We are living in an era where global university schemes only offer narrow conceptions of quality, relying too heavily on international ranking systems. This timely book present an alternative perspective on evaluating 'world-class universities', showcasing how eight very different higher education institutions have defined and are pursuing excellence in their own way. Each case study highlights how institutions can align their work with shared values and goals, and strive to uphold these p...

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 ...

There is constant pressure on governments and policy makers to raise the standard of education, and to develop appropriate curriculum and pedagogies for students. It is no easy task. This book presents eight specific case studies of education reform implementation which capture how the design and implementation choices of policy makers are shaped by national and historical contexts. They offer real examples of the choices and constraints faced by policymakers and practitioners. The cases a...

Education is threatened on a global scale by forces of neoliberalism, through high stakes accountability, privatization and a destructive language of learning. In all respects, a GERM (Global Education Reform Movement) has erupted from international benchmark rankings such as PISA, TIMMS and PIRL, causing inequity, narrowing of the curriculum and teacher deprofessionalization on a truly global scale.In this book, teachers from around the world and other educational experts such as ...

Discover how high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the worldProducing highly skilled and committed teachers is not the work of a single innovative school or the aggregation of heroic individuals who succeed against the odds. In high-performing countries, the opportunities for teachers to learn sophisticated practices and continue to improve are embedded systemically in education policies and practices. Empowered Educators describes how this...

Teachers are the most important single element of the education system but what does it take to create high quality teachers in today’s world?Around the world, countries are struggling to understand how to change their schools to meet global demands. International comparisons have shown that schools in Finland lead the league tables, but why is this, what new policies and practices in teacher education have they developed and how do they support the changes? A number of European an...

Contextualizing Humanitarian work in history, justice, methods and professional ethics, this book articulates process skills for transformational partnerships between diverse organizations, motivating education, organisational learning and selecting the disaster workforce.

This open access book challenges international policy ‘groupthink’ about lifelong learning. Adult learning – too long a servant of business competitiveness – should be reimagined as central to democratic society. Young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, engage more in education and training, and learn more day-to-day at work, if provision is democratically organised and based on enduring and inclusive institutional networks, and when jobs encourage and reward the acquisitio...

Zhang analyses the phenomenon of private supplementary tutoring from a global perspective. The expansion of such tutoring alongside schooling is among the striking global shifts since the turn of the century. In many countries over half of the relevant cohorts of children receive private tutoring, with that proportion in some locations exceeding 80%. The sector has far-reaching implications for social inequalities, (in)efficiencies in educational processes, study burdens on students, famil...

School Management in Transition examines the impact of the neo-conservative political agendas which still hold sway in education. It describes the transition that has occurred in the school leader's role from teacher-administrator to quality control supervisor and how some schools have developed strategies to deal with the resulting issues.Based on a study carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the book analyzes issues such as decen...

The latest volume in the Routledge International Studies in Higher Education series, Accountability in Higher Education takes an in-depth look at accountability initiatives around the world. Various evaluations, reporting schemes, and indicator systems have been initiated both to inform the public about higher education performance and to help transform universities and colleges and improve their functioning. This edited collection provides a comparative analysis of the promises, ...

This global collection brings a new perspective to the field of comparative education by presenting trust, capacity and accountability as the three building blocks of education systems and education system reform. In exploring how these three factors relate to student learning outcomes across different international contexts, this book provides a powerful framework for a more equal system.Drawing upon research and case studies from scholars, policymakers and experts from internatio...