Local Education Policy Research Articles

Education System for Indigenous Communities: A Review of Social Ecology

This research aims to integrate traditional knowledge in the formal education system of indigenous communities, improve access, and preserve local culture. The methods used involve interviews, observations, and reviews of local education policies. Local governments and indigenous community leaders were involved in the reform process to develop a bilingual curriculum that respects local languages and traditions. The results of the study show that socially and ecologically relevant education can increase student participation, strengthen cultural identity, and support environmental sustainability. The policy implications underscore the importance of collaboration between the government and communities in sustainable indigenous education planning.

Policy Solutions: Pandemic recovery will depend on political rediscovery

The current culture wars have been showing up in schools and districts, making local school board races increasingly partisan. The 2024 presidential race is placing even more attention on the partisan divide in local education policies and decisions. Columnist Jonathan E. Collins writes that education advocates can leverage this focus and help put aside partisan politics and meet the post-pandemic challenges students face.

Guest editorial: Considering the global-local relationships in education

This special issue of Policy Futures in Education invited authors to consider and re-consider the global-local relationship in education policies. Collectively, the articles in this special issue reflect the dominant perspectives among scholars and practitioners interested in research on globalisation and education, where studies investigated how intertwined worldwide discourses, processes, and institutions affect local educational practices and policies. They underscore both structural and agency processes and the cultural divergences that emerged locally as local institutions and players recontextualise and remake these global policies and discourses. Most articles begin with the narrative of how intergovernmental organisations such as UNESCO, the OECD and the World Bank contributed to disseminating worldwide discourses on human capital and lifelong learning for economic development, which are reflected in many national education policy documents. In line with the dominant perspectives on globalisation and education, the authors largely frame globalisation as a realm of reality with agency that interacts with and transforms another realm of existence, the local. They then demonstrate how the local dimension is and can also be agentic in that local governments, institutions, and people did not adopt these global initiatives wholesale; they adapted and transformed these initiatives to suit the local contexts and needs, resulting in various local variations. Overall, the collection of papers highlights how the global-local relationship is a multi-layered process involving diffusion, adoption, and adaptation.

Optimizing Merdeka Curriculum in West Aceh: Challenges and Opportunities in Education

This study evaluates the implementation of the Independent Curriculum in West Aceh District and its significant implications for local education policies. Through comprehensive regional-level analysis, this study explores its potential impact on enhancing educational quality. This research uses survey methods, interviews, and document analysis to understand better the dynamics of the Independent Curriculum's implementation in West Aceh. The findings indicate positive outcomes such as curriculum flexibility, freedom in teaching methodologies, and responsiveness to local conditions, which align with the principles of freedom-based learning approaches. This is consistent with literature emphasizing the importance of allowing teachers and schools to design a curriculum more relevant to local needs and student characteristics. However, challenges such as resource limitations, understanding of educational freedom, low community participation, and resistance to change reflect implementation issues identified in the literature. Consequently, implementing the Independent Curriculum necessitates careful strategies to overcome these obstacles and ensure its effectiveness. Improvement in teacher quality through further professional development aligns with research affirming that well-trained teachers positively impact student learning outcomes. These findings contribute to understanding the Independent Curriculum's implementation locally, serving as a valuable reference for policymakers and educational practitioners in similar regions.

The Impact of Proactive Behaviors of Vocational College Teachers on Teaching Performance: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support Perception

<p style="text-align:justify">This study aims to explore the relationship between proactive behaviors, teaching performance, and organizational support among vocational college teachers. Based on the theory of organizational support, we conducted a survey of 373 teachers from four vocational colleges in Shanxi Province, using scales for proactive behaviors, organizational support, and teaching performance. The results indicate that: (a) There is a significant correlation between teachers' proactive behaviors and teaching performance; (b) There is a significant correlation between teachers' proactive behaviors and organizational support; (c) Organizational support plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between teachers' proactive behaviors and teaching performance. This study enriches the application of organizational support in vocational colleges, providing empirical evidence for improving teachers' proactive behaviors in higher education institutions, which could be useful for central or local education policy decision-makers and implementing units. Additionally, this model could be further applied beyond vocational education to other contexts or policies, demonstrating both theoretical and practical significance.</p>

Does decentralisation promote learning? Local political settlements and education policies in Indonesia

ABSTRACT This article examines the effect of local political settlements on education policies in a decentralised political system. Under what conditions does decentralisation promote learning-enhancing policies? Despite the numerous works on decentralisation and education, little is known about how local politics influences student learning. We develop a novel approach to the politics of education policies by looking at the effect of local political settlements on education policymaking. Using a heuristic case study method comparing three districts in Indonesia, we found that constraints on the discretionary power of the district head over employment decisions in the bureaucracy matter for the development of learning-enhancing policies. Such a constraint can pave the way for the development of the bureaucratic capacity required for local governments to pursue quality-promoting reforms. In the absence of such a constraint, the extent to which district governments will implement learning-enhancing policies depends on district heads’ commitment to learning.

