School superintendents make many decisions throughout their careers in an attempt to educate students. Many people, both inside and outside of education try to influence the decisions made by superintendents. Many of these influences are political in nature. This study looks at the history and levels of political influence in education, identifies…

This article presents an analysis of an increasingly political nature of the rationales behind the memberships of the UK and Germany in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This analysis is guided by rational-choice neo-institutionalism and is based on expert interviews with key stakeholders in both countries as well as their relevant…

Drawing on a historical case study, this article focuses on the ways in which the Greek Government (2015-2019), through involving the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), managed to modify the education conditionalities laid down by the third Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) negotiated with the 'Institutions' (the…

The existing gap between females in the field of education and those in the highest levels of leadership persists, with women only making up 27% of the superintendency nationally. This study, informed by Tallerico's (2000a) conceptual framework, sought to determine how one's own individual agency, educational structures (like sponsorship), and the…

This paper explored the link between information literacy (IL) and other factors that enable or inhibit the utilisation of research evidence in policymaking in Zimbabwe. The study assumes that if policymakers possess appropriate IL skills to access, assess, synthesise, and apply research evidence, they will naturally use the evidence to inform…

Several authors have underlined that processes of Europeanisation of education emerge despite the European Union's lack of formal power in this area. This article argues on the contrary that its lack of power precisely enables the EU to open up a range of possibilities for its involvement in this sector, among which the ET2020 Working Groups (WG)…

Since the early 1990's funding K-12 public education in Oklahoma has faced trials and tribulations. The purpose of this study was to understand, through the lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), factors that elected educators have experienced that have influenced their ability and their motivation to affect increased funding for education…

This paper interrogates the fundamental logic of data-driven decision-making (DDDM) as it has taken hold in education and argues for a critical analysis of data-driven education via an attitude of historical ontology. Though influenced by Foucault's understanding of this concept, I center Colin Koopman's recent analysis of the 'informational…

Research exploring the challenges department chairs face has long suggested the role is difficult and lacks tangible reward (Buller, 2012, 2015; Gmelch et al., 2017). Yet, as higher education demographics, settings, and organizational expectations change and chairs function in more uncertain and increasingly complex institutional environments, it…

Rising political polarization and the spread of disinformation have highlighted the need to re-assess and broaden existing approaches to civic education. Though video games have been presented as tools that could capitalize on youth's interest-driven engagement with technology to support situated modes of civic learning, their actual contributions…

Partnerships are understood to be one of the strategies for internationalisation of higher education institutions. In recent years, there has been a slight shift in trends, with diversifying partnerships among African universities and with countries that do not have colonial ties. These include the USA, Canada and Scandinavian countries, among…

PhD (non-)completion rates have been considered important criteria with which to evaluate the effectiveness of doctoral programmes and of universities' performance. To date, there has been a lack of qualitative studies on the voices and experiences of funded international students who discontinue doctoral research degrees. This paper uses…

Only a few innovations ever successfully scale throughout education systems. Previous research highlights two reasons for this scarcity of success stories: either the innovations are badly designed, or the environment is not conducive to accepting and absorbing the education innovations. Even the best innovations with the most strategic scaling…

Purpose: Drawing upon research into standards reform, and theorizing of professional and political capital, this article seeks to understand the development of and advocacy for the Next Generation Science Standards in the United States. As well as revealing how professional capital exists in three dimensions--human, social, and decisional--the…

A pronounced development of the 21st century is the technological revolution, which is leading to a global world that creates more multicultural, intercultural, and diverse communities. These developments influence our lives in various ways, one of which relates to education. Educational systems are facing complicated challenges, as they need to…