Education Policy Analysis 2004

This 2004 edition of Education Policy Analysis includes articles on the role of non-university institutions in tertiary education; gaining returns from investments in ICT; the challenges lifelong learning poses for schools; and taxes and lifelong learning.

The five chapters in this book draw upon the policy experience and trends in OECD countries to examine various aspects of lifelong learning.

This book synthesizes and analyzes the complex map of educational reforms in Latin America in the first two decades of the 21st century. The book offers insights into the agendas, processes and political economy of educational reforms in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Written by renowned contributors from each country, chapters present systematic, critical and reflective accounts of an intense period of education reforms. The book fills a gap in educational research and provides a systematic study that compares the cases analyzed. The first broad, comparative collection of its kind, the book is well-suited to courses in international and comparative education policy.

`Education policy is now a global matter and all the more complex for that. Mark Olssen, John Codd and Ann-Marie O′Neill do us an invaluable service in producing a carefully theorised guide to current issues and key concerns - this is an important, erudite and very practical book′ - Stephen J Ball, Education Policy Research Unit, University of London `Given the global reach of neoliberal policies, we need cogent books that enable us to better understand the major effects such tendencies have. Education Policy is such a book. It is insightful and well written--and should be read by all of us who care deeply about what is happening in education in international contexts′ - Michael W Apple, Author of ′Educating the "Right" Way and John Bascom Professor of Education University of Wisconsin, Madison `I really am taken with the book, the range and depth of analysis are truly impressive. This book is a magnum opus and everyone in the area should read it′- Hugh Lauder, University of Bath `In their insightful and comprehensive book on education policy Mark Olssen, John Codd and Anne-Marie O′Neill wrestle with the big questions of citizenship and democracy in an age of globalization. They argue that ducation policy in the 21st century is the key to security, sustainability and survival. The book, anchored in the poststructuralist perspective of Michel Foucault, traverses the whole territory of education policy not only methods and approaches of policy analysis and the dominant political perspectives that influence policy-classical liberalism, social democracy and neo-liberalism--but also those policy areas that require the closest scrutiny: markets, trust, professionalism, choice, diversity, and finally, community, citizenship and democracy. This is the new policy bible for educationalists - it is at once systematic, provocative and instructive′ - Michael A Peters, Research Professor, University of Glasgow ′It is rare indeed for books with such ambitious scope as this one to appear within educational scholarship... This is an important book for any graduate student who is undertaking work on any aspect of education policy′ - Education Review This book provides an international perspective on education policy, and of the role and function of education in the global economy. The authors present a Foucauldian perspective on the politics of liberal education, within a theoretical framework necessary for the critical analysis of education policy. The authors set out the analyses necessary for understanding the restructuring in education and social policy that has occurred in many countries affected by the resurgence of neo-liberal political theory. They examine education policy in relation to globalization, citizenship and democracy. The authors argue that globalization is an extension of neoliberalism and is destructive of the nation state, community and democracy. They show the importance of education in building strong democratic nation states and global communities based on cultural identity and inter-cultural awareness. This book is essential reading for students of education policy studies and social policy analysis.

This book originated in a policy analysis class at Michigan State University taught during 2010. Using Professor Tatto’s unique approach to teaching policy analysis, the professor and students agreed to construct a class that represented a reflective and grounded experience in the policy analysis of a current and relevant issue with global ramifications; we began exploring policies that were developed at the global level and that were implemented locally. We investigated the surge of globally developed standards and regulations in an effort to improve education. Our goal was to learn cross-nationally about policies that seek to reform curriculum and instruction under efficiency and global competitiveness arguments, such as Education for All (EFA) and its USA cousin No Child Left Behind (NCLB). We knew our work would be bounded by the time available in a one-semester class, and by resource constraints. We did exploratory inquiry supported by literature reviews, reports on rigorous research studies, and in one case an exploratory case study. The policies we chose to explore, such as EFA and NCLB, offered us the opportunity to examine current reform tendencies that are intended to provide access to quality education for all children, the preparation of teachers to support diverse populations, the organization of schools to accommodate these children in response to vague policy mandates, and power issues affecting the different constituencies and stakeholders. The effects of these and other policies were difficult to track because research is scant and decisions are frequently made based on ideology or political persuasion. Our purpose was to explore the critical issues that originated such policies, and to search for documented evidence regarding policy implementation and effectiveness. We investigated the factors that seemed to interfere with successful implementation, from conceptual, theoretical, and methodological perspectives. In this class we learned that there are not ready-set frameworks for policy analysis, but rather that these have to be constructed according to the issues that emerge as policies are conceptualized and implemented to fit local contexts and needs. The book pays particular attention to the contexts of policy, including the evolving conceptualization of global and local systems of governance, knowledge regimes, and policy spaces. The book is designed for faculty and doctoral students in education who are interested in understanding diverse frameworks for policy analysis, and for those in the general public who are interested in the policies we analyze here.

This volume informs the growing number of educational policy scholars on the use of critical theoretical frameworks in their analyses. It offers insights on which theories are appropriate within the area of critical educational policy research and how theory and method interact and are applied in critical policy analyses. Highlighting how different critical theoretical frameworks are used in educational policy research to reshape and redefine the way scholars approach the field, the volume offers work by emerging and senior scholars in the field of educational policy who apply critical frameworks to their research. The chapters examine a wide range of current educational policy topics through different critical theoretical lenses, including critical race theory, critical discourse analysis, postmodernism, feminist poststructuralism, critical theories related to LGBTQ issues, and advocacy approaches.

This 2004 edition of Education Policy Analysis includes articles on the role of non-university institutions in tertiary education; gaining returns from investments in ICT; the challenges lifelong learning poses for schools; and taxes and lifelong learning.