Young people around the world are calling ever more urgently on policymakers to address today's global challenges of sustainability, structural inequality and social justice. So it is little surprise that learning in a global society, understanding sustainable development and being active global citizens are increasingly popular themes for…

This article draws on the sociology of Basil Bernstein to show how his detailed theories of "recontextualisation" and the "pedagogic device" provide useful analytic levers to examine the politics of educational change. We focus on recent policy developments that have significantly impacted Australian school education: the…