This concise, digestible book shows how the cultivation of reason became the defining aim of western education, and critiques how this aim has been eclipsed in recent decades by the neoliberal system of mass schooling imposed by the state. Chapters outline succinctly the history of western education and its origins in Ancient Greece, demonstrating…

China has established the world's largest education system. The gross enrollment ratio of pre-primary education, completion rate for compulsory education, and gross enrollment ratio of senior secondary education all exceed 90%. The gross enrollment ratio of higher education exceeds 60%, which is universally recognized as a high rate of enrollment.…

In this paper, we present the view that an ontological shift to complexity thinking will be significant in the future of physical education (PE). Complexity thinking not only moves PE beyond long dominant modernist approaches but also offers the opportunity to integrate many of the postmodern perspectives that currently seek to frame PE. Four…

This Special Issue was conceived and developed following a series of international conferences held in Asia, with a particular focus on critically reflecting upon higher education development in the region from broader social and political economy perspectives. Some of the papers in this Special Issue were selected from presentations in the East…

California's K-12 enrollment is projected to decline for the next two decades, driven by falling birth rates, reduced immigration, and out-of-state migration. With fewer students, districts receive fewer state dollars and may be forced to make tough decisions, including reductions to programs, staff, and/or schools. However, budget realignment…

The role of African higher education institutions has been embedded within the socio-economic and historical contexts of the continent. Understanding the nature of African universities, their roles in African societies, and their place in the global knowledge system demands comprehensive reflection of the historical trajectories of the sector…

The main actor in the learning process is the learner. The concept of "learner" goes beyond the educational level. The new reality in the educational environment presents challenges for the learning process, which mainly concern the adoption of new technologies in that process. The purpose of this commentary is to try to outline the…

Building on the findings of Cedefop's research project 'The changing nature and role of VET in Europe' (2015-18), this article outlines the development and transformation of European VET over the last two decades. Exploring change from epistemological-pedagogical, institutional and socio-economic perspectives, the research not only illustrates the…

This paper seeks to identify significant trends in mathematics curricula and teaching approaches in two education systems: the United States (a highly decentralised education system) and England (a highly centralised education system), with focus on 16-to-19-year-olds. The paper adopts a two-fold perspective: an historical overview, and comparison…

"Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL)" provides the content for what every technologically literate student should know and be able to do. It "defines what the study of technology in Grades K-12 should be, but it does not lay out a curriculum" (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000/2002/2007, p. 200).…

This paper draws on Bernstein's sociology of knowledge to examine the academic study of early childhood in England, involving scrutiny of how knowledge is recontextualised from contributory disciplines to take account of early childhood practice and professionalism, and of governmental influence on what counts as disciplinary and curriculum…

There is a growing consensus in political science research that higher education systems are classifiable into stable distinct types that reflect dominant trends in government partisanship. There is also a large body of higher education research that argues that higher education systems are changing and converging upon a neoliberal type, which is…

Kappan's editor talks with Queensland University researcher Anna Hogan about the rapid growth of commercial activity in Australia's schools and in school systems around the world. Private businesses have always sold textbooks, classroom tools, and other goods and services to public schools, and many teachers are happy to purchase and use them,…

This article offers a global overview of the burgeoning field of micro-credentials and their relationship to lifelong learning, employability and new models of digital education. Although there is no globally accepted definition of micro-credentials, the term indicates smaller units of study, which are usually shorter than traditional forms of…

Disciplines have contrasting substance and syntax, ways of organizing themselves and of defining rules for making arguments and claims that others will warrant. They have different ways of talking about themselves and about the problems, topics, and issues that constitute their subject matters. The evolution of a discipline begins with knowledge…