BSc Education

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International education systems and policies allows students to explore the varying education systems around the world and consider how globalisation has played a role in shaping those systems. In this unit we consider how historical influences have contributed to the education systems we can see and experience today and also how comparative international systems can shape educational policy and reforms.     

This course unit aims to deepen students’ understandings of the various forms that education systems take around the world and how these are shaped by politics and evidence. It will introduce students to research themes of educational management, policy discourse, and the economic, social and cultural factors that have an influence on the formation and transformation of educational systems. The unit also aims to develop students’ understandings of a range of educational systems, which include: schooling, higher education, but also broader educational contexts such as vocational education, the workplace and community organisations.   
 

The course will compare different education systems from around the world in relation to schooling and higher education. It will consider why education and skills have assumed such importance within national and international policy discourses, and what influence a range of social factors (such as the economy and labour market, plus divisions of gender, social class, religion, ethnicity) play in shaping the education and skills systems in different national contexts. In doing this it will examine a range of issues, such as: modes of educational management, the role of politics in the policy process, international comparisons and policy borrowing.

• Interactive teaching sessions which include both taught content (lectures) and seminar type discussions.
• Group work to prepare and present on case studies of education systems and/or comparisons.
• Blackboard discussion boards to collate and synthesise information regarding case studies/key readings.

• identify the influence of history, worldview and politics on national educational systems and educational policy.
• list the influences, principles and practices of various governmental and non-governmental agencies concerned with education management, planning, research and development.
• analyse the distinctive contribution of policy and ideology in the development of different education systems

• Use empirical evidence to analyse and evaluate claims regarding current structures and future reforms of education (e.g. higher education) in different national contexts.
• Use theoretical frameworks and concepts to unpack key problems relating to policy and practice and appreciate how different interpretations of the same issue can be made. 

• utilise digital research skills to access and synthesise relevant evidence in order to write  a case study a.
• evaluate the validity and trustworthiness of claims made using both quantitative and qualitative evidence.
• reflect on a range of careers relating to educational management, policy making and other forms of educational organisation (e.g. NGO). 

• work in a team to prepare collaborative analyses of key international challenges facing educational systems.
• Employ self regulatory techniques in approaching learning tasks and assessment.
• Reflect on career management strategies utilizing knowledge and understanding acquired on the course unit.

Online via Turnitin

Arnove, R. F. (n.d.). World-Systems Analysis and Comparative Education in the Age of Globalization. In R. F. Arnove, International Handbook of Comparative Education (pp. 101–119). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6403-6_8 Go to item

Arnove, R. F. (1980). Comparative education and world-systems analysis. Comparative Education Review, 24(1), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1086/446090 Go to item

Astiz, M. F., & Akiba, M. (Eds.). (2016). The global and the local : diverse perspectives in comparative education . Sense Publishers. Go to item

Ball, S. J. (2021). The education debate  (Fourth edition.). Policy Press. Go to item

Bell, L. (2006). Education policy  (H. Stevenson, Ed.). Taylor & Francis Ltd. Go to item

Bray, Mark., Adamson, Bob., & Mason, Mark. (Eds.). (2007). Comparative Education Research : Approaches and Methods . Springer Netherlands. Go to item

Brehm, W. (2021). Cambodia for sale : everyday privatization in education and beyond  (1st ed.). Routledge. Go to item

Bresler, L., Palmer, J., & Cooper, D. (2002). Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education: From Piaget to the Present Day (J. Palmer, D. Cooper, & L. Bresler, Eds.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203464694 Go to item

Brooks, R. (2011). Student mobilities, migration and the internationalization of higher education [electronic resource]  (J. L. Waters, Ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. Go to item

Brooks, R. (2017). Materialities and mobilities in education  (J. L. Waters, Ed.). Routledge. Go to item

Brooks, R. (2018). Education and society : places, policies, processes . Red Globe Press. 
Go to item

Brooks, R., & Waters, J. (n.d.). Student Mobilities, Migration and the Internationalization of Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230305588 Go to item

Chitpin, S., & Portelli, J. P. (Eds.). (2019). Confronting educational policy in neoliberal times : international perspectives . Routledge. Go to item

Chitty, Clyde. (2004). Education policy in Britain . Palgrave Macmillan. Go to item

Chitty, Clyde. (2014). Education Policy in Britain (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Go to item

Choudaha, R. (2017). Three waves of international student mobility (1999-2020). Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 42(5), 825–832. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1293872  Go to item

Compare. (n.d.). In Compare. Carfax International Publishers. Go to item

Cowen, Robert., & Kazamias, A. M. (Eds.). (2009). International Handbook of Comparative Education . Springer Netherlands. Go to item

Crehan, L. (2018). Cleverlands . Unbound. Go to item

Deardorff, D. K., Wit, H. de, Leask, B., & Charles, H. (Eds.). (2022). The handbook of international higher education  (Second edition.). Stylus Publishing LLC. Go to item

Erratum: Comparative Education and World-Systems Analysis. (1980). Comparative Education Review, 24(2), 154–154. https://doi.org/10.1086/446112 Go to item

Hayden, Mary. (2006). Introduction to international education : international schools and their communities . Sage. Go to item

Hill, I. (2006a). Student types, school types and their combined influence on the development of intercultural understanding. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(1), 5–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240906061857 Go to item

Hill, I. (2006b). Student types, school types and their combined influence on the development of intercultural understanding. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(1), 5–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240906061857 Go to item

Hobson, D. P. (2014). Globalizing Minds : Rhetoric And Realities In International Schools (Iveta. Silova, Ed.). Information Age Publishing. Go to item

Lewis, S. (2020). PISA, policy and the OECD : respatialising global educational governance throu