In 2014 the European Commission introduced a reform of its previous funding efforts in the realm of education, which grouped them together under a single banner, baptised 'Erasmus+'. The programme offers financial support for projects of transnational networks that are capable of gathering, even if only temporarily, a plurality of organisations,…

Understanding how teachers make sense of education policy is important. We argue that an exploration of teacher reactions to policy requires an engagement with theory focused on the formation of "the subject" since this form of theorisation addresses the creation of a seemingly coherent identity and attitude while acknowledging variation…

While it is generally acknowledged that being "historically informed" lies at the heart of critical accounts of education policy-making, the use of historically focused retrospective research methods within the field is rare. This paper makes the case for retrospective research at a time when some of the most significant episodes of…

Education is dangerous. Authoritarian governments and religions have persistently tried to control the content of education and ration its distribution. In the colonial world, education was always a site of struggle as the colonizing powers sought control and modernization, and the colonized sought some balance between protecting local cultures…

This paper was born of the authors' discussions about the imbalance between critique and constructive thinking within the sociology of education, and work on education policy. They were concerned that their research--and the body of work to which their research contributes--is becoming increasingly irrelevant to policy and practice. For British…

This paper sets out the theoretical and methodological approach of a study of the politics of persuasion and the mobilisation of interest in relation to the Trust schools initiative in England. Drawing on the discourse theoretical approach of Laclau and Mouffe the paper argues that the politics of consensus associated with New Labour reconfigures…

This article examines the role of the consultants in secondary schools and local authorities within a large-scale consultancy-based reform, the Secondary National Strategy (SNS), in London, UK. The SNS follows a cascade model of implementation in which nationally created initiatives are introduced and supported within local authorities (LA) and…

Policy sociologists typically research at large scale. This paper presents an example of a policy analysis which illuminates how policy is embedded in single incidents, lives and places. The case in point concerns the policy fetish for "closing the gap and raising the bar". This rhetoric is taken to mean improving the learning of all…

This paper builds upon an earlier analysis presented in this journal. Using official figures for school compositions and for outcomes at KS4 from 1997 to 2007, this paper considers each of the annual cohorts of new Academies in England, from 2002 to 2006. It shows that their level of success in comparison to their predecessors, national averages,…

In this paper we argue that education policy on HIV and AIDS is policy about life. As such, the contexts and the realities of teachers and learners in the classroom need to be embedded in the policy. We make a case that HIV and AIDS policy needs to extend beyond the prevention mode to one that includes care and support in the policy context.…

The past decades saw a rise in internationalised education in Europe. Based on case studies at Dutch schools, I argue that the introduction of this type of education can be understood by the increased need for schools to adapt to the social reproduction strategies of privileged social classes. School managers regard internationalised streams as a…

Relying upon recent research, this article puts into perspective the evolution of inequalities concerning both education and life chances in France since the 1960s. While a dramatic expansion of education has taken place, what consequences can one observe as far as social mobility and more broadly social reproduction are concerned? In fact, French…

During the 1980s, policies were introduced to reform the British education system along market principles. A heightened sociological interest in educational policy has generated several empirical investigations and critical analyses of these policies' effects at ground level. These analyses contain difficulties and inconsistencies that must be…

Critiques use of postmodernism in educational sociology. Analyzes the foundations of postmodern thought, differentiating among its aesthetic, philosophical, and sociological aspects. Examines contributions of Nietzsche and other nineteenth-century romantic conservatives. Postmodern educational thought misreads global educational trends and…

Little attention has been paid to the relationship between policy and space in the sociology of education. This paper analyses the relationships between educational policy change, in the form of the "Excellence in cities" policy initiative, and urban change in inner London. I propose, and apply, a framework for a spatialised policy…