Abstract
Aims
This paper reports on an analysis of recent developments in Scottish education policy, aiming to trace any alignment with current global education policy trends.
Methods
The research uses critical discourse analysis (Foucault, 2002; Jäger & Meier, 2009) to probe a selection of Scottish education policy texts i the light of current trends i global education (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010; Sahlberg, 2016). In particular, the textual data set is analysed for evidence of the influence of neoliberalism, new public management, total quality management, human capital theory, and GERM (the global education reform movement).
Main findings
Gillies (2013) suggested that Scottish education's policy stances on testing, the role of local authorities, and on tuition fees, then represented by default a rejection of international trends in education. This paper suggests that recent changes, however, such as the National Improvement Framework, represent a significant shift in policy discourse which amounts to realignment with current global trends (around GERM, for example). Current educational debate in Scotland rarely focuses on these strategic issues - some philosophical, some political - but instead concentrates on operational concerns and on performance data. This would suggest considerable, if implicit, political consensus around this significant re-positioning.
Conclusions
This paper argues that these changes have been introduced on an ad hoc basis, often in response to crisis political narratives (around SSLN and PISA, for example) and that there is an absence of a guiding, principled political position in relation to the framing of Scottish education within current ideological debate.
This paper reports on an analysis of recent developments in Scottish education policy, aiming to trace any alignment with current global education policy trends.
Methods
The research uses critical discourse analysis (Foucault, 2002; Jäger & Meier, 2009) to probe a selection of Scottish education policy texts i the light of current trends i global education (Rizvi & Lingard, 2010; Sahlberg, 2016). In particular, the textual data set is analysed for evidence of the influence of neoliberalism, new public management, total quality management, human capital theory, and GERM (the global education reform movement).
Main findings
Gillies (2013) suggested that Scottish education's policy stances on testing, the role of local authorities, and on tuition fees, then represented by default a rejection of international trends in education. This paper suggests that recent changes, however, such as the National Improvement Framework, represent a significant shift in policy discourse which amounts to realignment with current global trends (around GERM, for example). Current educational debate in Scotland rarely focuses on these strategic issues - some philosophical, some political - but instead concentrates on operational concerns and on performance data. This would suggest considerable, if implicit, political consensus around this significant re-positioning.
Conclusions
This paper argues that these changes have been introduced on an ad hoc basis, often in response to crisis political narratives (around SSLN and PISA, for example) and that there is an absence of a guiding, principled political position in relation to the framing of Scottish education within current ideological debate.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 22 Nov 2017 |
| Event | Scottish Educational Research Association Annual Conference : Educational Futures in a Changing Landscape: Bridging Boundaries or "Mind the Gap"? - University of the West of Scotland, Ayr, United Kingdom Duration: 22 Nov 2017 → 24 Nov 2017 http://www.sera.ac.uk/conference/ |
Conference
| Conference | Scottish Educational Research Association Annual Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | SERA Conference 2017 |
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Ayr |
| Period | 22/11/17 → 24/11/17 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- discourse
- globalisation
- policy
- GERM
