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Finland's performance in PISA has created considerable interest in the country's education system, to ascertain what has made Finland so successful in the survey. In reference to the phenomenon, this chapter discusses cross-national attraction, policy borrowing, the effect of Finland in PISA, and its influence on education policy. This chapter explores at length the theoretical background of cross-national attraction and policy borrowing, also investigating cases that have already occurred. It discusses Finland's role as the new object of cross-national attraction and eventual policy borrowing. The chapter incorporates research into the reasons for Finland's success in PISA, the possibilities of policy transfer from Finland, and delves into the likelihood of policy implications as a result of Finland in PISA. This cross-national attraction denotes the first stage in policy borrowing; however, comparative educationalists, for years, have warned about the uncritical transfer of education policy. Research in Finland has revealed many reasons for the country's PISA success stem from contextual factors: those related to historical, cultural, societal, and political features of Finland. Therefore, policy borrowing from Finland needs to heed warnings of past comparativists. The new phenomenon of Finland in PISA has generated much curiosity from those in education, educational policy, and politics. Policymakers are keen to incorporate Finland's educational features into their education systems. PISA and Finland's performance in the survey influence educational policy. This illustrates the importance the warnings of past and present comparative educationalists in order to prevent uncritical policy borrowing.

In focusing on the changing dynamics of education governance, this chapter draws on a few key concepts of policy borrowing research, notably the focus on reception and translation of global education policy, and sheds light on the temporal and spatial dimensions of policy transfer. It is not sufficient to simply acknowledge that one and the same global education policies means something different to different actors in different contexts. In addition, to providing a “thick description” of why global education policies are received and how they are translated, a specific strand of policy borrowing research – well represented in this edited volume – examines the global/local nexus and acknowledges that local actors are positioned simultaneously in two spaces: in their own (cultural/local) context and in a broader transnational “educational space.” From a systems theory perspective, the broader educational space is Umwelt (environment) and therefore local actors interact at critical moments with the broader educational space. The policy bilingualism (or in the work of Tavis Jules, the “policy trilingualism” when the local, regional, and global is taken into the account) is a result of policy actors operating simultaneously in two spaces that are populated with two different audiences: local and global actors. The example of bonus payments in Kyrgyzstan, a local adaptation of global teacher accountability reform, is used to explain how the method of comparison is used as an analytical tool to understand the global/local nexus in the policy process.

Defines a particular form of returned purchases and explores its pervasiveness. Consumers who engage in “retail borrowing” purchase items with the deliberate intention to return such items once they have been used satisfactorily. To facilitate the purchases of good and to act responsibly when purchased items may be defective retailers have extended generous return policies to consumers. Increasingly however some consumers have taken advantage of such policies to “borrow” needed items from retailers. Provides an insight into retail borrowing and the type of most commonly “borrowed” products. Also identifies reasons that trigger the willingness to “borrow” from retailers and discuss the emotions and thoughts that accompany the behavior. Discusses the managerial and social perspectives of the phenomenon.

This study focuses on the historical and cultural contexts surrounding Kuwait’s education system and the government’s efforts to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Primary and secondary sources and research in policy borrowing provide context to the problem of systemic change of an education system in a country that is trying to prepare its youth with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The commitment to improvement is evident, but the question is whether the political, professional, and popular determination is enough to implement the changes into the system and internalize them for sustainable reform. A case can be made that repeated efforts at policy borrowing that resulted in failure to internalize reforms can be used as the impetus for real and sustainable change.

This chapter examines the complex dimensions of the role of community college global counterparts in the context of higher educational global flows. Data from a comparative literature review that covers over 40 years, explores “who” has been involved in the borrowing process, the variations of the “types” of borrowing that exist in terms of dependency and localization contexts, and “how” community college global counterparts have become ingrained in a variety of countries. The idea that the community college concept is a sole ownership of the United States that was then transmitted to nations around the world is not defensible. Indeed, when taken into consideration the context of the politics of borrowing, such as receiving and sending political, economic, and cultural systems, it is evident that multiple countries have and continue to affect the discourse of other countries on various levels. In particular, this chapter (a) describes historic and contemporary global patterns in terms of both “north” and “south” flows from which community college global counterparts proliferate; (b) discusses the types of these flows in relationship to purposeful or spontaneous adoption; and (c) highlights a contemporary reinvention of form that arises from current global flows.

