Educational Policy and the Politics of Change

Governments around the world are trying to come to terms with new technologies, new social movements and a changing global economy. As a result, educational policy finds itself at the centre of a major political struggle between those who see it only for its instrumental outcomes and those who see its potential for human emancipation. This book is a successor to the best-selling Understanding Schooling (1988). It provides a readable account of how educational policies are developed by the state in response to broader social, cultural, economic and political changes which are taking place. It examines the way in which schools live and work with these changes, and the policies which result from them. The book examines policy making at each level, from perspectives both inside and outside the state bureaucracy. It has a particular focus on social justice. Both undergraduate and postgraduate students will find that this book enables them to understand the reasoning behind the changes they are expected to implement. It will help to prepare them to confront an uncertain educational world, whilst still retaining their enthusiasm for education.

Chapter 1 The policy phenomenon; Chapter 2 What is policy?; Chapter 3 Doing policy analysis; Chapter 4 Globalisation, the state and education policy making; Chapter 5 Educational restructuring; Chapter 6 Putting education to work; Chapter 7 Difference, social justice and educational policy; Chapter 8 The politics of educational change References; Index;

Sandra Taylor is Associate Professor, Miriam Henry is Senior Lecturer in the School of Cultural and Policy Studies at the Queensland University of Technology., Bob Lingard is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Queensland., Fazal Rizvi is Professor of Educational Policy and Administration in the Faculty of Education at Monash University.