It is necessary and desirable to enhance student learning in higher education by integrating multiple perspectives during institutional policy reviews, yet few examples of such a process exist. This article describes an institutional assessment policy review process that used a questionnaire to elicit 269 students' perspectives on a draft policy…

Higher education systems in Central and Eastern Europe have faced numerous challenges in their transitions following the collapse of totalitarian regimes in 1989-1990. Romania, as a country that is representative of the specificities of this particular region, as well as a relatively new member of the European Union, is a privileged site for…

The policy diffusion framework is critical to understanding the spread of policy innovations such as charter schools in the United States. This framework, however, is less instructive in explaining the state-by-state configuration of these policies. What explains the wide variation in charter school policy among states? This study addresses this…

The public narrative surrounding efforts to improve low-performing K-12 schools in the U.S. has been notably gloomy. Observers argue that either nothing works or we don't know what works. At the same time, the federal government is asking localities to implement evidence-based interventions. But what is known empirically about whether school…

In China's latest school funding reform, the central government remarkably increases input in basic education. However, this fiscal re-centralisation of education provision is implemented through a highly decentralised administration structure and yet local governments have long been criticised by the public for their inefficiency and misconduct.…

This article investigates the ways in which students are constructed in contemporary English higher education policy. First, it contends that, contrary to assumptions made in the academic literature, students are not conceptualised as 'empowered consumers'; instead their vulnerability is emphasised by both government and unions. Second, it…

This article reveals three emerging areas of conflict in the use of educational assessment instruments in compulsory education in Switzerland and outlines an analytical approach for detecting and analysing these areas of conflict. The approach combines a conceptual perspective, an evaluation perspective and a teaching perspective to show the…

Central to improving the quality of education is developing a teacher evaluation system that promotes teachers' professional growth, the improvement of student learning, and educational equality for all students regardless of social factors such as socio-economic status, educational environment, race, and gender. To address these issues in South…

This article reports on the initial findings from an ethnographic study conducted in a preparatory class for young refugees in Cologne, Germany. Focusing on the current language policy which aims to integrate newly arrived children into the German society through language assimilation in schools, this study examines how such policies (re)produce…

As universities attempt to change their medium of instruction from the local languages to English and become more international by recruiting international students and teaching staff, their academic English language policies and practices appear to be more prominent. The use of English in higher education as the medium of instruction and the…

Despite the increased trend towards secularization in state schooling, issues of religion and spirituality have remained important. Increased pluralism within societies through expanding migration patterns is changing the religious and cultural contours of many countries in Europe and North America, and is creating a need for a deeper…

Recovering and critically examining the pioneering scholarship and history of George I. Sanchez provides an interpretation toward a legacy of a Chicana/o student and policy advocacy framework for Chicana/o scholars to consider. The author of this work applies a critical policy theoretical analysis by Frank Fischer to develop a Chicana/o student…

In a recent keynote speech Paul Standish noted "there is agreement in judgments. But how the response to those judgments is realised is always cultural" (paper presented to PESA Conference, Taiwan, 2012, p. 2). Making judgments about what constitutes "crisis" for children is not necessarily agreed universally, though clearly…

What counts as critical policy analysis in education? Over the past 30 years, a tightening of national educational policies can be seen in the USA and across the globe. Over this same period of time, a growing number of educational policy scholars, dissatisfied with traditional frameworks, have used critical frameworks in their analyses. Their…

Rigorous courses and advanced learning in K-12 are vital to preparing students for college-level course work and success in the workforce. Yet not all students get the same opportunities to participate in high-level courses. As they weigh their options for a fifth indicator under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), many states are considering…