This paper takes a philosophical look at what it means to talk about educational change in the context of the global proliferation of Western secular liberal democratic values. A handful of challenges, contradictions, and incoherencies that potentially impede the success of educational change projects in developing countries are examined with a…

The World Bank's (WB) growing emphasis on decentralizing educational systems has sparked widespread discussion in the literature. This study examines whether WB reforms are indeed associated with decentralizing educational systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as commonly assumed. Using unique, untapped country-level panel data on…

The education sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has experienced a surge of neoliberal reforms over the past few decades, primarily led by the World Bank (WB). One of these reform agendas has been to "decrease standards" or "destandardize" educational responsibilities and policies by devolving educational…

In this paper, and as a team of researchers/practitioners spanning the globe, we reflect on the historical and ongoing legacies of (neo)colonialism and imperialism in education in emergencies (EiE) research and practice using collaborative auto-ethnography. Specifically, we explore how we've experienced hierarchies of power, positionality and…

Despite the growing academic interests in educational leadership recently, hardly any of it has focused on post-conflict situations. This paper seeks to generate an understanding of the perspectives of primary school leaders in post-conflict Cambodia on the issues they face in the process of educational reconstruction and development and the…

Purpose: Blended learning (BL) is becoming more popular as a method of welcoming a progressively diverse range of students while adding value to the learning environment through the integration of online teaching resources. However, BL's approach of combining online instruction with conventional classroom strategies has received attention and…

Education has the potential to help address some of the most critical social and environmental issues of the Caribbean. However, I argue that this can only occur if there is a radical critique of the now dominant education for sustainable development (ESD) discourse, which is seemingly constructed primarily from the positionality and interests of…

In 2018, the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust launched its 'Decentring ELT' initiative, with the aim of identifying, publicizing, and supporting ways in which English language educators in low- and middle-income countries work locally and collaboratively to develop activities that respond to their particular circumstances. This article aims to…

Purpose: This study aims to address the critical subject of building capacity for the circular economy in the global south. It complements the literature by providing information on the role of higher education institutions in developing skills for the circular plastic economy. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a mixed method approach…

Following an argument that the 2030 Agenda consolidates a neoliberal hegemonic 'development' system, we analyze how SDG4 deepens an instrumental and utilitarian 'education for sustainable development'. Alternatively, the Epistemologies of the South are presented as ways of knowing that are capable of accommodating a critical environmental and…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to look at the challenges and successes that the case institution has had in implementing and maintaining quality assurance (QA) processes. The study also looks into the role of QA techniques in improving an institution's performance in a developing country. Design/methodology/approach: The research is…

Literacies researchers have long argued that the new literacies made possible by the internet facilitate global connectedness. However, much of the research about digital literacies has centered the experiences of participants and researchers from only certain parts of the world. The field needs to embrace a more inclusive understanding of global,…

Interest in scaling promising innovations to effect systemic change in education around the world has grown over the last decade. The work of scaling education innovations (up, out, down, and into deep and lasting impact) has always required nimble attention to the unpredictability of implementation. Much has been written about the need for…

In Turkey, the quest for gender equality in universities takes place under increasing anti-gender, authoritarian and neoliberal pressures. Based on interviews with academic change agents, this article explores gender equality efforts in different universities presented in the form of typology: project-led, collective and individual-led change. It…

Over the past 20 years, the pages of the Journal of Educational Change have been filled with some of the most important and exciting thinking in the field. That said, three important challenges need to be addressed in the next decade if the Journal is to continue to hold its prominent position. The first relates to finding a way to diversify the…