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This chapter aims to contribute to research on standards and regulation in education, taking as a point of departure three sets of interrelated policies, core to the globalised educational agenda: policies on competencies and skills, school autonomy and performance-based accountability, representing a new governmental logic founded on the values of efficiency, quality, competitiveness and outcomes. The chapter has a double purpose: first, to make a theoretical contribution to the literature interrogating the new modes of governing schools and curricular knowledge. It does this, by explicating the relationship between the regulative dimension of global policy discourses, embodying the principle of performativity, and the discourses regulating pedagogic practices in local sites, where policies are enacted. Second, to present aspects of a study carried out in the Greek education context, in which policies towards a post-bureaucratic administration regime (school autonomy, national testing, accountability mechanisms) have failed to be institutionalised. Focusing on the Modern Greek Language curriculum and its enactments in demanding school settings, the study illustrates how discourses on inclusion, diffused within the educational field and invading the school space, exert strong control over teachers' instructional practices. It is argued that developments of Bernstein's theory of knowledge pedagogisation provide a language to describe the complex ways in which regulative discourses operate in global times, affecting the recontextualisations of curricular policies. The theory thus contributes to the literature on the enactments of globalised education policies and helps explain the diversity of national and institutional responses to such policies.

This chapter provides a summary and a concluding discussion on the main findings from the different cases and chapters throughout this volume. The chapter revisits the approach on curriculum making as non-linear and as framed around a conceptualisation of interrelated sites of activity – supra, macro, meso, micro and nano – presented in the introduction. A central conclusion of this book is that the meso site of activity stands out as critical for current developments within curriculum making, both in terms of a transformed role for the nation state in macro curriculum making, as well as implications of policy flows and processes from the supra site of activity. Based on our observations, we suggest an elaborated model for understanding curriculum making, with special attention to the significance of meso curriculum making and teacher agency. In the final part of the conclusions, we argue that there are a number of lessons to be learned from curriculum making in the European context. In line with the significance of meso curriculum making observed throughout the volume, we emphasize the importance of middle ground and mobility, the necessity of participatory curriculum making, and that systems of accountability need to be based on trust. We also underline the importance of a delicate balance concerning regulation– providing support, guidance and steering – together with a critical awareness of destructive as well as progressive forces for maintaining and providing the agency of the educational systemfor good curriculum making.

This paper reports a qualitative research study of comparative analysis of global citizenship education (GCE) in two primary schools, one international school in Singapore (Stamford International) and an independent school in Australia (Coastal College). The research focussed on how these two schools implemented GCE through the adoption of international education models, utilising the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) or the International Baccalaureate Programme (IB), creating hybrid curricula. Central to this research is the examination of educational practices, which address global citizenship education in each of the two schools.

Qualitative data from interview transcripts, document analysis, website analysis as well as field notes were analysed both inductively and deductively, teasing out the key themes from interviews, various documents such as policy papers, curriculum materials, syllabuses, the websites and other forms of documents that shed more light on the issues presented. The analysis of each case study began with a brief overview of the global citizenship education policies in the two schools and of their international curricula models, followed by a separate interpretation and juxtaposition of interview data (Phillips and Schweisfurth, 2014).

The key focus is examining the interplay between the global and national, which both schools have acknowledged in their design of the curricula. It is integral to note that globalization differs within different communities around the world with a unique and multifaceted interplay of global and national factors termed as a “global-local nexus”. A key overarching finding relates to the tensions between educational domains and neo-liberal market rationales, which had affected the schools' decisions in curricula and GCE enactment within both schools. Despite their commitment to GCE ideals, schools were mindful about being distinctive and remaining competitive within their educational markets.

In the study, the ideas of hybridity and “mixture and fusion” of curricula elements to generate new practices in local contexts against global influences have been explored. These ideas form the key features of the curriculum design in both schools and of the contexts in which the schools were situated. Even though the selected case study schools were international and independent and were not expected to fully adhere to government guidelines from their respective country’s policies, they were staged against these policies, which in turn influenced the curriculum initiatives and pedagogical approaches of these schools. Thus studying the landscape in which these two schools are situated provided a better understanding of the various influences – geo-political, formal policy, school-specific factors – which contributed to the knowledge base of global citizenship education studies for multi-ethnic nations such as Singapore and Australia.

