Leadership has been considered as an essential foundation for universities to flourish, more so in the context of emerging higher education systems. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, this paper reviews the challenges and prospects in the development of higher education leaders in selected countries of the Association of Southeast Asian…

Following on from the reflections on 'social action' [Pedler 2020, "On Social Action." "Action Learning: Research and Practice" 17 (1): 1-9., and Pedler 2021, "Action Learning for Social Action Taking Part in Social Change." Abingdon: Routledge], this paper examines how an 'action learning ethos' can provide guidance…

A successful implementation of educational reform relies not only on teachers, but also systemic support for them, and crucial involvement of multiple stakeholders. This qualitative study explores the implementation of 'learner-centred' pedagogy (LCP) in Rwanda. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three stakeholder groups comprising…

In the countries that receive aid from donor agencies, the educational policymaking process is not straightforward because the power and interest of donors contradict with national contexts. This qualitative study aims to investigate how educational policy decisions in Nepal, a country that receives foreign aid for its educational projects, are…

Purpose: This article examines the role the Australian Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) played in international education through the provision of trade union courses and exchanges. We consider how an investigation of trade union networks contributes to a richer understanding of international education linkages. Design/methodology/approach:…

Given the pervasive influence of patriarchy in politics, women in the political arena must be equipped to address the various challenges that come with it. Therefore, there is a need for political education tailored to their specific needs. Women's political representation plays a vital role in advancing democracy. This study investigated…

This article reports research on the implementation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013-2025, drawing on 49 extended interviews with senior policy makers at federal, state and district levels, and school principals, informed by a systematic review of international and Malaysian literature. The findings show that the reforms are poorly…

Purpose: Using a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden as a case, this article aims to explore the state governance of a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden and how officials at the state agency level made sense of the reform ideas and operationalized them in policy actions. Design/methodology/approach: Data were integrated…

Background: Despite the growing attention given to the political process of evidence-based policymaking (EBPM), we still know little about how evidence is processed at the early stages of the policymaking process, especially at the agenda-setting stage. Whether and when political elites pay attention to evidence-based information is crucial to the…

Based on arguments about the need for greater individual freedom, school choice was introduced in Sweden in the 1990s. Swedish municipalities now set up local school choice systems, whose organization varies between municipalities. This study is based on interviews with three politicians and two civil servants from two average-sized municipalities…

Children's policies at the local level stimulate initiatives in the municipalities to encourage child participation. In this article, we focus on the local political sphere as a space for the promotion of child participation and citizenship through digital mediation. It is in this immediate environment where the rights of children and adolescents…

This study explores the perceptions of government officials, teachers, and parents in Scotland regarding the use of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results to evaluate national education performance. International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) such as PISA have been increasingly influencing education policymaking worldwide,…

The purpose of this article is to reexamine the decision-making process on Portugal's entry into PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). The analysis indicates that the decision, which was not unanimous among the government members with responsibilities in the education field, was made in a context of normative emulation, with the…

Background: The COVID-19 crisis has been a fertile ground for misinformation due to several factors such as the uncertainty typical of crises, the hasty handling of information, the virality provided by social networks and the scarce resources that average citizens have to discern between what is true and what is false in the health information…

This paper contributes to the debate on the varieties of national manifestations of the public good(s) in higher education. Drawing on a set of 33 semi-structured interviews (with politicians, university managers and faculty), it addresses the three following research questions: How do the actors in the field define the public good(s)? To what…