Professional identity and local realities: social work education in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The three historical eras of social work education in Ethiopia are examined in this article, with particular attention devoted to how each era began, was contextualized, and was integrated with service delivery. Interviews with 28 social work graduates and faculty members were conducted as part of the qualitative research study. Additionally, unpublished documents from ministerial offices and universities were examined. The data are arranged and presented chronologically to offer the experiences in the three periods. The analysis found that various contextualizing strategies for social work education were used through curriculum development, fieldwork, community engagement, and obtaining research outputs. Making social work education more responsive to the national context has been challenging due to a lack of country-specific reading materials and policy frameworks that define professional social work and standards of practice. Further, the absence of social work for 30 years has erased the profession’s identity from public memory. The continued development of social work education and practice in Ethiopia will benefit from the creation of local educational resources and policy frameworks.

The Disruptive Power of Policy Erasure: How State Legislators and School Boards Fail to Take up Trans-affirming Policies While Leaning into Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies

Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local policymakers ( n = 60) adopted trans-inclusive protections aligned with the 2017 federal Whitaker ruling, (2) the spread and scope of state and local educational policies concerning LGBTQ+ people, and (3) relationships between LGBTQ and critical race theory (CRT) curricular bills. We find policy erasure in states without pre- Whitaker gender-inclusive nondiscrimination laws and expanded efforts to ban LGBTQ+ students from educational opportunities, spaces, and curriculum. LGBTQ+ and CRT curricular bans overlapped. We discuss the implications of policymakers leaning into exclusion over gender reforms.

Micropolitics in smooth and sticky events of mundane school life

ABSTRACT This study contributes to the discussion of children’s participation in educational practices. In particular we are interested from the moments that reach beyond formal modes of participation. For this purpose, we use the concept of micropolitics and examine happenings in which children’s actions collide with everyday school practices and larger social and political surfaces. The data consist of one year-long ethnographic fieldwork produced in two Finnish comprehensive schools. Based on the analysis, we identified two different types of events – ‘smooth’ and ‘sticky’ – to which micropolitics entangled. Identifying these two types of events aids us in understanding the kinds of situations in which children have or do not have political power in their everyday school lives. Our analysis show that children take part in discussing wide societal issues, such as social class and local education policies, but it raises questions about the ability of schools as institutions to recognize children’s initiatives. Based on the findings, we propose that the concept of micropolitics can be particularly useful in understanding why some modes of participation become difficult and stay hidden while others are easier to recognize.

Social trust of youth in the shadow of the depopulation process

The article analyses selected results of an extensive study conducted as part of the ProEdUMW project − Scientific research in the service of local educational policy implemented in Ostrołęka by the Faculty of Education at the University of Warsaw. Two quantitative studies, conducted using the survey technique as part of the Ostrołęka educational observatory projects (covering the issues of teaching effectiveness, developing students’; social competences and equal educational opportunities in public primary schools in the city) and Democracy is OK! (strengthening the democratic culture of the school) were implemented in the 2021/22 school year. The first study was conducted in the eighth grades of all public primary schools in Ostrołęka, the second among students of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades of public secondary schools. The aim of the analyses of selected research problems was to acquire knowledge covering important issues for a city at risk of marginalisation and depopulation, such as: the attitude of young people to the city, their life plans, students’ trust in the institutions of the city and the state. Regardless of the positive attitude towards the city in which they study, young people do not plan to live there and leave it with very low levels of social capital. The aim of the entire ProEdUMW project was to support local educational policy, so the article ends with recommendations for school culture and practice that could help build young people’s social trust.

Does years of schooling matter for economic growth at different development levels? New evidence from China

This research paper investigates the relationship between education and economic growth in China from 1989 to 2019 across 27 provinces. The study classifies education into two categories: aggregate education (average years of schooling) and disaggregated education (education divided into compulsory, high school, and higher education). The data is analyzed based on pre‐ and mid‐industrialization periods, and East and West regions, with and without pre‐ and mid‐industrialization, for both levels of education. The findings indicate that the impact of education on China’s economic growth varies by period (pre‐ and mid‐industrialization), region (East and West), and regions with periods (Eastern pre‐industrialization, Western pre‐industrialization, East mid‐industrialization, and West mid‐industrialization) in both aggregate and disaggregated education. According to the research results, the central government should revise its current educational policies to prioritize compulsory education and increase investment. Furthermore, local governments should have more administrative authority to create local educational policies catering to the specific needs of each locality.