As more national school systems embrace diversity, an international education approach has been adopted. This study affirms the idea proposed by Hayden, Thompson and Bunnell (2016), that the use of “international” is less relevant in categorising schools that seek to embrace GCE. It is more appropriate to use “cosmopolitan,” as proposed by Rizvi (2008), where the focus is more broadly on acquiring knowledge about cultural trajectories and social identities and reinforcing the idea of global connectivity as is evident in both case study schools. The focus is on understanding and acting on local issues within the “broader context of the global shifts that are reshaping the very nature of localities” (Rizvi, 2008, p. 21). One of the key things to note is that the global and international approaches are seldom enacted in their pure form. Schools that have adopted international education are usually unique and heterogeneous in nature, and what they have done is very much dependent on their histories, their geographical locations and the economic and political statuses. This is evident in both case study schools.

This study has added to the existing literature by providing a rich comparative investigation of global citizenship education in two countries, Australia and Singapore. The research provided the opportunity to study different models of internationally minded schools, with similar GCE ambitions. As the study explored two types of schools in two different countries, there is no claim of generalisability of findings to all the schools in these two countries. However, educators and researchers who are interested in this field could reflect on the themes that have emerged from this study and make an informed decision on the possible transferability to their own contexts.

Besides its contribution to existing literature, the study has also shown that for effective integration of GCE in schools, either in a national or international education system, it is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the GCE principles. The results drawn from the study indicate that the ambiguity of the concept of GCE can result in different interpretations by school leaders, teachers and students, thus affecting its enactment in schools. In order to better understand and apply GCE, an effective conceptual model would provide a critical understanding of the multi-faceted nature of global citizenship education. A critical GCE requires schools to reflect on the entire curriculum, ensuring a seamless integration of GCE into curricula and practices.

The chapter demonstrates that one way to read recent developments in national curriculum in nations around the globe is as both expressions of and responses to globalization. Additionally, the chapter argues that curriculum making today is affected by ever-changing imbrications between local, national, regional and global relationships. Examples of this include the curriculum impacts actual and potential of the OECD's testing regime and aspirations in relation to curriculum and the EU's creation of a European education policy space. The more recent rise of new nationalisms and ethnonationalism is seen to have potential impact on national curriculum. Some consideration is also given to the content of the curriculum and the contemporary focus on both disciplinary knowledge and on what sorts of people schools should produce; both it is argued are responses to globalization. The ways the message systems (curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation) sit in a symbiotic relationship with each other and the impact of the strengthened significance of international and large-scale assessments on the enactment of the curriculum are also documented. Some brief account is provided of the enhanced involvement of EdTech companies producing online curricula and the ways the pandemic has accelerated this development with the concerning potential for the privatization of the curriculum.

The purpose of the research is to propose reforms that would help to bridge the gap between theory and practice and produce more effective urban planners. The research on urban planning curricula in the global South is a valuable contribution to the field of urban planning education. It provides a new perspective on the challenges facing urban planning education in these countries and offers a roadmap for improvement.

The research explores and evaluates the urban planning curricula in the global South, with a particular interest in Egypt. The research employs the use of questionnaires with 56 university instructors, analysed thematically, to evaluate the current content of curricula. The results are compared and correlated with a pilot study exploring research interest, government policies and practices of urban planning in Egypt.

Through comparing the results of the evaluation with the current research interest in urban planning in Egypt, the paper investigates the possibility of improving current educational curricula using comparative network analysis which would establish stronger interdisciplinary connections.

The seeming disconnects between urbanism concepts taught in educational curricula and their relevance in practice and reality is a vital issue in urban studies and planning. Interdisciplinary connections with topics like politics, economies, gender, and others can assist curricula in becoming more relevant to real-world situations. This disconnect is even more apparent in the global South where most educational content is highly derivative from Northern contexts. Though such interdisciplinary aspects are under discussed in educational curricula, they are frequently discussed in academic research.

