This book explores Learning Analytics (LA) programmes and practices in Malaysia as well as looking at the underlying forces, dilemmas and policy challenges for quality assurance in higher education institutions (HEIs). This chapters provide a comprehensive discussion of trends in academic quality assurance in higher education. It articulates a…

This case study focuses on researching the connections between policy and teaching practices in the context of English further education. It describes how an ethnographic approach was used to examine how teachers navigate policy directives in their day-to-day work, focusing particularly on quality improvement directives. It shows how two linked…

Gender inequality has wide-ranging and adverse implications for all of society. For this reason, the United Nations has made it a top priority to address this issue through the Sustainable Development Goals, which state that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable…

Throughout the world, there has been a significant shift in whether, where, and how learners are educated regardless of their socio-economic, geographic, and disability status; gender and sexual orientation; family structure; and ethnic, racial, cultural, linguistic and religious background. Recognizing that the debates, challenges, research,…

The work of the Council of Europe in plurilingual and intercultural education is highly influential in Europe and beyond and has been so for many years. The "Common European Framework of Reference" and its "Companion Volume," and related instruments, provide ways in which to implement policies and a broader vision of providing…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in mathematics, reading and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning…

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth coverage of contemporary aspects of leadership in the field of education in Finland. It brings together Finnish scholars to critically explore and discuss leadership in education in the context of the Finnish education system and in relation to international discourses around the…

This edited volume explores how Stephen Ball's work has shaped the field of the sociology of education worldwide. Written by internationally based researchers who are Ball's former PhD students, it draws on different strands of his work to show what it means to think, write, and do research inspired by Ball's theory, methodology, and epistemology.…

The key to sustained and equitable development in Latin America is high quality education for all. However, coalitions favoring quality reforms in education are usually weak because parents are dispersed, business is not interested, and much of the middle class has exited public education. In "Routes to Reform," Ben Ross Schneider…

Drawing on over fifty years of on-the-ground experience, Fred M. Hayward's "Transforming Higher Education in Asia and Africa" analyzes change processes in higher education in eight Asian and African countries. The twelve cases range from the push to upgrade and transform higher education in Afghanistan in the midst of a war, to the…

This book delves into the role of higher education as a means of sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Contributions from across the region examine the strategies and technological advances available to enable students to deal with an uncertain future and are organised under two key themes: Curriculum and Teaching and Higher Education and…

Children's learning, development and well-being are directly influenced by their daily interactions with other children, adults, their families and the environment. This interactive process is known as "process quality", and leads to a key question -- which policies set the best conditions for children to experience high-quality…

Quality education is a human right and all individuals and peoples regardless of their social, ethnic, personal, economic, gender, or religion, should be able to participate and engage in productive and lifelong learning. This volume explores the ways in which intercultural and inclusive education have been addressed in Latin America through…

This book addresses what is, perhaps, the single most important issue for vocational education; its relatively low standing in an era of high aspiration. The work explores the nature, extent and consequences for an educational sector that whilst having an increasingly important role in contemporary societies is seen to be of low standing across…

This review examines the external systems in place to assure the quality of higher education in Brazil. It highlights the relative success of the Brazilian quality assurance model in regulating market entry for private operators in Brazil, which cater to over 70% of students. But it also calls into question the effectiveness of existing systems to…