Subject departments are an increasingly important unit of analysis for research on schools and beginning teachers' experiences. By analysing a practice-based typology of eight departmental types through an exploratory factor analysis of questionnaires completed by beginning teachers (n = 55), the authors refined the typology to four (hierarchical;…

The institutional form and conception of Higher Education have changed through the growth of mass higher education, which in many national systems now operates on market logics. Drawing on theories of credentialism, this article provides a critical analysis of the inter-relationship between massification and marketization and examines a range of…

This article considers the changed fortunes of teachers in 2023. It asks, 'how did we arrive at a culture of efficiency, effectiveness and delivery accountability -- a culture which scares away our teachers?'. The thinking and language of Heidegger shows the power of language in asserting dominance and changing cultures. The architect of…

This paper performs a critical examination of the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF), which was accompanied by an Inspection Handbook for Further Education and Skills, and argues that this policy document reinforces the neoliberal project in education. Drawing on concepts from Michel Foucault's analysis of the nature and effects of…

Performance-based accountability systems that rank schools based on their effectiveness produce 'winners' and 'losers'. Substantial evidence has pointed to the (side)effects of these classifications, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities. Whilst previous studies have compared schools under different effectiveness categories within and…

This study discusses the impact of neoliberalism on legal education in England and Wales and the challenges and opportunities it presents. Neoliberalism is characterised by a focus on economic efficiency, competition, and individual responsibility, which can result in the commodification of education. The adoption of neoliberal policies in legal…

This is a qualitative study that examined the impact of academic capitalism on academic managers at five land-grant universities located in the Southwest United States. This study included in-depth interviews of Presidents/Chancellors, Provost, and Academic Deans to gain insights into their perception of academic capitalism, neo-liberalism,…

Ten years on from the formation of SOLAS (An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaig agus Scileanna) and the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland, it is appropriate to reflect on where adult education lies in the new Further Education and Training (FET) sector. This paper uses Denis O'Sullivan's schematisation of policy paradigms (2005) as an…

School systems are shifting towards forms of post-bureaucratic governance (PBG), implying higher levels of school autonomy, choice, and performance-based management. Under this governance approach, which combines forms of administrative and market accountability, schools face greater levels of competition and external pressure to perform. Schools…

In this reflective piece the author focuses on the meaning that he made of inclusion in a book that was published almost twenty years ago. He then reflects on the meaning he makes of the current situation. He explores the problematic nature of the concept of inclusion, whether labels actually enable inclusion, research-informed implications of…

The paper explores the policy logics of privatisation through service provision for students with English as an Additional language or dialect (EAL/D) in the state education system of Queensland, Australia. In the context of EAL/D, specifically targeted policy has been subsumed by a broader umbrella or meta-policy of inclusion, whilst at the same…

This paper engages, Sara Ahmed's theorising on 'the uses of use' to frame an analysis of the hidden, embedded effects of standardised testing policy that have become normative practice/s in Queensland, Australia. It (re)examines data from an ethno-case study into the datafication of assessment and learning over one school year, in primary and…

Drawing upon earlier studies of reforms and institutional changes in higher education, the purpose of this paper is to trace how the understanding of accountability has changed over the past twenty years and how it is understood to have impacted on higher education institutions. We do so by reviewing more than 350 papers and by asking three…

The intensification of data collection practices in schooling -- often due to state accountability requirements -- has resulted in the widespread adoption of commercial student management systems (SMS) in schools. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a New Zealand primary school, this paper investigates its adoption of a commercial SMS, and the…

Increasingly, competing discourses shape tensions between the role of the contemporary university and the global markets in which universities must exist. This paper draws on the examination of interviews with nine education academics in Australia to illuminate the construction of 'global' in the production of the global graduate (GG). Discourse…