Diversity, equity, and inclusion are laudable objectives, but how do we move beyond a proclamation of value to the gritty work of critique, openness, and action? One practice in institutional improvement is to focus on what can be counted, but cultural changes are more difficult to see. Finding ways to observe and measure what is inherently…

Human Rights Education (HRE) is critical to human development and societal transformation. In India, although HRE emerged in the 1980s, its incorporation in higher education has not yet reached its full potential. Using the state of Tamil Nadu as our case study, this paper evaluates the integration of courses on human rights in universities and…

The rise in the use of scientific evidence as a basis for educational policymaking has been a noticeable feature globally. In this study, we describe and discuss how educational research is used to make policy and governing evidence-based. To illustrate this, we use the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (SSI) as a case and focus on two of the processes…

Introducing English as a foreign language (FL) has become widespread in ECE in Europe, typified by initiatives involving specialist teachers of English visiting settings for short periods of time a week. This paper shares data from a study in Portugal that involved analyzing collaborative practices for evidence of approaches to integration in the…

Little is known about the role of local school boards in the policy-making process, particularly in terms of educational equity. Framed by concepts from existing scholarship on school board effectiveness, cultural responsiveness, and the opportunity gap, this article critically explores how school boards address policies and practices related to…

This article explores the uptake of so-called fast policy solutions to problems in different education policy contexts and highlights the potential impacts that can arise from such policymaking approaches. We draw upon recent literature and theorising around notions of fast policy and evidence-informed policymaking, which suggests that, in an…

In 2011, Southampton Solent University, a post-1992 university in southern England, introduced a new marking scheme with the aims of changing marking practice to achieve greater transparency and consistency in marking, and to ensure that the full range of marks was being awarded to students. This paper discusses the strategic background to the…

Within Australian higher education, there has been an evolving of employability policy, realised in curriculum, at an intersection of the constructs of employment, work-readiness, life-long learning, and career development. The enactment of employability policy has driven an evolution in the practices of higher education in both curriculum and…

Many national, state, and institutional policies and initiatives advocate for change in higher education through structured forms of data use. The case study of "Old Main University" presented in this article shows how local reformers (n = 9) drew on data and data use tools provided by a long-term action research project implemented at…

In this paper, we present a case study of a philanthropic literacy initiative, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a book-gifting scheme for under 5s, and consider the impact of the scheme on literacy policy in the English city where it was introduced. We bring four lenses to bear on the case study. First, we analyse the operation of the scheme in…

Australia's schooling systems, like many around the globe, are currently pursuing a 'school improvement' policy agenda. Schools, and school leaders, are under pressure to improve student achievement as measured through high-stakes testing, the results of which are often publicised with little contextual information attached. Research has…

This paper relates most closely to David Raffe's writing on "policy borrowing" across countries and across time and his illumination for policy purposes of transition concepts such as "pathways". The discussion makes the point that concepts can both illuminate empirical reality as well as distort it. The paper then moves on to…

The article analyses the redefinition and distribution of powers between central governance and local actors in English independent state-funded schooling. Earlier research on governance confirms the importance of the local and the school level in reshaping national-level reforms and steering policies. The research draws on data from interviews…

History has much to offer education in emergencies scholars and practitioners. Most research in this field comprises qualitative case studies and, to a lesser extent, quantitative experimental studies, both of which tend to focus on either the impact of interventions or whether education processes or structures are a cause or effect of conflict. I…

Background: Around the globe, education policy borrowing remains pervasive and prevalent. The strategies, interventions and innovations of education systems that perform well, in international assessments, are enthusiastically borrowed and copied in the anticipation of similar educational performance and outcomes. Purpose: This purpose of the…