Politics and knowledge shaping educational reform : case studies from around the globe / edited by Colleen McLaughlin, Alan Ruby.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

McLaughlin, Colleen, editor.

Ruby, Alan, editor.

Series:

Cambridge education research series.

Cambridge education research

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Curriculum change--Case studies.

Curriculum change.

Educational change--Case studies.

Educational change.

Education--Political aspects.

Education.

Education and state.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 203 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Summary:

Have you ever wondered why education is always being reformed? This book provides ten case studies from all corners of the globe that illustrate how politics and data clash as education policies are developed, enacted, and assessed. A follow-up to the authors' previous book, Implementing Educational Reform, it highlights trends such as politicisation, showing where successful policies have been dropped, and where failed policies persist for ideological ends. Drawing on examples from South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Peru, Portugal, post-Soviet states and the UK, it shows how education policy can be disruptive and abrupt, or consensual and gradual. It challenges the managerial model of education reform that has dominated the last thirty years of education reform thinking, ultimately deepening our understanding of the importance of practical knowledge in designing and implementing policies. It is essential reading for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers of education research, education policy, and international education reform.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Title page

Imprints page

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

List of Contributors

Preface

1 Introduction: Until the Miracle Arrives, We Can Learn from Others

1.1 The Paradox of Rationality and Responsiveness

1.2 Culture and Value

References

2 Radical Curriculum Change and the Politics of 'Implementation': A South African Case Study

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Curriculum Policy after Apartheid

2.3 The Origins of a Radical Idea

2.4 Implementing the Radical Curriculum Idea

2.5 How to Deradicalize a Radical Curriculum Imperative?

2.6 The Politics of Implementation Revisited

2.7 Beyond the South African Case: Toward a Theory of Implementation in Developing Countries

3 Towards a Play-Based Pedagogy in Ghanaian Kindergarten Education: Challenges and Opportunities for Implementation

3.1 Introduction

3.2 National Context for Kindergarten Education in Ghana

3.3 The Standards-Based Curriculum: A Push towards Play-Based Learning

3.4 Ghanaian Cultural Conceptions of Play and Learning

3.5 Enabling Conditions for Implementing a Play-Based Curriculum

3.6 Implementing the Ghanaian Play-Based Curriculum

3.7 Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Improving Implementation

3.8 Concluding Thoughts

Acknowledgements

4 Implementing Fee-Free Education in Rwanda: Opportunities and Challenges

4.1 Introduction

4.2 A Brief History of Global Efforts to Fee-Free Basic Education

4.3 Methodology

4.4 Findings: The Impact of School Costs

4.5 Discussion

5 Policy Implementation in a Sisyphean State: Improving Pedagogical Practice in Perú through the Soporte Pedagógico Programme

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Policy Implementation in Countries with Weak States and Institutions.

5.3 Reforming Pedagogical Practice in Primary Schools

5.4 Promoting a Supporting Pedagogical Improvement in Primary Schools

5.5 The Fall from Grace

5.6 Conclusions: Pushing the Rock Up Again

6 Reforming the School System: Lessons from England

6.1 Introduction

6.2 The UK's Coalition Government and the Scale-Up of Academisation

6.3 The Benefits of Collaborative Governance

6.4 System Leadership: Policy Measures that Supported This Revolution

6.5 Alternatives to Academisation: Partnerships

6.6 Taking Stock

7 Educational Reform in Scotland: Policy, Governance and Professional Culture

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Context

7.3 Curriculum and Assessment

7.4 Internal and External Actors

7.5 Governance Reform

7.6 Teacher Agency

7.7 Conclusion

8 The Role of Textbooks in Improving Education in Portugal

8.1 Introduction

8.2 The Importance of Textbooks

8.3 The Textbook Evaluation System in Portugal and the Improvement of School Results

8.4 Different Educational and Textbook Policies Lead to Different Learning Outcomes

8.5 Conclusion

9 Turning Social Capital into a Working Wage: How Teachers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Earn Their Pay and Their Keep

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Urbanization in Kyrgyzstan

9.3 The Situation of Teachers in Bishkek

9.4 Methodology

9.5 How Teachers in Bishkek Turn Social Capital into a Working Wage

9.6 Understanding the Social Contract between Principals and Teachers

9.7 Example One: Senior Teachers Ensure Compliance of Junior Teachers

9.8 Example Two: Keeping Strategic Vacancies for Senior Teachers Instead of Hiring New Teachers

9.9 Example Three: Assigning Other Roles to Teachers beyond Permissible Workload Limits

9.10 Example Four: Fee Collection from Families

9.11 Conclusion

References.

10 High-Performance and Equity: Closing the Gap Contributes to Success

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Context

10.3 Evidence of High-Performance and High-Equity

10.4 Measures Taken

10.5 Conclusion

11 Missing Opportunity?: Transformation of the Teachers' Remuneration System in Kazakhstan in the Context of Increasing Wages

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Stavka as a Remuneration System

11.3 Salary Increase and New Wage System in Kazakhstan

11.4 Discussion

12 Conclusion: Global and National Shifts in Implementing Educational Reform: Learning across the Cases

12.1 Introductory Remarks

12.2 Persistent Themes

12.3 Global and National Shifts in Educational Reform

12.4 Conclusion

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Feb 2025).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781009414777

1009414771

9781009414784

100941478X

9781009414753

1009414755