This article starts by putting the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) into a general context of privatisation. It is noted that the privatisation process is in many cases complex and not only about full-scale privatisation of schools. The growing trade in education must be seen in this context. GATS is not an agreement which deals with…

Deregulation and privatization of the school systems are the symptoms of the transition from the era of "massification" of education to the era of "merchandization". This process is generated by a new relation between education and the needs of the globalized economy. Education is charged to supply the economy with a skilled and flexible labour…

The present learning discourse and terms such as "learning in practice", "situated learning", "project and problem based learning" are like variations on a recurrent theme: learning by doing--the striking maxims of progressivism. The newest reforms confirm that the maxim is still alive as a standpoint with consequences for institutional and…

The primary aim of this article is to identify and interrogate the lay theories of contemporary student teachers and to indicate and illustrate the manner in which these "theories" manifest both continuity and change when contrasted with teaching archetypes and previously articulated lay theories of student teachers in the setting. It is in five…

This article acknowledges some moments of intrigue aroused during the execution of an ethnographic investigation at a high school, in Oporto, Portugal with young boys and girls. The making of this investigation aroused our reflection towards what we consider to be some intrigues and towards the Social and Human Sciences themselves,…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has strongly influenced European education policy and the entire global neo-liberally toned discourse that nowadays prevails in the implementation of national education policy and educational reforms. The educational policy governance of the OECD is based on overall and supranational…

There is a supranational tendency in educational governance towards a "management by projects" policy, which substitutes democratic procedures and norm-based control in the materialisation of educational justice. The organisational level becomes crucial for the management of education and the pressure to conceive education as a managerial activity…

"Bildung" is a key concept in the German tradition of educational theory. Originally meant to indicate a specific state of mind and ideal of perfection, it now serves as a symbol of the unity of whatever refers to the field of education, particularly to its organisational and functional aspects. The aura of "Bildung" is bestowed on its counterpart…

There exist two types of reviews the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is conducting, country reviews and thematic reviews. Although all country reviews are also thematic by nature, the focus lies more on one country and the analysis serves the specific needs of the country under review and the other member states as a…

There is a tendency in academic literature concerning children from diverse social and linguistic background to concentrate on failure within the school system. It is only in recent years that this is beginning to change. In this article the author argues that if we are to motivate children towards success we need to have a clear picture of the…

The article presents the life story of a young Roma cultural mediator who narrates (1) her life and professional decisions, still rather uncommon among young Roma women, and (2) the impact of her education and work experiences and achievements on her self perception. The narratives, from which the life story emerges, express the young Roma's…

This article is part of an ethnographic study in two preschool classes, which aims to explore issues of nationality, ethnicity, gender, and citizenship. It explores firstly, the ways in which nationality, ethnicity and gender are discussed and negotiated by preschool girls at the age of six and how they become positioned in national space and…

Sweden's present school curricula emphasise personal flexibility, creativity, responsibility for learning and suggest new understandings of quality in learning, where individual freedom of choice is meant to help produce creative, motivated, alert, inquiring, self-governing and flexible users and developers of knowledge. These curriculum changes…

The restructuring of adult education in Goteborg was first initiated experimentally with respect only to SFI education (an education in beginning Swedish for ethnic minorities living in Sweden). This was done on the basis of decisions in the Goteborg Municipal Council in 1999. But restructuring came into full force for all municipal adult…

This report synthesizes the discussion that took place in a Conference on Qualitative Classroom Research ("What in the world happens in classrooms?" ), organized by the authors and held in Oaxtepec, Mexico in May 2002. The primary aim was to visualize possible interconnections among the various disciplines represented by the 35 scholars who were…