Europe's knowledge economies need high-level skills, the capacity to innovate and to support democratic societies. In this perspective, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of higher education and how this is promoted in various countries in Europe and beyond. The evidence, conclusions and…

Research illustrates the importance of greater teacher diversity because of the substantial benefits teachers of color provide to all students, and to students of color in particular. Studies also show that policies must focus more effectively on retention of teachers of color, if diversity in the teaching profession is to be sustained. While more…

This paper explores the role of evidence in maternal health policy processes in Vietnam, India and China. Both formal and informal types of evidence were used; and differences were found between the stages of policy processes. Evidence used mostly covered easily quantifiable issues and clearly identifiable technical solutions. Different policy…

This article aims to reveal the kind of discourse which now shapes policy and practice, and the negative effect that this discourse has on how teachers have to see their role, marginalising them in major educational decisions and curriculum development.

Over the past three decades, perceptions about the role of local population in policy development process have deeply changed. This change is related to the idea promoted by international institutions that the development actions cannot succeed without a strong local ownership and a broad approach that guarantee active participation of local…

The fact that "philosophy," to many people, is just a mysterious word that brings to mind images of white beards and mysticism is no surprise. Contemporary society seem to have little reason to value a field devoted to ideas rather than production. Simply, philosophy is impractical, a distraction from the important world of growing an…

This essay connects a number of recent books relating, in different ways, to the contentious issue of how teaching might be better guided by research evidence. In order to shed light on this problematic area, Terry Wrigley begins by pointing out that raising awkward questions about terms such as "evidence- based teaching" is not the same…

Latin American teachers' unions have stepped into the policymaking sphere and shaped education policies unrelated to regular workplace priorities like salaries and class sizes at notable moments. The literature on teachers' unions in Latin America has not addressed this, tending to focus instead on those unions' history and role in social…

This policy implementation study examines the experiences of four elementary school principals using photomethods. We employ Rancière and Merleau-Ponty's theorizations on "democracy" and "making sense" to understand the lived policy experiences of school principals and these individual's potential for practicing democratic…

Australia has had a mixed history in the way in which policy research has related to higher education policy. Recognising a history of policy-related research and to some extent research-informed policy-making, Australia has followed the trend of other New Public Management-driven systems of de-emphasising policy-oriented independent research. In…

European countries and their regions are trying to develop quality foreign language policies to help citizens become communicatively competent. The Spanish region of Andalusia has implemented Bilingual Education since 2005, whereas in the United Kingdom the take-up rates of languages in schools are low despite the linguistic demands that Brexit…

In many U.S. states, legislation seeks to define effective instruction for beginning readers, creating an urgent need to turn to scholars who are knowledgeable about ongoing reading research. This mixed-methods study considers the extent to which recognized literacy experts agreed with recommendations about instruction that were included on a…

Migration over the U.S. southwest border in the past decade has been composed of growing numbers of undocumented and asylum-seeking families and children from Mexico and Central America, with larger increases starting in fiscal year (FY) 2017. By U.S. law, states must provide education to all children, regardless of immigration status. Yet…

This issue brief is one in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

Despite Italy's extensive participation in most large-scale assessments, their actual influence on Italian educational policies is less easy to identify. The present contribution aims at highlighting and explaining reasons for the weak and often inconsistent relationship between international surveys and policy-making processes in Italy.…