Education Policy and Practice in International Perspectives

The course introduces research and contexts of education policy. It offers an overview of debates around policy at the level of international organizations, but also at the national level. It examines the relationships between policy contexts, processes and outcomes, and illustrates these through specific examples of policies in Europe and Sweden. The course draws on research on policy and reflects on the connections between education policy and school practice. In particular, the course is structured around: understanding policy in education, how it is implemented and received in schools; what are the values that policies represent and how these values are mediated in the contexts of education institutions, and; what does policy and research on policy mean for teachers and students. The course will use case studies to explore these themes, drawing on research in the fields of: - teacher education and inclusion practices for learners in need of adjustments in education and special support, - school marketization and privatization, and, - changing education governance in the European Union, and the role of international organizations in education policy. The case studies will have both Swedish and international comparative elements.