In 1987, the government of Ghana embarked on a process to decentralise education management to districts as part of wider social and democratic governance reforms. A central part of this reform was the prescription of active community participation in the affairs of schools within their locality. This paper explores the different meanings…

This article challenges the assumption underlying most education reforms that constructivism is politically neutral and intrinsically democratic. It makes this argument by examining the curriculum reform in Spain during the 1980s and 1990s in light of the neoliberal politics that the country was experiencing at that time. This study employs the…

Most qualitative studies in international education take place in a single site in a single nation. When studies are of more than one country, they most often use more quantitative than qualitative approaches. Beatrice and John Whiting conducted the most systematic of comparative cross-cultural studies of child rearing in their "Six…

In this paper, we address the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Flanders, a sub-national entity of Belgium. Our analysis shows how the policy-making process in Flanders is inextricably intertwined with three developments in environmental and educational policy: the increasing impact of ESD policy and…

This essay responds to and develops ideas set out in Robert Davis' 1999 essay "Can there be a Catholic curriculum?" It takes the measure of far-reaching changes that have taken place in curriculum studies and strategic educational thought in the intervening period as the process of globalisation has intensified. It re-engages with the…

Historically Black colleges and universities are a unique institutional cohort in American higher education. These colleges have been celebrated for their achievements and critiqued for their composition at differing points during their collective history. This article addresses contemporary ebbs and flows of their relevance and reputation in the…

From the 1990s the professional preparation of intending teachers in Scotland moved from monotechnic colleges to seven university schools of education. "Universitisation" (Menter et al. 2006) created new opportunities for the creative adaptation of work cultures to value teaching and research. New appointments are expected to demonstrate…

In the year 2000, Rwanda launched an ambitious long-term development strategy intended to render a fundamental transformation from an agrarian to a knowledge society by 2020. Knowledge society, however, could be viewed as a "floating signifier" open for a wide range of interpretations. Guided by a policy translation perspective the aim…

Purpose: This review paper presents an overview of changes in agricultural extension on a global scale and helps to characterise on-going developments in extension practice. Design/methodology/approach: Through a critique and synthesis of literature the paper focuses on global political changes which have led to widespread changes from production-…

In this descriptive study the aim is to analyze the Hungarian educational policy history and event-chain of the comprehensive and post-comprehensive project. As a structuring framework this paper used the historical landmarks and the different institutional arrangement models (governance types and power distribution models). Accordingly, three…

In England and Wales, religious education (RE) in non-faith schools has gradually changed from Christian education to the study of many religions and philosophies. However, the core values of RE have continued to be related to concerns about social cohesion and the building of shared values. The article briefly discusses changes in RE since 1944…

In this article Foucault's theoretical concept of governmentality is used to scrutinise the ways in which the ideal pupil is constructed, governed and positioned in and through teacher training in Sweden. The analysis focuses on the construction of subject positions as well as governing technologies and techniques operating in the shaping of the…

For the last decade, in districts big and small, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has emerged as the largest private funder of educational efforts. This began with an initiative around small schools in the early to mid-2000s, mostly abandoned now, and has gained traction in the past few years in areas such as teacher evaluation, the Common…

The first two decades of the twentieth century witnessed a sharp increase in Spanish enrollments at both the secondary and post-secondary level of instruction. This first "Spanish Boom" created opportunities for professional growth; yet, its very suddenness also highlighted numerous structural and institutional obstacles that hindered a coherent…

This paper interrogates the drivers and meanings behind the dramatic rise of technical and vocational education and training in the policy and political agenda of India. What are the assumptions about the existing traditions and character of India's culture or cultures of skills development? Is the massive planned expansion of skilled people in…