This book uses the global–local dialect approach to explicate education policy reform in Botswana and interrogates the practical effects of the various education policies on curriculum, pedagogy and governance of the Botswana General Education system. Considering the effect of three reform policies since Botswana’s Independence in 1966, the book evaluates the performance of each of the policies and examines their consequences in terms of the interplay of global forces and domestic pressures. The result of this interplay has been an education landscape that, while reflecting globally circulating education discourses, markedly differs from those same discourses. The book argues that the State in Botswana has appropriated education policy to legitimate itself in times of crisis and that each policy has improved access to general education but, collectively, have failed to improve its quality, making suggestions for how this can be improved in the future. As the first book of its kind to delve into education in Botswana from a single-authored critical lens, the book will be a highly relevant reading for academics, researchers and post-graduate students of African education, comparative education, education policy and curriculum studies.
This book uses the global-local dialect approach to explicate education policy reform in Botswana and interrogates the practical effects of the various education policies on curriculum, pedagogy and governance of the Botswana General Education system. Considering the effect of three reform policies since Botswana's Independence in 1966, the book evaluates the performance of each of the policies and examines their consequences in terms of the interplay of global forces and domestic pressures. The result of this interplay has been an education landscape that, while reflecting globally circulating education discourses, markedly differs from those same discourses. The book argues that the State in Botswana has appropriated education policy to legitimate itself in times of crisis and that each policy has improved access to general education but, collectively, have failed to improve its quality, making suggestions for how this can be improved in the future. As the first book of its kind to delve into education in Botswana from a single-authored critical lens, the book will be a highly relevant reading for academics, researchers and post-graduate students of African education, comparative education, education policy and curriculum studies.
Globalization, Education and Social Justice, which is the tenth volume in the 12-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, presents up-to-date scholarly research on major discourses concerning global trends in education, social justice and policy research. It provides an easily accessible, practical yet scholarly source of information about the international concern in the field of social justice, globalisation, and policy research. Above all, the book offers the latest findings to the critical issues in education and social justice globally. It is a sourcebook of ideas for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in education, globalisation and social justice education reforms around the world. It offers a timely overview of current issues in social justice affecting education policy research in the global culture. It provides directions in education, and policy research, relevant to transformational educational reforms in the 21st century. The book critically examines the overall interplay between globalisation, education reforms, and social justice. It draws upon recent studies in the areas of globalisation, social justice education reforms and the role of the State. It explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable in the research covering the State, globalisation, equity, education, and social justice. It demonstrates the neo-liberal ideological imperatives of education and policy reforms, and illustrates the way the relationship between the State and education policy affects current models and trends in education reforms for social justice and schooling globally. Various book chapters critique the dominant discourses and debates pertaining to the politics of social justice and education globally and the newly constructed and re-invented models of neo-liberal ideology in education and policy reforms. Using a number of diverse paradigms in comparative education research, ranging from critical theory to post-structuralist discourses, the authors, by focusing on globalisation, social justice and democracy, attempt to examine critically both the reasons and outcomes of education reforms and policy change for social justice. The volume offers a more informed critique on the Western-driven models of education reforms and implications for social justice. The book also draws upon recent studies in the areas of equity, cultural capital and dominant ideologies in education. The general intention is to make Globalization, Education and Social Justice available to a broad spectrum of users among policy-makers, academics, graduate students, education policy researchers, administrators, and practitioners in the education and related professions.
We offer in this book a collection of chapters that reflect a broad range of issues linking globalization to education in an accessible yet theoretically grounded and detailed form. The authors analyze phenomena on the global plane, in local spaces, and in the connections between the global and the local. New developments such as the growing impact of technology on education, the emergence of new policy actors, the growing expansion and segmentation of higher education, the salience of human rights, among others, are emerging as powerful agendas shaping all levels of education. In fundamental ways, the forces of globalization challenge the previous approaches and theories of national development. Recognizing the areas of convergence, dissonance, and conflict should help us grasp with greater clarity the implications of globalization for education and knowledge in the XXI century. The contributors to this book include both well-known scholars in the field of comparative education as well as young scholars. The chapters present a balanced geographical coverage in terms of authors and the countries/regions examined. The second edition has been thoroughly updated throughout and contains seven new chapters. The expanding interest in the intersection of education and globalization has brought up several new topics, including: the salience of global education policies, notably EFA; the expansion and differentiation of higher education; the emphasis on work-related training; the increasing role of non-state actors such as the transnational corporations; and greater attention to human rights. Also in this new edition is a chapter on qualitative methodologies especially suitable to the understanding of the intersection of globalization and education.
