This article investigates policymaking for Norwegian lower secondary education, with a focus on policy problems and solutions emphasising pre-vocational education. The data consist of official policy documents such as Green and White Papers, hearings, propositions to the parliament, protocols of parliamentary debates and votes in the parliament.…

The purpose of this study is to trace and document the emerging contours of a Vocational Training, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (VTAELL) space in the EU via an examination of the policy framework built over time in this area over more than six decades, from the inception of today's European Union to the present day. Nineteen key primary…

Policy change is an integral part of the modern education policymaking process. Policy changes can be done with different tools, one of which lies in policy transfer. The cons and pros of the education policy change and transfer can be seen comprehensively in post-socialist states, as the education system changed fundamentally in line with…

This paper identifies and considers issues of perspective taking and communicative agency in applying Jürgen Habermas's discourse theory to policymaking in educational settings. The central question is whether Habermas provides an epistemic framework that supports reciprocal and sincere expressions of the views and interests of individuals in a…

Although there is increased need for closing the gap between educational research and policy to better enable effective practice, addressing the problem remains a challenge. A review of current literature reveals a lack of systematic guidelines which clarify how collaboration between researchers and policy-makers can actually be achieved.…

This study deploys Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to understand how educational standards take shape. To exemplify the inherently collective nature of standards and contingency in the process of standardisation, this study will present a case of the CEFR-J project launched by a group of Japanese university academics to modify the "Common European…

Interrupted time series (ITS) are often meta-analysed to inform public health and policy decisions but examination of the statistical methods for ITS analysis and meta-analysis in this context is limited. We simulated meta-analyses of ITS studies with continuous outcome data, analysed the studies using segmented linear regression with two…

Online learning, hybrid learning, correspondence education, hyflex learning, blended learning, and distance education are terms that have been used by institutions, scholars, policymakers, accreditors, and more to describe the variety of course delivery options that are available today. These terms may often be used interchangeably or in ways that…

Limited Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) knowledge among China's youth is a considerable challenge that impacts not only China but also the global progression towards sustainable development goals. This study aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of China's sex education policy, its evolution in recent years, and the role played by…

This paper delineates the intellectual history of endeavours to generate a unified science of child welfare in Finland in the early twentieth century by elucidating the efforts of leading Finnish protagonists to depict the concept of child welfare science. The idea of such a new science was not unique to Finland; similar trends emerged extensively…

Educational psychology is embracing the call to engage in more policy-oriented research. This special issue focuses on some of the key scholars in the field that are taking up this charge. Building upon their work, I aim to push the field to go even further, providing suggestions for how to engage in policy-oriented activism research within…

School reform is almost always born out of big dreams and well-meaning desires to change the status quo. But between lofty reform legislation and the students whose education is at stake, there are numerous additional policies and policymakers who determine how reforms operate. Even in the best cases, school reform initiatives can perpetuate…

The Department for Education (DfE) in England seeks to determine the actions of educationists in both the public and private sectors through the use of targeted instructive documents and white papers where broader policy intention is presented. Since 2010, as we will show, there has been a shift in the nature of such papers towards justification…

The article provides an overview of the conclusions reached by the British Academy Childhood Policy Programme in its final report. The programme explored the role of the state in childhood and how children and childhood are conceptualised in policy-making. The aim was to apply an inter-disciplinary social sciences and humanities lens in order to…

This study describes a key feature of modern, democratic policy making, namely the relation between stakeholder input and policy output. In the Nordic countries, there are long traditions for and democratic values attached to the dialogue between the government and civil society when developing policies for the educational sector. The case…