This paper aims to shed light on the process of adopting and accommodating a global language education framework, namely the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages, in the context of Vietnam.

The data to develop the argument of the paper are obtained from a doctoral research project that aims to understand the reception, interpretations and responses of key stakeholders in the process of enacting the CEFR in a Vietnam public university. The study was designed as a qualitative case study with data being collected using policy document analysis, classroom observation and in-depth interviews with 21 purposively sampled participants, including school administrators, English language teachers and students over a period of six months.

The paper argues that the adoption of the CEFR, as it currently stands, can be seen at best as a “quick-fix” (Steiner-Khamsi, 2004, p. 58) solution to the complex and time-consuming problem of improving the quality of English language education in Vietnam, which fails to address some critical issues in the practice of teaching and learning the language in the country.

The study speaks to the body of literature on the CEFR as a contemporary global language policy borrowing phenomenon in developing countries. It contributes to a better understanding of how a global language policy is adopted and appropriated at the grass-root level.

This research examines higher education developments within transitory democratic spaces, using Tunisia as a case study. A document analysis of higher education policies in Tunisia shows a shift from an internal process of Tunisification to a focus on prescriptive global educational agendas. In examining higher education reforms during the past three decades in Tunisia, we attempt to understand the role of higher education in aiding and abiding the “Arab democracy deficit” through policies imposed upon the system through strict state intervention. We describe how higher education structures came to be, how policies were created, and detail how the issues and challenges stemming from higher education helped spread sentiments for the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution. Finally, we examine a lack of convergence, which enabled students to galvanize to overthrow a government criticized for its corruption and policy failures.

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the results from a survey on interlibrary loan (ILL) in Norwegian public libraries. Work processes within ILL have changed significantly in Norway in recent years, and new challenges have emerged. County libraries, public libraries and The Norwegian Library Association’s Special Interest Group saw the need for a survey to understand how these changes were affecting ILL-work in the public libraries in Norway. The library community as a whole needed updated information to respond to the present challenges in ILL.

In March 2014, Sentio Research Norway conducted a survey on ILL among Norwegian public libraries. The survey was commissioned by the county libraries in Norway. In total, 425 questionnaires were sent to all the main libraries. There are 428 main public libraries, but three of them were without staff at the time of the survey. Further, 336 answers provided a response rate of 79 per cent. The survey had 48 questions.

An interesting result from the survey is that 53 per cent of the public libraries want no restrictions on what to borrow, while 45 per cent believed there should be some restrictions on lending. This shows a difference in the attitudes to lending compared to borrowing library material. However, 58 per cent of the libraries have not implemented restrictions on what to lend on interlibrary loan. One of four had restrictions on lending new literature. The public libraries were, in general, highly interested in better access to curriculum literature from universities and colleges. To some extent, they wanted better access to new literature, e-books and nonfiction (the category was named “special subjects and topics” in the survey). The survey shows that most libraries still prefer to order interlibrary loans for their users rather than encourage users to order themselves.

This study is the first systematic survey of ILL in Norwegian public libraries.

This chapter, drawing on my personal experience as the project manager for a large-scale survey – the European Survey on Language Competences – reflects on the aspects that influence my own research most strongly, namely the limitations of the methodology used in such surveys to produce data that can feed into policy formation and positively impact what goes on inside classrooms around the world. Future trends and directions for research in comparative education are then explored, where I suggest practical case studies focusing on comparative pedagogy within a policy learning approach as a possible way forward in providing a rich and robust supplementary source of evidence for policymakers.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain, describe, and compare the components of existing leadership preparation programs in the USA and other countries; and to understand the policy‐based processes, challenges, and needs of support for program development for conceptualizing globally minded school leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain, describe, and compare the components of existing leadership preparation programs in the USA and other countries; and to understand the policy‐based processes, challenges, and needs of support for program development for conceptualizing globally minded school leadership.

Limited growth regarding globally minded school leader research and development can be accounted for. Furthermore the increasing internationalization of university programming to include expanded course offerings and greater opportunities of international exchanges that bring students face‐to‐face with perspectives different from those indigenous to their home cultures speaks directly to the need for a shift in leadership preparation to better address the impact of globalization and intercultural exchange on youth learning in schools.

An intercultural analysis of leadership preparation programs with a focus on globally minded leadership is a new endeavor. The findings can be used to inform the next generation of policy formation for twenty‐first century leadership preparation program development.