현 정부의 지방고등교육정책과 지방의회의 역할

In order for the current government's local higher education policy to succeed, the role and support of the local council, which can be said to be an essential institution in forming the local government's governing body, is very important. The development of a local community depends on how many talented people are fostered within the region and how many of those talented people settle down in the region. To this end, local governments have used local universities as a growth engine for the local innovation system to revitalize the local economy, and have begun to show interest in the role of regional universities. If so, local councils must also play an appropriate role. And in order to proactively and actively respond to these environmental changes, local councils must become entrepreneurs who create new public values through innovation. In order for the current government's higher education policy to create good policy effects and achieve the desired policy goals, it can be said that local councils must play a role in steering and predicting the future. To achieve this, local governments and councils must reorganize organizations to support regional universities, reinforce human resources, and at the same time establish a financial foundation. In other words, as a prerequisite for a local council to play an important role in local higher education policy, it must have an appropriate organizational structure and function. Local councils should become a platform that can mutually organize various community entities through the establishment of a collaborative governance system related to local higher education policies.

교육감 권력 변동과 교육정책의 변화에 관한 연구

교육감 권력 변동과 교육정책의 변화에 관한 연구

Exploring locally developed ELT materials in the context of curriculum-based value education in China: challenges and solutions.

The development of locally developed English language teaching (ELT) materials is believed to be conducive to meeting the requirements of local language education policies and practices, and to enhance learners' agency. In China, in order to implement national educational policy of curriculum-based value education, many locally developed ELT materials have been recently developed. However, there is a paucity of empirical research concerning the actual effects of such materials in practice. This study presents an empirical study of a recently developed set of teaching materials in the context of curriculum-based value education by adopting an approach consisting of questionnaires and interviews to examine the attitudes and experiences of users of these materials. The findings revealed a range of challenges in the use of these materials, including issues related to language and content of the materials, the integration of ideological and value elements, and the development of multi-dimensional teaching materials. The article then proposes possible solutions from the perspectives of optimizing the writing community, carefully selecting teaching materials, innovating the integration of ideological and political elements, and improving the development of multi-dimensional teaching materials. A framework for the evaluation of locally developed ELT materials is also proposed, with the intention of offering a useful benchmark for enhancing the development of such materials.

In-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Integration in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms in China: A Multiple-Case Study

Purpose This study investigates university in-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of technology integration and the relevant factors that may affect their technology integration in the classroom. Design/Approach/Methods This multiple case study applies Teo's extended technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of teacher value beliefs associated with using technology to explore seven in-service EFL teachers’ perceptions of effective technology integration and the challenges they encountered. Findings This study suggests that (1) perceived usefulness and (2) teacher value beliefs are two important factors that influence in-service teachers’ technology integration. Additional factors are (3) subjective norm, (4) facilitating conditions of the environment, and (5) cultural values. Originality/Value This study contributes to the existing literature on in-service EFL teachers’ technology integration and increases the applicability of the extended TAM in China. This study also provides insights into these teachers’ perceptions and practices of technology integration. Finally, insights gleaned from this study will guide school-level, local, and national educational policy groups on optimally supporting in-service teachers’ future technology integration.

Framing School Governance and Teacher Professional Development Using Global Standardized School Assessments

The OECD’s education agenda has been marked since the 1990s by monitoring quality and manufacturing problems and solutions for the so-called knowledge economy. Among the instruments used by the OECD is “PISA for Schools” (Pisa-S), an assessment applied directly to schools worldwide since 2011. In Portugal, it was implemented in 2019 under the designation of “PISA for schools in the municipalities” (PISA-M), claiming to create opportunities for collaborative work between schools to promote the success of local educational policies and the quality of student learning. Taking PISA-M as a policy instrument and building on Coburn problem-framing typology, in this article, the revision of PISA-S to PISA-M is reread to analyze the regulatory rationale for the educational system that PISA-M encodes. This research draws on data from OECD PISA/PISA-S/PISA-M websites and two public hearings with the Portuguese PISA-M coordination in the Portuguese parliament and with education unionists, and in existing research relating to PISA-S. Overall, PISA-M appears to be an instrument to reframe local school governance and teacher professional development practices by capturing problematizations and solutions raised on education, teachers’ development, and how school education should be ordered and coordinated at a municipal scale.

