“Weg Da—Wir Wollen Lernen!” Education Reform in Hamburg, Germany in Neoliberal Times

2013 ◽  
Vol 115 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Jeff Bale
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
News Media ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Reform Measure ◽  
Interpretive Communities ◽  
Critical Policy

Background/Context This paper is in dialogue with critical policy scholarship that has developed a certain consensus about what neoliberalism is and what its impact has been on recent education policy. A substantial part of the paper comprises a synthesis of recent German scholarship on neoliberal education policies in that country. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Drawing on critical analysis of neoliberal education policy, this paper examines a recent education reform measure in Hamburg, Germany. A key component of the intended reform measure was defeated by a ballot initiative spearheaded by a coalition of Hamburg residents widely understood to represent the city's wealthy elite. Making sense of the controversy over this reform measure is the central goal of this paper. To do so, I identify five features of neoliberal education policy in Germany and use them as a framework within which to read the specific reform measure in Hamburg and the resistance to it. Research Design This paper reports an interpretive policy analysis and draws on document sources from four interpretive communities: (a) Hamburg's education ministry; (b) two pro-reform coalitions; (c) one anti-reform coalition; and (c) news media sources. A total of 389 documents were collected for this study, to which I applied a grounded theory approach for data analysis. Conclusions/Recommendations By reading this controversy against previous scholarship on neoliberal education policy, I argue that this specific case of education reform in Hamburg does not follow the pattern such analysis would predict. By stressing this divergence, I neither intend to challenge the consensus on neoliberalism within critical policy scholarship, nor to position this reform policy as a panacea to neoliberal ills. Rather, I argue that the anomalous nature of this specific reform effort in Hamburg provides two unique analytical opportunities: (a) to understand more deeply the constraints imposed by neoliberalism on schooling, especially in a context of policy making that bucks the neoliberal trend; and (b) to identify more clearly what educational policy strategies are required to move beyond neoliberal imperatives for schooling and society.

Contracts, Choice, and Customer Service: Marketization and Public Engagement in Education

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (11) ◽  
pp. 2460-2502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maia Cucchiara ◽  
Eva Gold ◽  
Elaine Simon
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Market Models

Background/Context Market models of school reform are having a major impact on school districts across the country. While scholars have examined many aspects of this process, we know far less about the general effects of marketization on public participation in education and local education politics. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article uses an examination of marketization in Philadelphia over a six-year period (2001-7) to explore its implications for public engagement—or the ability of individuals and groups to work with and influence the school district and hold officials accountable. Setting The research was conducted in Philadelphia, the sixth largest city in the country. In 2001, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took over the School District of Philadelphia, citing on-going fiscal crises and poor student achievement. The resulting reforms included new leadership, new governance structures, and significant privatization. Research Design This is a qualitative case study of school district change in Philadelphia, focusing on the implications for public engagement. Data Collection and Analysis Data included over 50 interviews with education administrators, civic and political elites, and representatives of grassroots and community groups. Data also included six years of participant observation at public meetings and in reform coalitions. Analysis followed a grounded theory approach designed to identify district policies and practices related to public participation and to document how these practices shaped the ability of individuals and groups to engage productively with the district. Findings/Results We find that the marketization of education in Philadelphia had a major impact on the district's institutional structure and practices for interacting with local stakeholders. Our data point to several changes that were particularly consequential in shaping the opportunities for engagement and the direction such engagement took. These are: a corporate governance structure, an emphasis on communication, widespread contracting out for services, an increase in school choice, and a focus on customer service. Conclusions/Recommendations These changes have resulted in channeling of public participation along individual lines at the expense of collective forms of action and, more broadly, undercutting of the understanding of education as a public good. Given the continued influence of market models of education reform at the local and national levels, it will be important for policymakers to pay close attention to the ways by which marketization can limit engagement and to develop strategies, such as increased transparency and new vehicles for public input, to address this tendency.

scholarly journals Shadow Education Policy in Korea During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112110138
Author(s):  
Huiyan Piao ◽  
Hyuna Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Government Regulation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Shadow Education ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Korean Ministry ◽  
The Government

Purpose: This study systematically reviews Korea’s shadow education policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for shadow education policy development in the future. Design/Approach/Methods: In terms of approach, this policy review analyzes selected documents using the analytical framework of shadow education policies. Selected documents comprise recently revised decrees, policies, and regulations issued by the Korean Ministry of Education, as well as policy notices issued by the Korea Association of Hagwon. Data are supplemented by triangulation with news media content. Findings: This study identifies tutoring policies at the legal level in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Government debate regarding shadow education largely centers on the closing of tutoring organizations and ensuring that online tuition fees adhere to government regulation. In respect to the expansion of the government-led shadow education partnership, the government’s increasing role in education has served to restrict the shadow education market. Originality/Value: The Korean government has adjusted its shadow education policies in response to COVID-19, altering its legal and economic status. An examination of Korea’s recent shadow education policies suggests future trends in the revision and development of shadow education in the country.

