racialization in neoliberal education reform across two urban contexts—Milwaukee and Detroit—and therewith seeks to build theory aligned with Jean Anyon’s final wish to complicate her work in urban educational political economy with more rich accounts of the intersection of race and political economy. Research Design: This comparative study utilizes discourse analysis of key educational policy documents and ethnographic work with educational policy actors in both contexts. Findings/Results: Market-based educational reform agendas in the two cities’ school systems proceeded from differing assemblages of political actors and regional particularities, and had as primary demonstrative objective different neoliberal outcomes. While in Milwaukee neoliberals capitalized upon Black disaffection from public schools to demonstrate the political viability of diverting public educational funds to the private sector, the imposition of such reform in Detroit buttressed the spatial reorganization of a shrinking city for the purpose of accumulation by dispossession rooted in the real estate market. Conclusions/Recommendations: Drawing upon these findings, the study recommends a more refined critical racial lens to augment Jean Anyon’s political economy, arguing for a more nuanced and practicable understanding of racialized neoliberal urbanism and its contestation.

"The Basis of their Reading Experience"

A key government education policy in Hong Kong is Reading to Learn, introduced in 2000. Cultivating an independent reading habit is identified as one of the “Seven Learning Goals” to be achieved by 2014. This paper reports the results of a small-scale pilot study designed to inform a more comprehensive future survey implemented jointly by the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Hong Kong Teacher Librarians Association to measure the effectiveness of Reading to Learn.

Citizenship-as-competence, what else? Why European citizenship education policy threatens to fall short of its aims

The topic of citizenship education and the promotion of democratic citizenship in schools has risen to the top of educational policy agendas in Europe over the past three decades. This rise in attention, however, appears to be accompanied by an apparent lack of attention to the specific manner in which citizenship, education and the assumed relationship between both are currently conceptualised and understood in this policy context. The currently dominant notions of citizenship education centre around a concept of citizenship-as-competence, illustrating a certain assumption of equivalence between citizenship and formal education in schools, without further elaborating on this assumption. By means of a critical re-reading of key European educational policy texts referring to citizenship education, and their use of the key concepts of citizenship and education, our analysis shows how the competence-based approach to citizenship education in European educational policymaking entails tensions with its own assumptions, therefore falling short of its own proclaimed purpose of emancipating young people in Europe to become autonomous, engaged and critical democratic citizens.

Constructions of professionalism and the democratic mandate in education A discourse analysis of Norwegian public policy documents

ABSTRACT Although previous research has contributed to the body of literature in education for democracy by addressing deficits in policies in equalizing students’ life chances, less attention has been paid to how accomplishing a democratic mandate in education is constructed and legitimized by educational authorities in national policy documents. In this article, we report findings from a project that examined this issue. The aim is to provide insight into how professionalism is constructed and legitimized within and across key education policy documents in the wake of a major national educational reform in Norway. We identify possible discursive shifts and examine what tensions are at play via textual analysis of selected policy documents, with a methodology inspired by a critical approach to discourse analysis. Theories on professionalism and democratic leadership serve as an overarching framework. The findings suggest (1) there are tensions between the use of performance data and education for democracy; (2) little attention is given to professionalism as a deliberative activity; and (3) there is increased emphasis on fulfilling students’ individual rights. We argue that introducing a language of performance expectations has permitted the reinterpretation of what it means to be a professional educator in a social democratic welfare state.

Literacy for self-reliance: A critical exploration of Nyerere’s legacy in Tanzanian education policies

The global movement to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda rests on strengthening international connections and cooperation. However, in recent years nationalism and protectionism have been on the rise in donor countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. In this situation, Julius Nyerere’s education for self-reliance (ESR) philosophy, which aimed at achieving sustainable development using Tanzania’s own resources, has again gained traction among scholars and policymakers. Placing Tanzanian education policy development in the context of the international political economy, this article critically analyses key education policy documents produced by Tanzania and its development partners, with a particular focus on literacy. The authors not only examine the extent to which ESR has been included in current literacy policies, but also consider its relevance for literacy education. Their analyses show that, even though ESR is mentioned in literacy policies, the term self-reliance now has different connotations; literacy is understood as comprising students’ abilities in basic reading, writing and arithmetic; and current literacy initiatives are designed to prepare Tanzanians to find jobs in the global capital market rather than empower rural communities for sustainable development.

Who has high science capital? An exploration of emerging patterns of science capital among students aged 17/18 in England

ABSTRACT Increasing and diversifying participation in science remains a key educational policy concern for governments across the world. Science capital has been proposed as a useful theoretical lens that can explain patterns in science aspirations among young people aged 11-16 – but to date it has not been explored in relation to educational outcomes among older age groups. This paper reports findings from a new survey of 7,013 17/18 year old English secondary school students. It replicates and extends previous findings, showing that among older students, levels of science capital remain patterned by gender, ethnicity, cultural capital and science set. Comparison of effect sizes with previous findings from a younger cohort also reveal that, overall, levels of science capital seem to decrease with age. However, the proportion of students with ‘high’ science capital remained stable while the proportion of those with ‘low’ science capital increased. Analysis also revealed a small but significant increase in the proportion of boys with high science capital. Findings confirm that science capital relates to outcomes at age 17/18, with high science capital students being relatively more likely to be pursuing post-compulsory STEM qualifications and routes. Implications for educational policy and practice are identified, particularly with regard to goals of diversifying and increasing science participation.

