One in every 10 children has a disability. These 240 million children, like all others, have hopes and dreams. Yet they also face unique challenges and barriers shaped by ableism and stigma. This report documents UNICEF and its partners' disability evidence generation from 2018 to 2022. It underscores the organization's deep-rooted commitment to…

Drawing upon French philosophy, this study offers a novel empirical and conceptual understanding of the newly launched European Universities Initiative. In 2019, higher education institutions across the European Union created 17 new alliances as part of the first pilot phase of the initiative. This is an experiment in European and global higher…

The European Research Council (ERC) receives many high-quality applications, but funds only a few. We analyze how members of ERC review panels assess applications in the first, highly competitive step of evaluations for ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants. Drawing on interviews with ERC panel members in different fields, we show that they adopt a…

Micro-credentials have gained significant interest due to their potential to create flexible learning pathways and offer real-time, up-to-date training for the rapidly evolving labour market. Additionally, international organisations have highlighted their capacity to elevate the value of non-formal education and foster inclusive higher education…

Worldwide, there is a pressing need for nations to seriously enhance the international dimension in higher education through international cooperation to stay competitive in a globalised higher education system. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an inter-governmental organisation formed in 1996. Since then, it has been actively involved in higher…

This paper analyses the role of libraries in the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more specifically, the impact and level of implementation of UNESCO's (2019) OER Recommendation in Higher Education libraries. This study, the result of a joint undertaking between a national R&D project and SPARC Europe, is based on an online…

This paper theorizes the affective and moral grounding of "best practice" policymaking, particularly how best practice operates as an affective regime that encourages certain affective norms. To illustrate this, the author takes up the example of best practices promoted by the CoE's "Digital Citizenship Education Handbook" for…

In recent years, the idea that the future is inherently unpredictable has gained considerable currency in educational policymaking. In this paper, we seek to critically examine and analyze the implications that stem from embracing this concept of the future. To do so, we focus on current discussions of 21-century skills, and more specifically on…

The work of the Council of Europe in plurilingual and intercultural education is highly influential in Europe and beyond and has been so for many years. The "Common European Framework of Reference" and its "Companion Volume," and related instruments, provide ways in which to implement policies and a broader vision of providing…

The importance of Digital Competence in teacher education has increased in recent years resulting in a range of digital competency frameworks aimed at guiding national and regional governments in their integration of digital competence in teacher education. The discourses and assumptions underpinning digital competence frameworks are discussed in…

In an age defined by rapid technological change, geopolitical upheaval, and post-pandemic realities, education and lifelong learning systems must adapt to meet shifting societal and labour market needs. As globalisation deepens connections between societies, economies, and cultures, education needs to balance promoting national identities with…

The European Union (EU) has repeatedly underlined the importance of higher education, research and innovation as drivers in the further development of Europe--economically, socially and culturally. One of the latest policy initiatives by the European Commission (EC) intended to promote this agenda is the European Universities Initiative (EUI)…

This paper examines competency-based educational policy-making in a global context. Specifically, it explores how the thinking around competency, spearheaded by international organisations and experts, has led to the development and deployment of a particular notion of global competency. Drawing on critical policy research, I examine three…

This dissertation examines the expansion of refugee student services in postwar France during three subsequent refugee crises involving students from Eastern Europe. More than just a product of Franco-Soviet Cold War relations, I show how French support for the students developed in the context of decolonization and contemporary migration politics…

This paper examines transnational circulation of political and pedagogical ideas associated with "éducation permanente" with particular reference to post-war Western Europe. It offers a socio-historical reconstruction of pan-European dissemination and reception of policy repertoires articulated by governmental and non-governmental policy…