In this paper, I develop a critique of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-based lifelong learning policy discourse with a particular focus on "key competencies" (KCs) and its equity implications for school curricular policies. First, I review the discussion of KCs in the writings by the OECD-affiliated…

The case study is justified as a viable and valuable approach to educational research and program evaluation. Critiques of three common epistemological justifications of case study are provided, and four strategies for making the case for case study are discussed. (RM)

Case study research (1) is an intervention, and often an uncontrolled intervention, in the lives of others; (2) provides a biased view, a distorted picture of the way things are; and (3) is essentially conservative. (RM)

Discusses transnational knowledge transfer, the exchange of theories, models, and methods among countries with little common heritage, focusing specifically on the transfer of the "inquiry teaching method" from the United States to Korea. Describes the transfer process and the need for a critical assessment of the proposed changes. (GEA)

Central to teaching is a grand dichotomy: public and private. Children need the protection of privacy to form their own identities: they try out new roles and need to be sheltered from some consequences of these attempts so that they feel confident to keep trying. Forming an identity, however, is also a public concern: the very roles that children…

Recommends and explains why case studies are a good way of evaluating curriculum and giving direction and a rationale to policy decisions about curriculum development in schools. Describes and analyzes various descriptive, analytical, and deliberative case studies. (CK)

Argues that the issues of good teaching practice and professionalism are at risk of becoming marginalized in the developing market culture. Finds that a growing compliance of schools to middle-class parents may result in the overriding of teachers' professional judgments that do not mirror the perceived requirements of these "valued"…