The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of a standards-based curriculum for what constitutes knowledge in different teaching contexts. The research question is as follows: How is the logic of uniformity within curriculum standards recontextualised into actual teaching in different school environments, here focusing on the concepts…

Through a series of conversations, Fintan McCutcheon and Joanna Haynes explore McCutcheon's reflections on school leadership in the contexts of the Educate Together movement (in the Republic of Ireland) and, specifically, in his aspiration to build an optimally democratic school in Balbriggan. Much of the academic and professional literature on…

Research Findings: Social constructivist theories have proposed that caregivers' perceptions of children as morally responsible agents are an important factor in children's moral development. However, there is substantial variance in caregivers' ascriptions of moral agency to young children. The present study examined caregiver social conformity…

Developing summative assessment literacy for valid instruction is a qualification requirement for language teachers in Sweden. Yet novice teachers may be unprepared for how to implement regulations in practice. They may even experience a reality shock when facing large classes in which knowledge levels and motivation vary substantially or when…

Chile has followed the international trend of implementing a standards-based reform, with the particularity of encompassing both academic and non-academic outcomes. Drawing on interview data from four school cases in Santiago, Chile, this study examines the role of attitudes in reform enactment, analyzing whether and how school actors' attitudes…

This article examines the work experiences of academics in Spanish universities with respect to how individuals are affected by the complex requirements of neoliberal compliance and a culture of endogamy, often referred to as 'academic inbreeding'. The need to evaluate and be accountable for most aspects of academic work is relatively new in Spain…

In the context of international systemic reforms promoting professional standards for teachers and inclusivity of diverse students in schools, this paper presents and demonstrates conceptual means by which educators can critically respond to the uncomfortable couplet of standardisation and difference. This is primarily achieved by theorising…

This ethnographic case study, situated in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, examined the effects of full-scale provincial testing on families, its influences on homework, and familial accountability for teaching and learning. Data were drawn from family interviews, as well as letters and documents regarding homework. Teachers sensed a significant…

This paper analyses how teacher identity is shaped by professional standardisation and regulatory apparatuses in the context of English Further Education from a specifically spatial perspective. We focus on how these apparatuses erode teachers' sense of identity and, paradoxically, quality by establishing what anthropologist Marc Augé (1935-2023)…

Introduction: Research Integrity is based on fundamental principles, including reliability, honesty, respect and accountability. Practices that threaten these standards are classified as research misconduct and fraud and the resulting publications must lead to retraction. Although research in medical education impacts university policies and…

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…

The "Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 (HES Framework)" sets out the admissions standards for all registered higher education providers. The "National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students" 2018 (National Code) includes admissions standards where higher…

This Policy Brief draws on the "Quality beyond Regulations" policy review undertaken by the OECD between 2018 and 2022 to foster an understanding of the different dimensions of quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC), focusing on process quality in particular. Process quality encompasses children's daily interactions through…

The paper studies the rise of neuroscience in initial teacher education, paying attention to the relatively recent Australian Government (2023) report titled 'Strong Beginnings'. In taking up a critical policy sociology lens, we focus on the first priority within the reforms, which is mandating brain science and the 'brain and learning' as core…

Spreading like wildfire, school autonomy with accountability (SAWA) policies have transformed education worldwide. Rooted in new public management, SAWA is a 'policy bundle' that links greater decision-making at the school level with standardization and monitoring practices like large-scale assessments and performance indicators. As with every…