In response to uncertain times, liberal democracies aspire to develop anticipatory practices that usher in changes in policies and governance. These practices include creating visions and implementing roadmaps, which seek to address, and ultimately preempt, future challenges (Anderson, 2010). While such practices are increasingly implemented today…

This article analyses how the future has been discussed in Swedish higher education and research policy, providing an overview of public inquiries during the period 1970-2020. Expanding on the conceptual framework of German historian Reinhart Koselleck, the article approaches discourses on the future through the analytical lens of sociology of…

Youth violence is a national public health concern in USA, especially in resource-constrained urban communities. Between 2018 and 2021, the Healthy Communities for Youth (HCFY) program addressed youth violence prevention in select economically marginalized urban communities, with the HCFY program reducing the likelihood of youth-involved violent…

This study aims to observe and explain how Roman Catholic higher education institutions in France are adapting to the Holy See's modernization agenda through quality assurance (QA). Using a mixed-method research design, the study aims to unearth differences in policy implementation, and to understand these differences through the lens of…

In this article, we examine how policymakers from three Nordic countries, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, reflect on the future at 2 different points in time: just before the first PISA study (1998-1999) and more than 15 years later (2015-2017). The empirical data consist of interviews (N = 37) with national policymakers, collected in two comparative…

Young people are key stakeholders in the future, but their stake is rarely considered in decision making and policy development. In this paper we explore how climate change education can allow the voices of young people to be listened to and help young people imagine desirable futures and develop agency to address the steps, both personal and…

Inclusive educational reforms have important policy shift implications. This paper examines an educational policy reform from Chile, which focuses on transforming grade retention practices. Before this policy, grade retention in Chile was a common practice, largely unchanged over decades. Effective in 2020, the reform marked a significant shift…

As artificial intelligence (AI) expands its scope of applications across society, understanding its impact becomes increasingly critical. The OECD's AI and the Future of Skills (AIFS) project is developing a comprehensive framework for regularly measuring AI capabilities and comparing them to human skills. The resulting AI indicators should help…

Policy cycles are initiated via a variety of context-bound causal drivers. In situations where systemic reform is desired, agenda-setting is vital to this process. This paper examines 'The National Discussion on Scottish Education', which was a sequence of stakeholder engagements promoted as a listening exercise to enable policy agenda-setting for…

Transforming education systems to be fit for the 21st century is the common thread for creating inclusive and equitable societies resilient to conflict, climate change and economic crises. Now is the time for increased investment in African education systems. This paper describes: (1) the state of Africa's educational landscape; (2) innovative…

Universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) aim to provide the maximum support for the community. Hence, to obtain the optimum results, the educational policies must be in alignment with the societies' needs and prerequisites. The present research investigated the undergraduates' expectations of studying at university and the fulfillment…

Background: Co-creation in policymaking is of increasing interest to national governments, and designers play a significant role in its introduction. Aims and objectives: We discuss instances from our fieldwork that demonstrated how UK Policy Lab used design methods to gain insight into the design-oriented methods introduced to policymakers'…

In this article we question the discursive deployment of narrowing conceptions of the future in education in three provincial cases: Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Asserting that educational policy in Canada is grounded in the "future-logics" of educational innovation--reflective of an anticipatory orientation to governance--we…

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…

Laura A. Schifter and Jonathan Klein highlight the many ways in which K-12 schools and students have tremendous potential to advance solutions on environmental issues, and they provide frameworks for enacting change, in "Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment." Schifter and Klein demonstrate how the effects of climate change intersect…