The new comparative research in this volume explores the global flow of competence-based education, curricular policy, and frameworks for instructional practice. Taking critical perspectives, the chapters trace the pathways through which educators and policy actors adopted and reshaped competence-based education as promoted by the OECD, the World…

Music education in England has been in a state of flux for a number of years due to the complexities and variability of its delivery. Many of the issues surrounding music education in England are associated with policy and practice in schools, and the complexities of funding and deployment of music activities. This creates contextual, structural…

Local authority music services have held a central place in the UK's music education landscape since the end of the Second World War. Nonetheless, the provision of these services has always been a non-statutory responsibility, and local levels of opportunity have varied in response to prevailing economic and political climates, along with broader…

Given the increasingly global nature of marketized school choice policies, this makes it even more crucial to investigate how the multiple scales, forms, and emphases of school choice in different countries are influenced by particular political, economic, and cultural conditions. While much of the critical research on school choice policies has…

Researchers have noted with concern the often weak link between research evidence and policymaking, particularly in some areas such as education. In this introductory essay--dedicated to the late Carol Weiss--we consider this issue first by reflecting on how changing historical conditions can shape institutional demands on and for research…

Language-in-education policies are developed and implemented within contexts of great complexity. Where policies appear less than perfect on paper, this presents a valuable opportunity to examine the contextual factors that have led to their development, helping policymakers to understand the conditions under which policy change must take place.…

Political pressure to reduce the number of higher education institutions in Wales has been sustained for over a decade by three successive ministers for education, two of whom, Jane Davidson and the current incumbent, Leighton Andrews, have left the Welsh sector in no doubt about the strength of their personal commitment to the policy of…

Teachers for the Future is a regional report that draws together and analyses research findings from a study commissioned by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in seven countries in the Western Balkans region, namely, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The overall…

The paper contributes to the debate on the implementation of policy reforms developing a typology for implementation based on the initial agreement on means and goals at the time of reform design. It is argued that the volume and nature of knowledge gathering and stakeholder involvement required to gain approval of a policy and avoid the…

Background: Teacher education in Scotland has developed its own trajectory for many years and this distinctiveness appears to have increased since the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Teachers' pay and conditions were addressed in 2001 by the agreement "A teaching profession for the 21st century." This agreement led to a…

This policy brief focuses on the School District of Philadelphia's high school selection process and the ways in which it reinforces and compounds inequities that already exist among the District's tiered system of selective, non-selective, and charter high schools. Focused in particular on the impact that these policies have on non-selective…

Attempts to strengthen understanding of strategies for, and constraints on, school change based on a review of some of the theoretical literature in education and more generally. Emphasizes the importance of understanding organization/environment links. Discusses implications for educational policy makers brought up by the literature review. (DSK)

The essays in this collection provide insights into the dilemmas faced by immigrants and ethnic minorities and by school personnel and policy makers. The first part of the book consists of comparative studies of ethnic identity, and the second part focuses on some lessons learned from studies of ethnic identification and equity, with implications…

It has been difficult to define the work of curriculum directors for a variety of reasons related to educational structures and policies. Through the use of qualitative methodology, this study provides an in-depth analysis of the work of four exemplary curriculum directors in an effort to define their duties and responsibilities, identify the…

The chapters in this book were prepared during the second phase of a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to develop a set of International Indicators of Education Systems (INES). They were among the many studies presented at the General Assembly of the INES Project in Lugano (Switzerland), September 16-18,…