This article examines the politics of curriculum design and evaluation in school settings globally. It examines the role of ideology and dominant meta-narratives of standards and academic achievement culture and its impact on education policy, curriculum design and implementation. The article discusses major models of curriculum design and their…

This article examines textual traces of the standard language ideology within current education policy in England, focusing on post-2010 reforms which are characterised by a (re)shift towards conservatism, discipline, and standards. Using tools and methods from critical stylistics and the critical discourse analysis of language policy, I…

This study of the University of Texas (UT) at Austin surveys the most influential policies enacted on campus in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This report compiles and examines the university's DEI plans, its progress updates, and all of the publicly accessible DEI plans and updates published by the university's various…

This paper charts the historical and political contexts for the evolution of Chinese adult and continuing education over the past 40 years, focusing on the national adult education reforms and relevant policies, and establishing the national lifelong education system. The progress and transformations of Chinese adult education, including how…

Governments are challenged with pursuing macro-level interests for the good of the group, while also needing to accommodate and to acknowledge the needs and preferences of people at the micro-level. Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's (MEXT) "English Education Reform Plan corresponding to…

Like many other education systems in the world, Chinese education has undergone various reforms in order to adapt to the challenges that are perceived to emanate from the knowledge economy. Central to this transformation is the concept of 'innovation', which is to guide the country on its path from a production economy to a knowledge economy.…

That all young children should have the best possible start in life is a statement that tends to be met with universal agreement. This article, however, argues there are very many different kinds of ideologies that shape the kinds of "best starts" early years teachers should strive for at a time when childhood poverty is rising and when…

Although increasingly encouraged to incorporate digital media into classrooms to prepare students for engaged participation in a digital world, teachers are often taken by surprise when paradigm clashes arise between traditional school expectations and the affordances of these new spaces. Through data gathered from ethnographic methodologies…

The foundation of the first international schools of the modern era well over a century ago, and their burgeoning growth over recent years, provides the context in this book for a series of personal perspectives written by some of those who have been involved centrally in their development. As the schools themselves have increased not only in…

The focus of this paper is on US language policy statements that govern the priorities for teaching languages other than English in public schools and the language ideologies implied by specific management moves by the federal government to regulate language education, starting with the Bilingual Education Act (BEA) of 1968. Following introductory…

Two months before his 2008 election, Barack Obama addressed a roomful of Ohio public school teachers, praising their long hours and talking about his daughters' starting 2nd and 5th grade. Then Obama departed from the usual feel-good talking points. He touted competition, charter schools, and school choice. Two and a half years later, Republicans…

Ideas of linear progress and predictability are essential to globally circulated ideas of educational planning, but do not necessarily correspond with the realities and priorities of ordinary people whose life trajectories often shape very differently. Thus, shedding light on the contradictory ideas about education and divergent expectations as to…

Discontinuities are often found between top-down language education policies and local language policy enactments, as de facto language policymaking results from stakeholders' negotiation and interpretation of policy mandates. Teachers occupy a particular role in the execution of language education policies, as they are the "final…

While it is often argued that technology could act as a change agent and transform educational practices, individuals, communities, government and society holding their own ideological beliefs limit such a liberalisation of the educational system. To show that the use of educational technology is part of a dialectical struggle this article…

This article provides a detailed summary of the history and development of the German school system, from the birth of the modern German state to the present day. Through explaining various regional and national developments, shifts created by competing political ideologies, and the path of reform initiatives over time, this article illustrates…