This chapter briefly explores selected English and general education policy documents, curricula, and textbooks within the context of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) from a Critical Discourse Analysis perspective and examines how they have changed pre- and post-21st century. First, a policy document related to education in KSA in general (pre-21st century) is analyzed along with an English language teaching (ELT) policy document of the same period. Next, two general policy documents post-21st century are explored, followed by one related to ELT policy. Finally, one post-21st century document related to higher education is discussed. The “network of practices” within which these documents are situated are first detailed, as well as the structural order of the discourse, and some linguistic analysis of the choice of vocabulary and grammatical structures (Meyer, 2001). Issues which might be problematic to the learning and teaching identities of the students and teachers interpreting these documents are also highlighted. Finally, we consider whether the network of practices at this institution and KSA in general “needs” the problems identified in the analysis and critically reflect on the analysis.

Global leadership is a vibrant and still emerging field of study. As scholarship grows in this area, the boundaries of the field become more defined. This has a direct impact on curriculum selection for courses and degree programs focused on global leadership. This article begins by exploring how emerging areas of study become recognized as disciplines and applies this knowledge to the global leadership discipline. We also look at doctoral-level degree programs in global leadership, comparing, and contrasting their offerings and approaches, and reflecting on global leadership doctoral education’s role in the ultimate crafting of the discipline. Finally, the curriculum strategies within the doctoral program in global leadership at Indiana Tech are discussed to illustrate the complex and multidisciplinary approach required to prepare global leadership scholars-practitioners.

This study considers the structure of PISA penetration into education policy through a comparative analysis of Japan and Norway. Many studies on PISA’s impact tend to emphasize the character of PISA result as a norm, such as the concept of “governance by comparison.” This study regards PISA as a norm of educational contents and analyzes the structure of PISA penetration into educational contents policy, with respect to the national curriculum. In describing the situations around PISA in the two countries, the background of the acceptance of PISA, the nature of national curriculum in education policy and its character, and the structure of PISA penetration with the focus being on how PISA is integrated into the national curriculum are analyzed through related documents and literatures. As a result of comparative analysis, three common features are found. First of all, PISA penetration occurred in the context of “PISA Shock” since the importance of PISA itself was recognized. Second, the system of management by objectives was included in the educational system and PISA penetrated into that system as objectives. Third, in relation with this second point, PISA as a norm of educational contents was integrated into existing educational goals or subjects. These features are evident only in the comparison of two countries, so a deeper analysis of PISA penetration will be needed in a future study.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the curriculum developments of civic education in three emerging Chinese societies: China and two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, which are increasingly under the impacts of globalisation in this information world.

The analytical method is used and the following are identified: active and global civic education-related learning units and key themes and main contents in official curriculum guidelines and updated textbooks related to civic education.

A major finding is that elements of both active and global citizenship, such as participation in the community and understanding about the world and thus forming multiple identities, can be found alongside their emphasis on enhancing national citizenship. Thus, ideas of global citizenship and multiple levels of citizenship from local, national to global start to develop in these three Chinese societies.

The implications of such findings of both active and global citizenship, as well as multiple identities, found in these three Chinese societies could be huge for informing civic literature and sociological point of views, in particular, pointing to the next generations receiving a broadened and transcended notion of multiple levels of citizenship, apart from local and national citizenship.

The significance of this paper is that it argues that ideas of active citizenship in terms of community participation and global citizenship have been found in China, Hong Kong and Macao civic education curriculum and textbooks because of the expectations placed on students to compete in a globalized world, though national citizenship and patriotic concerns have been primary concerns. Globalisation makes the world society by impacting on these three Chinese societies for active and global citizenship, though they still retain their particular curricular focusses.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the case of a school on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten that was created to serve students who had experienced educational and other injustices in the broader society.

Using qualitative methods, the paper explores two research questions: how did Triumph Multiage School (TMS) conceptualize community and the goals of education, and how did these perspectives reflect or diverge from those of the local, national, and global educational communities to which TMS was connected? What was the nature of curriculum knowledge at TMS, and what points of alignment and difference existed among TMS’ curriculum knowledge and those of its local, national, and global educational communities?

Analysis found points of symmetry and disjunctures among TMS’ conceptualization of community, purposes of education, and curriculum and those of the local, national, and global educational communities to which it was connected. However the strength of ideological and sociopolitical boundaries separating TMS and its local and national communities constrained opportunities for building professional community and curriculum knowledge across them.

The paper contributes to research on the creation of new schools and teacher professional communities by demonstrating the need to expand the construct of community to include local and trans-global dimensions. Such a reconceptualization of community is essential for building professional capital and community that will equip schools and teachers to meet the social and educational needs of student populations in a globalized world.