Understanding interventions as social practices: How a school-based mental health intervention for migrant adolescents in Denmark interacted with context

The rise of school-based mental health interventions calls for an understanding of how such interventions interact with context as well as analytical tools for examining these interactions. This article explores how learners and teachers in two classrooms for newly-arrived migrant adolescents in Denmark (one urban, highly diverse classroom and one small-town classroom mainly serving youth who had fled armed conflict) experienced and implemented the same teacher-led, classroom-based intervention differently. Based on participant observations and interviews with three teachers and 12 learners, we draw on practice theory to disentangle how the same intervention came to life differently in the two classrooms. First, there were important differences in how teachers and learners in the two classrooms made sense of their participation in the intervention, reflecting the different life situations and psychosocial needs of the learners. Second, local ways of structuring educational practices (weekly schedules, expectations about homework, and different local educational policies) critically shaped intervention experiences and implementation. Third, the possibility of establishing a safe social space during the intervention depended on the stability of existing social relationships and conditions for teachers’ relational work in the classrooms. To aid analyses of how school-based interventions interact with classroom practices, and to help identify ways of consolidating interventions with their contexts, we propose future avenues for examining school-based mental health interventions in context from a social practice perspective.

Spatial-temporal evolution pattern and optimization path of family education policy: An LDA thematic model approach

Family education policy plays a crucial role in modernizing family education. By examining the temporal and spatial evolution of this policy, its inherent logic, constructs, and optimal pathways can be better understood. The study analyzed local family education policy documents, extracting six major themes using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model, and presented them according to the calculated mean theme probability. The themes include parental ability, school security, institutional environment, government support, social coordination, and high-quality development. Parental ability and government support were found to be particularly prominent, suggesting that many local policies focus on enhancing parents' skills for delivering family education and bolstering the government's role in public affairs. This combines the dual responsibilities of being an educational entity and accountable subject in the joint development of family education. Understanding the characteristics and variations in temporal and spatial distribution can enrich family education policy design, fostering the high-quality development of family education initiatives. Based on the findings, the study proposes three optimization paths for policy design: promotion and empowerment (building a multi-cooperative system), regional interconnection (understanding the current state of local policies and leveraging their strengths), and breaking barriers (simultaneously promoting the inclusiveness of family education and brand development). This study emphasizes the needs of customizing family education policy based on the temporal and spatial features and local requirements for maximum outputs.

Girls’ Education at Scale

Abstract Many educational interventions boost outcomes for girls in settings where girls face educational disadvantages, but which of those interventions are proven to function effectively at large scale? In contrast to earlier reviews, this review focuses on large-scale programs and policies—those that reach at least 10,000 students—and on final school outcomes such as completion and student learning rather than intermediate school outcomes such as enrollment and attendance. Programs and policies that have boosted school completion or learning at scale across multiple countries include school fee elimination, school meals, making schools more physically accessible, and improving the quality of pedagogy. Other interventions, such as providing better sanitation facilities or safe spaces for girls, show promising results but either have limited evidence across settings or focus on intermediate educational outcomes (such as enrollment) or post-educational outcomes (such as income earning) in their evaluations. These and other areas with limited or no evidence demonstrate many opportunities for education leaders, partners, and researchers to continue innovating and testing programs at scale. We discuss three considerations for incorporating evidence-based solutions into local education policies—constraints to girls’ education, potential solutions, and program costs—as well as lessons for scaling programs effectively.

Dual Language Bilingual Education as a Pathway to Racial Integration? A Place-Based Analysis of Policy Enactment

ABSTRACT Across the United States, cities like St. Louis may be perceived as predominantly Black/White and monolingual. In such places, there are often few state resources and expertise driving the new growth of dual language bilingual education (DLBE)—that is, policies and programs that aim to develop students’ bilingualism and biculturalism from an early age. Moreover, research rarely explores how DLBE programs develop within particular racial and political contexts, despite their goals to integrate diverse youth. This study focuses on the city of St. Louis to examine how DLBE policies are enacted within particular localities, especially for children from racially and linguistically minoritized backgrounds. Framed by theories of policy enactment, this analysis is part of three multiyear partnerships focused on language education in St. Louis and two school districts in similar state contexts. We found that DLBE enactment in each school system was shaped by community histories, changing demographics, and local education policies focused on racial desegregation and school choice. While each space created racially integrated schools, their enactment was shrouded by Whiteness, especially the history of magnet schools and (White) parental choice as essential for schools’ development. We conclude that place-based research and communal partnerships must carefully consider the unique factors shaping education reform, to recognize for and by whom new programs are truly created and to work toward more socially just, transformative educational contexts.