This paper investigates datafication in schools through an analysis of the enactments of quality assurance and evaluation (QAE) policies in Brazil. In doing so, I question how data permeates and changes school environments, school actors' conduct and their imaginaries. QAE policies encompass large-scale assessments, indicators, rankings and other…

Policy elites use rhetoric in speeches and press releases to provide framing that is intended to influence public opinion. These rhetorical events can be treated as instances in which speech usefully promotes particular discourses. Indeed, elected officials are able to influence how individuals think about problems and solutions through speeches…

This article examines California's Student Equity Policy crafted by policymakers to "avoid an underclass of ethnic minorities" in higher education. We combine tenets from critical race theory, interest convergence, and color-evasiveness to qualitatively interrogate 17 policy documents including chaptered bills, legislative mandates, and…

This article analyzes the case of school choice in the United States and its implications for the Brazilian context. This discussion is important to Brazil, given the fact that key actors are starting to advocate in favor of introducing charter schools and vouchers in the country. Evidence from countries that introduced this model can help shed…

In this portrait, Simone A. Fried investigates the first six months of a state education department's takeover of a public school district. Using interviews, observations, and artifact analysis, the article explores how school district employees experience the significant reorganization of governance structures and policies that accompanies…

In the context of implementing a physical activity policy as part of a national school reform in Denmark, the purpose of this study was to explore lower secondary teachers' interpretations and perceptions of the physical activity policy with a focus on movement integration. In total, 14 teachers from four different schools were selected to take…

Although principal professional development (PPD) has been proven to improve school performance at various levels, professional development (PD) for teachers receives more time, resources, and attention at both district and state level. When PPD is provided it often does not meet research-based recommendations. The literature was reviewed and five…

Brexit, Britain's referendum to leave the European Union (EU), provided the backdrop for this study, although how or even if it will be implemented is uncertain. Most UK voters supported leaving the EU, yet an overwhelming majority of young people voted to remain. In an environment of economic and labor market ambiguity, we sampled 304 UK…

Early childhood teachers have a myriad of possible employment options, with birth to eight years degree qualifications preparing graduates to work in a range of early childhood settings, including prior-to-school. At the same time, early childhood workforce policies in Australia, and elsewhere, are increasingly requiring degree-qualified teachers…

Scholars who analyse the policies that provide for the rights of international students have tended to focus on challenges posed by racism, discrimination and unjustified stereotyping. This discussion has focussed overwhelmingly on the higher education sector but recently has begun to be extended to vocational and training education (VET). We…

In this paper, we explore how professional and policy contexts can mediate early childhood teachers' relationship with the official curriculum. Using their assessment practices as an impetus for discussion, we probed 28 Greek kindergarten teachers to talk about their engagement with the prescribed curriculum and explain how they construct its…

We show how policy makers converged to support similar reforms on a major educational issue: teacher effectiveness. Our study demonstrates the importance of idea brokers--actors that facilitate connections between preferences in policy networks and promote consensus around new policy ideas. Our study is based on analysis of testimony from 200…

As concerns spread about the capacity of teacher education programmes to prepare preservice teachers for entry into the teaching profession, literature and policy have begun to scrutinise the knowledge and skills of teacher educators. Some publications have focused on the professional development needed by teacher educators to align their teaching…

Two pandemics--COVID-19 and systemic racism--are confronting American society, and by extension K-12 schools. Both pandemics have precipitated immediate challenges that schools must navigate, and also draw attention to longstanding, chronic problems in the education system. It's more clear than ever that a return to "normal" won't serve…

This report contains more than 35 key structural indicators on education policies in six areas: early childhood education and care (ECEC), achievement in basic skills, early leaving from education and training (ELET), higher education, graduate employability and learning mobility. This 2020 report contains the updated indicators for the 2019/20…