Educational governance in Nepal: weak government, donor partnership and standardised assessment

ABSTRACT In the context of educational globalisation, the role of supranational organisations in shaping the educational policy decisions, especially of aid-dependent countries, has increased. Using global governance as a theoretical framework and Critical Policy Sociology (CPS) as a methodological framework, this paper analysed key educational policy documents produced by the World Bank (WB) and the Government of Nepal (GON), as well as interviews conducted with 13 key educational planners in Nepal. The analysis found that the nature and scope of educational management has changed because of the shift from traditional government to a new governance mechanism. In this new mechanism, educational governance is shared among international donors, the private sector and the GON. As Nepal’s educational policy decisions are increasingly shaped by international donors, educational strategies recommended by them have shaped Nepal’s educational policy and planning decisions.

Global Construction of Literacy Policies for “Least Developed Countries”: Focus on Ethiopia, Nepal, and Sierra Leone

In the context of educational globalization and increasing dominance of supranational organizations in educational governance, least developed countries (LDCs) have faced a new level of tension about whether their educational policies should follow the global educational models or seek solutions of their multifarious problems by promoting local indigenous literacy practices. This article critically analyzed key educational policy documents produced by major supranational organizations and selected LDCs and argues that the deficit perspective in education started in the colonial period and institutionalized during the structural adjustment period has shaped literacy policies and practices even after the 1990s. The article concludes with an appeal for developing contextually relevant literacy policies and programs through an asset perspective; and provides directions for further research for exploring LDCs’ literacy policies.

Early childhood education for all: a mixed-methods study of the global policy agenda in Tanzania

ABSTRACT This study considers the extent to which access to basic education and student learning outcomes have become more equalized or more disparate in Tanzania following the implementation of the international Education for All (EFA) initiative, and whether early childhood education access and performance follow similar patterns. To answer these questions, we apply a mixed-methods research design, which includes a longitudinal analysis of changes in educational opportunity and a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of key education policy documents in Tanzania. Findings from our quantitative analysis suggest that social inequality is persistent across time and consistent across access and learning outcomes at the early childhood and basic education levels. The implication is that, to date, the EFA agenda has only served to reproduce social inequalities in Tanzania, with the exception of increased opportunity for girls. These results align with CDA findings assessing the global and national policy discourse, which find educational inequalities to be prioritized in language but not adequately in final targets and strategies. Given the resiliency of such education inequalities, it would appear that policy capable of removing social barriers to educational opportunity requires more attention to specific at-risk student populations.

Early career teachers in Australia: a critical policy historiography

Amid the growing ‘teacher quality’ discourse, early career teachers have increasingly been positioned as problematic in Australian education policy discourses over the past decade. This paper uses a critical policy historiography approach to compare representations of early career teachers in two key education policy documents, from the late 1990s and mid-2010s. Starting with the Government response to A Class Act: Inquiry into the Status of the Teaching Profession (1998) and moving to the Government response to Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers (2015), it explores changing representations in the context of broader shifts in education policy related to teachers’ work over this timeframe. It argues that the early career teacher ‘problem’ is articulated in very different ways in these two timeframes, explores the antecedents of key tenets of the current policy settlement, and, using the theory of practice architectures, considers the implications of these for the preconditions that shape and frame teachers’ work in contemporary times.

A Review of Educational Policies that Affect Funding of School Libraries in Malawi

This study reviews three key government educational policy documents that guide activities and programs to reduce low literacy and academic achievement in primary schools in Malawi and their impact on funding of school libraries in Malawi. Educational experts were consulted to help select key documents that help them make decisions and identify document aspects that affect funding of school libraries.

World Bank in Nepal’s education: three decades of neoliberal reform

ABSTRACTThis paper critically analyses key educational policy documents produced by the World Bank mainly from the mid-1980s to 2010 with regard to implementing major educational projects in Nepal. Using critical policy sociology as a methodological tool, the paper explores how a small Himalayan nation with per capita income of about US$730 (2014) plunged into neoliberal world order during the early 1980s. The paper argues that Bank’s educational policy recommendations are guided by some underlying assumptions of neoliberalism mainly marketisation, privatisation, and decentralisation. The paper concludes that neoliberal orientation in education has almost no potential in addressing Nepal’s development challenges.

Educating child practitioners: a (re)turn to the university disciplines

This paper analyses a specific disjunctive policy space in Scotland involving the current key children's social and educational policy agenda, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), and a recent national report on teacher education, the ‘Donaldson Report’. In four main parts, the paper first introduces and applies in policy review and analysis a capitals frame to identify the policy–practice discontinuities currently inherent in the ‘GIRFEC-child practitioner education’ policy space, exemplified by the Donaldson Report. Then, the same capitals frame is applied to examine the capitals resources demanded in the particular ‘child–child practitioner education’ policy space previously delineated. Next, examples of policy disconnects amongst current child practice and practitioner education policy production and implementation, which warrant a concerted integrative cross-sector project to ensure coherent social and intellectual capital relations at all levels, are discussed. Finally, the paper calls for the governing professional registration bodies and universities involved in the education of child-sector practitioners to engage in the redesign of university programmes underpinned by principles of transdisciplinarity and transprofessionalism. The methodology is policy sociology and policy text analysis.