This article discusses common geopolitical issues, such as globalisation, decolonialisation, and economic pressure that affect the development of teacher education policy in England, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia, Israel, Jamaica, Portugal, Japan, Poland, and China. It goes on to describe these nations' responses to these pressures and…

This paper aims to show the complex overlapping and interaction with exogenous influences in the processes of national policymaking by analysing a case of policy borrowing in Japan. Specifically, it explores the political circumstances under which the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was introduced to…

How has schooling functioned in the construction of meritocratic national systems historically? To what extent will these historical patterns and normative commitments continue in the new era of a global meritocracy? And ultimately, how can educators effectively balance the inherent tension between individual merit and standardized quality? Kariya…

We present the argument that the meaning of child care and the policies that address it are explicitly linked with national ideologies, work force participation, economic success, and child outcomes. The relationship between family and child care policies is cyclical in nature, with a nation's ideology and vision of family often driving child care…

The development of world-class universities is high on the policy agenda of governments across the globe. China's 985 Project is among the earliest national initiatives to concentrate research funding to build world-class universities. Ten years after it was initiated, the project has enabled selected institutions to improve their research and…

This chapter features a recent conversation with Dr. Arnold J. Love, a long-time proponent of internal evaluation and one of the most cited internal evaluation authors. In 1983, Love edited the first issue of "New Directions for Program Evaluation" on the topic of internal evaluation. He is the author of the book "Internal…

This article provides a comparative analysis of the development of lifelong learning in England and Japan, while addressing the multi-dimensional nature of "lifelong learning". The article argues that "lifelong learning" is a concept which has unusual adaptability and legitimacy, and for these reasons has been subject to…

In the past 150 years, educational systems have expanded and become integrally linked with economic, political, and social status in modern nation-states. As the stakes for education have risen, so has the call for more and improved use of scientific evidence as a basis for educational policymaking. Evidence from averaged scores on international…

Discusses the deregulation of telecommunications in the European Community, the impact of this deregulation on information services, and the possible effects of a truly common market on U.S. and Japanese information industries. A sidebar by Nancy Garman describes major online databases devoted to information about the coming European Single…

The original essays in this book examine reform-related issues in teacher education in Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Ukraine, the United States, and Western Europe. They also review the social context of the teacher, the economics and value of teaching, the pace of change, government policy and teacher control of the profession, and the evolving…