Rizvi and Lingard's account of the global politics of education is
thoughtful, complex and compelling. It is the first really comprehensive
discussion and analysis of global trends in education policy, their
effects - structural and individual - and resistance to them. In the
enormous body of writing on globalisation this book stands out and will
become a basic text in education policy courses around the world.
- Stephen J Ball, Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education,
Institute of Education, University of London, UK
In what ways have the processes of globalization reshaped the
educational policy terrain?
How might we analyse education policies located within this new terrain,
which is at once local, national, regional and global?
In Globalizing Education Policy, the authors explore the key global
drivers of policy change in education, and suggest that these do not
operate in the same way in all nation-states. They examine the
transformative effects of globalization on the discursive terrain within
which educational policies are developed and enacted, arguing that this
terrain is increasingly informed by a range of neo-liberal precepts
which have fundamentally changed the ways in which we think about
educational governance. They also suggest that whilst in some countries
these precepts are resisted, to some extent, they have nonetheless
become hegemonic, and provide an overview of some critical issues in
educational policy to which this hegemonic view of globalization has
given rise, including:
- devolution and decentralization
- new forms of governance
- the balance between public and private funding of education
- access and equity and the education of girls
- curriculum particularly with respect to the teaching of English
language and technology
- pedagogies and high stakes testing
- and the global trade in education.
These issues are explored within the context of major shifts in global
processes and ideological discourses currently being experienced, and
negotiated by all countries. The book also provides an approach to
education policy analysis in an age of globalization and will be of
interest to those studying globalization and education policy across the
social sciences.