This book explores the interrelationship between ideology, the state, and education reforms, placing it in a global context. It examines some of the major education reforms and policy issues in a global culture, particularly in light of recent shifts in quality and standards-driven education, and policy research. The book critiques the neo-liberal ideological imperatives of current education and policy reforms, and illustrates the way the shifts in the relationship between the state and education policy affect current trends in education reforms and schooling globally. With this as its focus, the book’s individual chapters highlight hand-picked scholarly research on major discourses in the field of comparative education. A compendium of the very latest thinking on the subject, the book – like the other volumes in the series – offers a state-of-the-art sourcebook for researchers, practitioners and policymakers alike. Not only do the chapters offer a timely overview of current issues affecting comparative education and education policy research in what is now a global educational culture; they also outline future directions that education and policy reforms could take. By doing so, they provide a comprehensive picture of the intersecting and diverse discourses of globalisation and policy-driven reforms in education. Individual chapters critically assess the dominant discourses and debates on education and policy reforms. Using diverse comparative education paradigms from critical theory to historical-comparative research, they address globalisation, ideology and democracy and examine both the reasons for and outcomes of education reforms and policy change. As such, they provide an informed critique of models of quality and standards-driven education reforms that are informed by Western dominant ideologies and social values.
A major aim of Comparative and Global Pedagogies: Equity, Access and Democracy in Education which is the second volume in the 12-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, edited by Joseph Zajda and his team, is to present a global overview of recent trends in equity and access in education globally. By examining some of the major education policy issues, particularly in the light of recent shifts in education and policy research dealing with equity and access, the editors aim to provide a comprehensive picture of the intersecting and diverse discourses of globalization, education and policy-driven reforms. The impact of globalization on education policy and reforms is a strategically important issue for us all. More than ever before, there is a need to understand and analyse both the intended and the unintended effects of globalization on edu- tional systems, the state, and relevant policy changes – especially in terms of equity and access, as they affect individuals, educational bodies (such as universities), policy-makers across the globe. Current education policy research dealing with equity and social inequality reflects a rapidly changing world where citizens and consumers are experiencing a growing sense of uncertainty, exclusion and loss of flexibility. Yet globalization exposes us also to opportunities generated by a fast changing world economy.
This book addresses the intersections of globalization, policy borrowing, and educational reform. Drawing upon multiple disciplines, it provides a comprehensive overview of globalization’s history, processes, theories, and trends, both generally and in education specifically. The book includes an in-depth discussion of policy borrowing, emphasizing its political nature, to provide an understanding of globalization’s impact on education. Portnoi interrogates the dominance of the Global North and the influence of the global governance organizations that serve as the core of the aid and development regime. Using a critical perspective, Portnoi emphasizes the manner in which local agents intervene to mediate the forces of globalization. The book provides a comprehensive foundation for students and scholars of comparative education and associated disciplines, including social foundations, educational policy, teacher education, higher education, globalization studies, sociology of education, and policy studies.
Since the 1990s, sub-Saharan Africa has experienced unprecedented attempts at reforming teacher and student classroom practices, with a learner-centred pedagogy regarded as an effective antidote to the prevalence of teacher-centred didactic classroom practices. Attempts at reform have been going on all over the continent. In fact, learner-centred pedagogy has been described as one of the most pervasive educational ideas in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Research has revealed that the major attempts have largely failed mainly because teachers have not been able to adopt instructional innovations to technical problems. This failure is also related to lack of resources, and poor teacher training programmes which lead to poor teacher quality, among others. This book attempts to explain why pedagogical change has not occurred in spite of the much energy and resources that have been committed to such reforms.The book also takes us inside what the author calls 'the socio-cultural world of African classrooms' to help us understand the reasons teachers dominate classroom life and rely disproportionately on didactic methods of teaching. Its conceptual analyses capture the best of both the sociology and the anthropology of education in contexts of poverty, as well as the politics of education.The book concludes that a socio-cultural approach should be the basis for developing culturally responsive indigenous pedagogies, though these may or may not turn out to be in any way akin to constructivist learner-centred pedagogies.
This book analyses key elements of the trade performance of the so-called BRIICS: Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa, in relation to the rest of the world, focusing on trade and other policies influencing that performance. It also presents a separate chapter for each country.
The goal of Perspectives on Student Affairs in South Africa is to generate interest in student affairs in South Africa. The papers contained herein are based on best practice, local experience and well-researched international and local theories. The papers in this book deal with matters pertaining to international and national trends in student affairs: academic development, access and retention, counselling, and material support for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are linked to national and international developments, as described in the first two papers. This publication will assist both young and experienced practitioners as they grow into their task of developing the students entrusted to them. All contributors are South Africans with a great deal of experience in student affairs, and all are committed to the advancement of student affairs in South Africa. The editors are former heads of student affairs portfolios at two leading South African universities.
