This Working Paper explores the extent to which learning assessment data influence education policymaking according to the available literature. It presents the key conclusions arising from this literature as well as problematic issues which are still open for discussion. It is based on a broader literature review conducted by the UNESCO…

This article discusses how Centres of Excellence (CoE) and the existence of several logics in these centres can contribute to the differentiation of the strategic profiles of universities. The study sees research centres as a way to organize research activities in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in order to target both excellence but also…

State-level governing boards (SLGBs) can play an essential regulatory role as intermediaries between the public, state-elected officials, and campus-level leadership. However, these boards have been understudied within higher education relative to their enormous potential to influence postsecondary institutions and state political dynamics via the…

For the last 30 years international assessments have become more widespread and systematic, and their influence on education policy has increased: the OECD through the PISA tests has played a major role in this process. This article reflects on the case of the countries of the Southern Cone: Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. It analyzes the…

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the school year for 50 million American students, and revealed the best and worst of public education: the best in terms of the heroic response by so many educators, support staff, students, and parents; the worst in terms of the intense light shone upon inequities that plague our system. As policymakers and…

This paper explores the 'media mentalities' about teachers and their work in the Australian print media. The notion of media mentalities draws on the theoretical concepts of discourse, mentalities, and mediatisation. This refers to the constructed realities and forms of thought in media coverage that circulate particular accounts. These are linked…

Demands on publicly funded scientific research to yield academic and societal impact have been commonplace for some time. Research communities, university administrators, and policy-makers are looking to impact assessments and impact tool kits to better communicate the value of scholarly work, increase collaboration with nonacademic partners, and…

This chapter focuses on institution-wide administration of advising and student success initiatives that address the complexity of higher education. The authors stress the importance of "staying the course" set by campus leadership (or setting a visionary agenda) while being responsible to stakeholders.

Global development programs from Agenda 21 (1992) to Agenda 2030 (2015) inevitably promote the importance of education for all, ie they call for equality in access to educational resources. Recognizing the reality of the emergence of a growing category of "mobile population" in the world and the challenges of regular and new migration,…

This article explores the tools and strategic options for policymaking of two European intergovernmental organisations in the area of citizenship education. The first section analyses the policy tools used to date, whereas the second section presents current global, political and education-specific challenges in the field. The third section…

In any society there is a link between social-intellectual (ideological) views and discursive structures in media. Therefore, it is possible to discover this relationship by clarifying appropriate discursive remedies in text analysis and eventually determining how it is and its application. Some journalists are very skillful in literature, their…

This paper applies political discourse analysis to an examination of gubernatorial rhetoric and agenda setting around higher education in Texas during Governor Rick Perry's leadership, from 2000-2015. The authors analyzed 28 gubernatorial speeches using manifest content analysis in STATA and qualitative coding via pattern matching in Atlas.ti.…

Launched in 2009, the college completion agenda aims to significantly increase the number of community college graduates by 2020. While the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) (2012) believes that the goals of the completion agenda can be achieved without institutions sacrificing their mission or reducing student services, little is…

This research looked at the growing space that Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is gaining in educational policy worldwide, and at the role Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) played in GCE agenda setting and policy implementation. Based on a comparative policy analysis carried out in 10 European countries, the political agency of NGOs was…

A common theme running through recent research on Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) and this special issue is the aim to improve the measurement of constructs via SJTs. Construct-driven SJTs differ from traditional SJTs in that they present a trait activating situation to test-takers and a more unidimensional set of response options that depict…