The work of early childhood educators is conducted in highly regulated environments in many Western nations. This is due to managerialism, the right arm of neoliberal-inspired policies. To explore educators' work within these contexts, our international study highlights the impacts of these systems on educators and the children they teach. This…

To make sense of the changes provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath, this paper critically examines digital education policy responses in the context of the 'new realities' faced by schooling. Based on seven case studies contributed by authors from Australia, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Sri Lanka, two key questions…

In this article, we analyse teacher professional development in five European countries (Italy, Germany, France, England and Finland), comparing their approaches to teacher professional learning and development (PLD). We performed this task using a general framework based on what several studies highlighted so far as key-features in educational…

This paper examines the impact of a reform aimed at expediting graduation times in Italian universities by reducing the number of exams students must pass to obtain a fixed number of credits. Using event-study estimates that leverage the reform's staggered implementation, we find that this policy change led to an increase in on-time graduation…

India, with the third largest higher education system globally, has the lowest gross enrolment ratio compared to G20 nations. The National Education Policy 2020 has made a strong recommendation to enhance the gross enrolment ratio for higher education to 50% by 2035. This figure stood at 19.4% in 2010 and 28.4% in 2021-22. The study, therefore,…

The widespread adoption of school autonomy with accountability reforms in education has generated debate regarding the relationship between autonomy, innovation and accountability. While at the policy design level, these three elements are highly related, several authors highlight the contradictions among them. By analyzing key documents and…

This paper will investigate how specific "narratives on the inclusion of minority language students" (MLSs) are constructed in Norwegian and Italian educational policy documents. We will employ the Narrative Policy Framework's (NPF) analytical categories with an interpretative narrative approach to reconstruct the two national policy…

Purpose: This paper aims to ask how the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has orchestrated a sustainable development (SD) agenda in its international policy since 2020. Design/methodology/approach: By drawing on theoretical ideas around policy orchestration as a key UN governing strategy and applying them to the analysis of the progression of…

Purpose: This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative…

This essay analyses the implementation of a work-based learning policy in upper secondary schools in Italy. The policy aims to improve student orientation and enhance their soft skills. Based on two ethnographic research studies in Italy, this essay utilises Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework, particularly the 'field' concept, to examine how…

International student mobility (ISM) prepares young people for the challenges of global and multicultural environments. However, disadvantaged students have lower participation rates in mobility schemes and, hence, benefit less from their positive impacts on career progression. Therefore, policymakers aim to make mobility programs more inclusive.…

In countries with several official languages, language separation often remains a structural principle in institutional education. Co-located schools, in which two autonomously administered schools with different languages of instruction share a physical space, may challenge this separation. Such schools have existed for a long time, but…

This book uses historiography and discourse analysis to provide a new insight into understanding the nexus between ideologies, the state, and nation-building--as depicted in history school textbooks. It focuses on the interpretation of social and political change, significant events, and examining possible new biases and omissions in school…

The increasing use of English in higher education around the world has prompted a large amount of research into the causes, effects and perceptions of this phenomenon, particularly relating to the introduction of English-medium instruction. While most previous research has focussed on institutions that have effectively 'added' English to existing…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the move to remote education exposed old and new inequities, yet it also represented an opportunity to rethink inclusive education. This paper presents findings from a one-year project "DIGITAL in a time of Coronavirus" and draws upon policy analysis and interviews with teachers, principals, and community…