This paper presents the results of a discourse analysis of the "Chronicle of Higher Education" publications about China in 2011 and 2012. Drawing on postcolonial appropriations of governmentality to frame the discussion of globalization as the context of the study, the author analyzes the stylistic, rhetorical, and semantic strategies…

In the education sector, new public management (NPM) has crystallized in policies such as school autonomy, professionalization of school principals, standardized evaluation and teachers' accountability, and it has been widely disseminated by international organizations, such as the OECD, which enjoy a great prestige when it comes to frame…

The relationships between disciplines and the institutions within which they are situated is a fertile area for researching the shaping of sociological knowledge. Applying theoretical insights from the sociology of knowledge, this article draws on an empirical study of research publications in the sociology of health and medicine to show which…

The English language is significant to the internationalisation of higher education worldwide. Countries in Asia are proactive in appropriating English for their national interests, while paying attention to associated national cultural identity issues. This article examines the ways in which the role of English is interpreted and justified in…

Vygotsky saw mental and cultural development as "mediated" by artefacts, including tools and signs. He used his "genetic method" to investigate higher cognitive processes in historical context. These insights are foundational to sociocultural theory, which is widely used in education research. However, since Vygotsky, communicative globalization…

This paper explores the culture of education policy making in Shanghai using the conceptual tool of a "global assemblage". A global assemblage is essentially a collection of ideas and practices that arise from the interplay between a global form and situated sociocultural elements. Focusing on the global form of curriculum reform, this paper…

In this moment of tremendous change, investing in old ways of doing education is not the best way forward. In offering a Charter for Change we recognise that knowledge and learning will be pivotal to the social and personal transformations necessary to address the idiosyncratic challenges of our times. The transformed economic system emerging from…

As a meta-concept, "globalization" has the tendency to create master categories such as an emergent global/izing education policy. This paper critiques the thinking and assumptions that underpin a global education policy. The paper proposes that "global assemblage" is a more helpful conceptual thinking about the way education policy works in…

With the shift toward near-universal access, the movement of students within and between systems of higher education has assumed a new importance, especially for policies aimed at widening participation and social equity. Globalization has given rise to increasing levels of student mobility across national boundaries, with participation in…

This paper provides a contextualised and critical policy analysis of the Rudd government's national schooling agenda in Australia. The specific focus is on the introduction of national literacy and numeracy testing and the recent creation by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority of the website "My School", which lists the…

This article theorizes empirical data from an ethnographic project conducted in and around the economically disadvantaged suburb of Noble Park in southeast suburban Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). Exploring the politics around gendered identities of young people involved in the research, particularly Australian-Sudanese men, the authors theorize…

No one publicly defends unequal educational opportunity, Christopher Jencks claimed in a well-known article two decades ago. But is this actually true? With the rise of a "global war for talent" and the push by business and political elites for a "global meritocracy", the terrain on which educators work is shifting radically. This article argues…

This paper argues that the content, analytical approaches and institutional affiliations of authors of articles published in the latest issues of two leading educational policy studies journals provide useful insights into the contested nature of educational policy studies. The paper draws upon a selection of articles published in 2007/08 issues…

Although alienation is widely recognized as a barrier to educational success for many students, prevailing explanations tend to focus on psychological traits and individual deficits, rather than the oppressive economic and social structures bearing down on young people. This paper addresses the issues of youth alienation and student engagement…

This paper locates the work of Leo Strauss within the broader conservative assault on modernity and especially its roots in liberalism. Four themes from Strauss's work are identified, then hermeneutically engaged for their relevance to educational practice in global times. The four themes are: (1) the liberal/modern concept of an open society is…