Cultural political economy and the international governance of education: A theoretical framework

Abstract

This chapter presents and discusses the value of cultural political economy (CPE) as a theoretical framework for the analysis of the international governance of education. CPE is situated historically as a contemporary example of attempts within the Marxist tradition to explore the relations between the cultural (the world of discourse and practice), the political (actors and institutions), and the economic. The chapter builds on the developed account of CPE to address the challenges presented by the European Union (EU) as an example of international governance. Established accounts of the development of an EU role in the governance of education since the launch of the Lisbon Strategy in March 2000 are examined so as to establish what a CPE approach can offer to attempts to complement and transcend them. In conclusion, the chapter acknowledges the aspects of CPE that remain undeveloped and problematic as well as underlining the terms upon which the CPE as presented here might need to engage with other theoretical approaches.

Citation

Jones, P.D. (2010), "Cultural political economy and the international governance of education: A theoretical framework", Karin Amos, S. (Ed.) International Educational Governance (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 12), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3679(2010)0000012005