Between 2011 and 2015, at the dawn of the global financial crisis, Spain went through severe austerity measures that led to social unrest and to the emergence of new expressions of collective action. In the educational field, teachers' unions and grassroots movements organised against the neoliberal and neoconservative policies promoted by the…

This study investigates the extent of portable classroom use in the province of Ontario between the years 2010 and 2020. The research uses administrative data obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Education and from the 27 largest school boards in the province. The findings reveal that portable classrooms are used as long-term solutions to address…

Higher education has long been seen as a vehicle for social mobility for individuals and an engine for national advancement. Yet, over the years, as governments worldwide have faced competing priorities and declining revenues due to economic challenges, funding for post-secondary institutions has been negatively impacted. For example, in the…

Background: Since the introduction of austerity measures in 2008, funding for care, welfare, services and support systems in the United Kingdom has been reduced. There is little research that explores the experiences of parents of adults with intellectual disabilities and service providers regarding care, relationships and social networks in times…

In the past decades, the development of higher education institutions (HEIs) in industrialized countries has become intertwined with innovation policy and the goal of national competitiveness. Focusing on the discourses on innovation by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), this article illustrates the transformation of Finnish higher…

Despite much empirical evidence highlighting the harmful effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on educational outcomes, there is a relative lack of understanding of how different risk factors impact upon attainment. Importantly, it has yet to be established what effect, if any, austerity cuts have had on the most disadvantaged students. Using rich…

Experimental education in Taiwan developed rapidly since the promulgation of the "Three Acts Governing Experimental Education" in 2014, after which public experimental schools were established in response to local educational needs. The majority of restructuring cases have involved small rural schools faced with high drop-out rates and…

This article analyses the process of reforming the governance of Danish universities, from an anthropological perspective. Observers saw that the assemblage of steering concepts, tools and mechanisms in the 2003 Danish university law could be articulated in two contrary ways: one would make the university into a "power force" with ideas…

The article begins with South Africa as a false metaphor for racial progress, clarifying how the removal of apartheid policies ultimately justifies ongoing anti-Black structures that reinforce societal segregation. While educational sectors appropriate movements to decolonise racially disparate systems, minor educational reforms proliferate across…

Academic libraries around the world are cancelling big deal journal subscriptions at an increasing rate. This is primarily due to budgetary challenges, the unsustainable hyperinflationary pricing of these packages, and a need to move toward new open access models. It is a complex situation with many vested interests and stakeholders. Some…

This paper reports on research conducted with staff employed in the Australian higher education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector has been significantly impacted, particularly those institutions heavily reliant on revenue from international student enrolments. Universities moved swiftly to introduce cost-savings measures such as,…

We evaluate the demand and supply side effects of a policy which cuts funding to a significant portion of publicly funded private classes in Portugal, "Contratos de Associação" (AC), in which students do not pay tuition fees and are under the same admission criteria as in Public Schools -- i.e., these private schools cannot select…

For the last two decades, Finnish universities have faced the implementation of new systems of control and undergone dramatic changes that have worsened academic working conditions -- such as corporatisation and budget cuts. This article explores Finnish academics' experiences of university reforms with a special focus on the consequences it has…

This paper focuses on an area of privatisation that has not to date received significant attention in educational research: the privatisation of infrastructure, facilities and maintenance, and in particular the labour of cleaning. Analysing the case of Victoria, Australia, we demonstrate how successive governments have defended the privatisation…

Intellectually disabled children experience unique vulnerabilities related to poverty. The literature further identifies strong concerns for service delivery and practice with intellectually disabled children in the context of austerity measures arising from economic recession. Statistical data in Ireland are well developed on the equality impacts…