Arthur Seldon (1916-2005) was a significant British neo-liberal economist in the second half of the twentieth century. From 1957 to 1988, as the "engine room" of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Seldon had been advocating the reform of "free" state education. He vigorously argued for education vouchers, by which each parent…

The last 25 years have seen a dramatic shift in tuition fee policy in England. This paper uses Critical Discourse Analysis to understand the motivations behind policy setting, comparing the pivotal reviews undertaken by Dearing, Browne and Augar. It concludes that four themes may have influenced tuition fee policy making: national politics and…

Global university rankings have reshaped the landscape of higher education (HE) across various parts of the globe. The intensified competition stirred by these rankings has significantly affected academic lifestyles. The quest for global university rankings has also inevitably increased the degree of homogenisation amongst universities. Given the…

This article is concerned with the discourses of teachers and teaching work that have circulated in UK and US education policy circles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on UK and US policy texts published in Spring and Summer 2020, we discuss how the policy discourses underpinning these texts re/define and mis/recognise teaching work. On a…

The transformation of higher education provision by neoliberal values has been well documented. However, recent criticisms and even attacks upon higher education indicate a new politics extending beyond neoliberalism. This article draws on the sociology of conventions to unpick the distinctions at work in these new criticisms of universities. By…

ESL teachers play important roles in teaching English and cultural orientation to immigrants coming to the US. They serve a variety of people residing legally within the United States such as permanent residents, refugees, migrant workers, asylees, parolees, and some citizens and international students. They also serve undocumented immigrants.…

Presidents exercise influence over policy discussion and options in America by the frequency and language they use to describe the current conditions, the perceived problems, and the solutions. The ability for presidents to articulate problems and solutions assumes an underlying purpose exists. This study examines how presidents frame the policy…

Learning Poverty (LP), the inability to read at age of 10 years has been the cynosure of concern and trigger for policy reform. Specifically, in India, the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) advocates several recommendations for epistemic justice and to thwart "learning poorness." This paper exposes that the proposals advocated by the…

In the months since inauguration, the Trump Administration has leveled a staggering number of threats on social programs--from executive orders to funding freezes and staff layoffs--that are already harming child care and early learning programs. These assaults on social infrastructure and aggressive moves to reshape the government are accompanied…

Imagine what education would look like if upon completion every graduate was guaranteed a job paying a living wage, democratically created, doing meaningful work… This is a political possibility in most countries in the world today: Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) demonstrates that, provided a country has sovereignty over its currency, which most now…

This study explores the development and implementation of the Indigenous Peoples' Education (IPEd) policy in the Philippines, which institutionalizes the practice of cultural interface by combining Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge systems in the Philippine curriculum. Using actor-centered institutionalism as an analytical framework, this…

Education is returning to a sense of normalcy, but as education issues remain in the headlines, parents, voters, and students are left dealing with both new and persistent problems. 2024 marks the continuance of education in the headlines and minds of Americans across the nation. As the United States recovers from pandemic learning, graduation…

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,…

This article discusses the growth of neoliberal student activism in Brazilian higher education, considering the role of organisations called neoliberal think tanks. The following questions are addressed: why and how do these think tanks operate in the field of higher education? How do they articulate and promote student activism? The study…

Education reform efforts stemming from the Programme in International Student Achievement have strengthened in recent years, particularly in response to the growth of global references societies -- high achieving educational jurisdictions such as Finland, Hong Kong-China, and more recently Estonia and Singapore. Despite political rhetoric,…