Handbook of Education Policy Studies : School/University, Curriculum, and Assessment, Volume 2

Handbook of Education Policy Studies provides a comprehensive and unparalleled collection of research examining the central role of policy in the international context of education and national development in the new millennium. It critically examines the processes of policy formulation and actualization, its modes of analysis, the limits and difficulties of educational change, and the changing boundaries that relate research communities and social and political actors. It extends and broadens the field to include curriculum studies in the examination of policies for social justice and equality, and explores the new complexities of the relations between policy, society, political systems and practices of educational policy research.

This handbook is unique in bringing together a broad spectrum of internationally respected scholars from multiple disciplines into one book by engaging in international, historical and cross-disciplinary analysis of policy studies, it effectively and fruitfully pushes the boundaries.

This open access handbook brings together the latest research from a wide range of internationally influential scholars to analyze educational policy research from international, historical and interdisciplinary perspectives. By effectively breaking through the boundaries between countries and disciplines, it presents new theories, techniques and methods for contemporary education policy, and illustrates the educational policies and educational reform practices that various countries have introduced to meet the challenges of continuous change. This volume focuses on policies and changes in schools and classrooms. The studies on school changes present the differences in the policies and challenges of K-12 schools and universities in different countries and regions, and in connection with the contradictions and conflicts between tradition and modernization, as well as the changing roles of various stakeholders, especially that of teachers. In terms of curriculum and instruction, many countries have undertaken experiments and introduced changes based on two major themes: “what to teach” and “how to teach”. International education assessments represented by PISA not only promote the improvement and extensive application of educational assessment and testing techniques, but have also had far-reaching impacts on education policies and education reforms in many countries. Focusing on the changes in educational policies at the micro level, this volume comprehensively reveals the complex interactions between school organizations, teachers, curricula, teaching and learning, evaluation and other elements within the education system, as well as the latest related reforms worldwide.