History of Education Policymaking in India, 1947-2016

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
History Of Education ◽  
Indian Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
History Of ◽  
Judicial Policymaking ◽  
Political Economic

This book chronicles the history of education policymaking in India. The focus of the book is on the period from 1964 when the landmark Kothari Commission was constituted; however, to put the policy developments in this period into perspective major developments since the Indian Education Commission (1882) have been touched upon. The distinctiveness of the book lies in the rare insights which come from the author’s experience of making policy at the state, national and international levels; it is also the first book on the making of Indian education policy which brings to bear on the narrative comparative and historical perspectives it, which pays attention to the process and politics of policymaking and the larger setting –the political and policy environment- in which policies were made at different points of time, which attempts to subject regulation of education to a systematic analyses the way regulation of utilities or business or environment had been, and integrates judicial policymaking with the making and implementation of education policies. In fact for the period subsequent to 1979, there have been articles- may be a book or two- on some aspects of these developments individually; however, there is no comprehensive narrative that covers developments as a whole and places them against the backdrop of national and global political, economic, and educational developments.

scholarly journals Innovations in medical education in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. s23-s29
Author(s):  
David B Duong ◽  
Tom Phan ◽  
Nguyen Quang Trung ◽  
Bao Ngoc Le ◽  
Hoa Mai Do ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Medical Graduates ◽  
Medical Education Reform ◽  
Crucial Component

Medical education reforms are a crucial component to ensuring healthcare systems can meet current and future population needs. In 2010, a Lancet commission called for ‘a new century of transformative health professional education’, with a particular focus on the needs of low-income and-middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Vietnam. This requires policymakers and educational leaders to find and apply novel and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of medical education. This review describes the current state of physician training in Vietnam and how innovations in medical education curriculum, pedagogy and technology are helping to transform medical education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It also examines enabling factors, including novel partnerships and new education policies which catalysed and sustained these innovations. Our review focused on the experience of five public universities of medicine and pharmacy currently undergoing medical education reform, along with a newly established private university. Research in the area of medical education innovation is needed. Future work should look at the outcomes of these innovations on medical education and the quality of medical graduates. Nonetheless, this review aims to inspire future innovations in medical education in Vietnam and in other LMICs.

English Education Reform in Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyang Sun ◽  
Xue Lan Rong
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
English Language Education ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
The Status ◽  
Globalized World

Language education is becoming an increasingly important topic in education in Asian countries, especially as schools in Asian countries have become more multilingual and multicultural as a result of rapid urbanization and globalization. A comparative analysis of the issues in language education reform in Asian countries—using China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore as examples—shows that, historically and currently, English language education policies are shaped by various underpinning ideologies such as linguicism, nationalism, and neoliberalism. English can serve as a vehicle for upward socioeconomic mobility, or an instrument of linguistic imperialism, or both, in Asia contexts. These ideologies, through language education policies and reforms, impact the status as well as the pedagogy and promotion of the English language. There is a trend and a need with regard to addressing critical consciousness in English education in order to counter the forces of linguicism and neoliberalism in an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and globalized world.

scholarly journals Colonial State as ‘New Manu’? Explorations in Education Policies in Relation to Dalit and Low-Caste Education in the Nineteenth-Century India

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-107
Author(s):  
Parimala V. Rao
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Colonial Administration ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Lower Castes ◽  
Priestly Class ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
Implementation Stage

The colonial state always asserted itself as a harbinger of ‘modernity’ and emphasised its role in India as a ‘civilising mission’. The 1811 Educational Minute of Governor General Minto, declared Hindus and Muslims of India as inherently corrupt and insisted on the British role as ‘civilising’. Conventionally the terms ‘modern’ and ‘civilising mission’ have been considered as offensive, and scholars have critiqued them as Eurocentric and racist. However, these terms have not been analysed at the implementation stage in India. The colonial government used these terms to actually strengthen the structures of the traditional hierarchy. When Minto declared that the education policy was to civilise Hindus and Muslims of India, it was through the ‘the dread of their religion in this world and the next’ and through strengthening and empowering the priestly class of Hindus and Muslims (Sharp, 1920, pp. 19–21). The colonial administration regarded this kind of education as the corner stone of its education policy. This article looks at the education policies of the colonial state towards lower castes in the nineteenth-century India and how these policies upheld and reinforced the caste system.

scholarly journals O Le Si'Osi'Omaga O Le Punafanau Lea O Se Gagana E Ola: The Linguistic Landscape Of Samoa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Faith Esera
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Official Status

<p>The official language of Sāmoa is Samoan, but the majority of the population speak English as a second language. Because of early contact with missionaries and colonial powers, the English language soon became widely acknowledged and used in Sāmoa. Even after Sāmoa became independent from New Zealand, the English language was and is still recognised, but not made official, in the Constitution of Sāmoa and education policies.  This paper reports on the languages that are present in the linguistic landscape of Sāmoa. The main purpose of the study was to identify the predominant language used in Sāmoa, and to analyse ‘hybridity’ or ‘dualism’ on signs that contained the Samoan language. The data consists of 987 signs taken from two survey areas, Apia and Salelologa, using a digital camera. Scollon and Scollon’s (2003) ‘Place Semiotics’ was used to give an overview of the preferred code in the LL of Sāmoa. The ‘Motu Analysis’, a reconceptualization of Backhaus’s ‘part writing’ types, was used to analyse how two or more languages are used and positioned on signs in the LL; this analysis responds to the research question on ‘hybridity’. The final step involved a closer analysis of the subset of signs containing the Samoan language to detect signs of hybridity through loanwords and semantic extensions.  The results of the analyses indicated that English is the dominant language in the linguistic landscape of Sāmoa despite lacking official status in the language policies of Sāmoa. The findings further reveal that the English influence on the Samoan language on the signs is reflected more in semantic loans than loanwords, revealing a healthier picture of the Samoan language. The study concludes with possible lines of research for further studies in Sāmoa and the Pacific.</p>

scholarly journals Social injustice in learning of the second language among immigrant children in Finland: conventional narratives and perceptions

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-100
Author(s):  
Frank Ojwang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Primary School ◽  
International Schools ◽  
National Language ◽  
School Level ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Host Countries

This is a comparative ethnographic research, comparing the primary school level migrant learners’ performance in the learning of the national language of the host countries in Finland and Tanzania. A response from nine teachers, drawn from Tanzanian International Schools, attended by expats’ children, was collected through structured interviews. Additionally, two In-Depth Interviews, targeting Tanzanian Swahili teachers at the international schools, was conducted using the narration approach. The study uses MAXQDA to comparatively analyze the findings of fourteen research articles on immigrant pupils’ learning challenges of the Finnish language as a second language in Finland, and gathered information from this study’s survey is used to analyze the use of Kiswahili as a second language in Tanzania. The research focuses on a comparative analysis of the learning and use of official languages of the host countries as second languages, used in facilitating learning among primary school learners. In Finland, the official language analyzed is Finnish, whereas in Tanzania, the official language analyzed is Kiswahili. The International schools in Tanzania offer Kiswahili lessons to all learners in primary school as guided by national education policy, whereas all public and international schools in Finland offer Finnish lessons for all learners under the education policy. The responses in both Finland and Tanzania are deconstructed qualitatively to illuminate the similarities and differences between European migrant learners and African migrant learners using a second language for learning, and to further deconstruct the nuanced epistemological injustice against minorities. The theories in this research are derived using the grounded theory approach.

scholarly journals ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY IN INDONESIA: Impact to Teacher Education and Professional Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203
Author(s):  
Satia Prihatni Zen
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
International Education ◽  
International Development ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
International Education Policy

The paper discussed the implication of adopting international education policy in Indonesia through international development aid and funding. Specific implications to teacher education and teacher professional development was discussed by analyzing two education reforms enacted in 1980 to 1990’s. The paper describes implementation processes and challenges faced by the programs from local dynamics especially on how social, political and historical influence teacher identity as well as teaching culture. The implications to school, district as well as national policy was discussed in light of uniformity of educational system by dissemination of best practices and model of education through aid and other cooperative projects. Local responses to international education policy is increasingly relevant to ensure education reform will respond local needs and sensitive to local context.Artikel ini mendiskusikan implikasi dari mengadopsi kebijakan international di Indonesia melalui dana dan bantuan international. Khususnya, dampak pada pendidikan guru dan perkembangan professional guru dikaji melalui dua program pendidikan yang diterapkan pada tahun 1980-an hingga 1990-an. Deskripsi dari pelaksanaan dan tantangan yang dihadapi dalam implementasi program tersebut dilihat dari konteks local dimana pengaruh social, politik dan sejarah mewarnai konsepsi identitas guru serta budaya pengajaran di sekolah. Implikasi pada kebijakan sekolah, pemerintah local dan nasional dimana kecenderungan akan penyeragaman system pendidikan terjadi melalui kerjasama dan bantuan juga dijabarkan. Artikel ini menekankan pentingnya respon local yang relevan terhadap penerapan kebijakan pendidikan internasional agar sensitive terhadap kebutuhan dan konteks local itu sendiri.

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