Discourse analysis as theory,method, and epistemology in studies of education policy

ABSTRACT

Discourse has featured in studies of educational policy as an analytic and methodological tool, theoretical frame, realm of implication, and even a foundational definition of educational policy itself (e.g.) Despite the centrality of discourse as a frame for exploring educational policy and its implications, the ways that discourse is defined or operationalized in educational policy research are often left implicit which can lead to murky relations to larger onto-epistemological questions of how we construct findings from data as well as the nature of policy. In this interpretive analysis, we synthesize a corpus of 37 peer-reviewed journal articles that bring together educational policy and analyses of discourse from varying theoretical and methodological perspectives in order to better understand the breadth and scope of how discourse is defined and operationalized in studies of educational policy, including in ways that are sometimes incommensurate with authors' stated theoretical and methodological positions. After first laying the theoretical groundwork for analyses of discourse in the field of educational policy, we then illustrate how discourse analysis is used differently, and sometimes inconsistently, within contested paradigmatic landscapes. We conclude with an argument for discussions across theoretical frameworks and methodological paradigms about how the concept of discourse lends itself to different epistemological vantage points on educational policy.     

美国教育券政策选择的两难困境、原因及启示

美国教育券政策面临的主要困境是不同政策群体在教育券政策目标认同、政策合法性和政策可行性上存在严重分歧。而根源在于不同政策理念的抵牾、不同利益集团的角力、三权分立政治体制的掣肘以及教育券政策自身局限性限制。美国的案例为我们确定教育券政策目标取向、选择什么样的政策方式和手段提供了借鉴。     

教育政策评估指标体系研究

明确教育改革评估对象可以制定教育政策评估标准。教育政策评估标准具有多样性、层次性、可操作性。以教育政策评估对象为依据,可以将一级指标分为教育政策主体、教育政策客体、教育政策环境三个指标。教育政策评估法包括比较法、公式法、功能法。     

Globalizing policy sociology in education: working with Bourdieu

This paper uses Bourdieu to develop theorizing about policy processes in education and to extend the policy cycle approach in a time of globalization. Use is made of Bourdieu’s concept of social field and the argument is sustained that in the context of globalization the field of educational policy has reduced autonomy, with enhanced cross‐field effects in educational policy production, particularly from the fields of the economy and journalism. Given the social rather than geographical character of Bourdieu’s concept of social fields, it is also argued that the concept can be, and indeed has to be, stretched beyond the nation to take account of the emergent global policy field in education. Utilizing Bourdieu’s late work on the globalization of the economy through neo‐liberal politics, we argue that a non‐reified account of the emergent global educational policy field can be provided.     

In (Re)Search of Evidence-Based School Practices: Possibilities for Integrating Nationally Representative Surveys and Randomized Field Trials to Inform Educational Policy

Two types of inquiry have been at the heart of recent discussions of systematic evidence in educational policy and practice: randomized field trials (RFTs) and nationally representative surveys. We argue that integrating these 2 modes of inquiry has the potential to strengthen the evidence base for school reform. In particular, national surveys can help determine the focus of RFTs, by identifying factors that place schools at risk of poor achievement or buffer schools from risk. In addition, surveys can provide data on the prevalence of interventions identified as effective in RFTs and the conditions under which the interventions are being implemented. Finally, RFTs and surveys, taken together, can provide information on ways of improving the coherence of the set of interventions used at the school level.     

The Contribution of International Large-Scale Assessments to Educational Research: Combining Individual and Institutional Data Sources

The present paper aims to discuss how data from international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) can be utilized and combined, even with other existing data sources, in order to monitor educational outcomes and study the effectiveness of educational systems. We consider different purposes of linking data, namely, extending outcomes measures, analyzing differences over time or across cohorts, and supplementing context information. These linking strategies are illustrated by a non-exhaustive selection of studies that exploited ILSAs to investigate a wide range of educational topics. We conclude that the main contribution of ILSA to educational research lies in the ways they facilitate analyses of educational policy and policy-related issues at the institutional level by means of cross-country analyses. However, the scope of these studies also covers high-quality data on lower levels of the educational system.     

The disruptive transition from middle to high school: opportunities for linking policy and practice

Educational transitions are points during which students move from one level or unit of the schooling process to the next; they are generally associated with a cluster of discontinuities that can disrupt student progress. This article focuses on one type of transition that all students in US public schools must traverse: the systemic transition from middle to high school. More specifically, the study establishes the transition as a problematic occurrence receiving insufficient attention from education professionals, and considers policy options that have the potential to influence educational practice to be more supportive during these disruptive periods. The first section defines the transition of interest in the study and discusses the ways in which this seemingly ‘invisible’ organizational policy can be addressed in practice. The second section analyses a nationally‐representative data set to demonstrate the negative impact of the transition on pupil performance in mathematics and science. The final section explores potential policy responses to this disruptive organizational feature of US public educational systems that may overcome the heretofore insufficient responses in practice.     

Tasks for Comparative Education in the New Millennium

This article reflects upon the experience of teaching and research in comparative education to reconsider the potential of the field for the new millennium. In doing this, specific attention is given to ways in which comparative perspectives have traditionally been applied, or misapplied, in educational policy debates and the related academic literature. The potential of comparative studies to increase our understanding of the complexities of educational processes is underlined. The uncritical 'borrowing' of educational policy and practice is challenged, and the contemporary need for educational research that recognises the significance of culture, context and difference is highlighted.     

Teacher counter stories to a citizenship education mega policy narrative. Preparing for citizenship in Chile

The present article focuses on the counter stories of two Chilean social studies high school teachers. Counter stories describe how teachers use their professional experience to confront those mega narratives composed of dominant educational policies that impinge upon their pedagogical practices. The mega narrative described in this study as a citizenship education mega policy narrative is composed by citizenship educational guidelines that have become influenced by other market-driven educational policies, and is not only present in Chile but has also been influenced by policies coming from countries such as England and the US. Therefore, the discussions that emerge from these counter stories on the nature of this mega narrative and the ways through which teachers can confront it through their teaching, and the implications that all this has for the field of citizenship education, do not only fill a gap in Chilean research but also contribute to discussions on counter and mega narratives in the field of citizenship education within a wider international scope.     

Divine Intervention

This paper focuses on teacher education policy in Portugal and Brazil over the last decade, and it discusses its implications for teacher professionalisation and professionalism. It identifies the emergence of competing discourses arising from policy texts and other formal documents related to teacher education, both initial and in-service, issued in both countries. It is argued that the intertwined concepts of professionalisation and professionalism, which play a central role in most recent policy documents, entail different meanings in different contexts. Although similar orientations can be identified, particularly in regard to a new rhetoric emerging in the educational field, it is also evident that different ways of operationalising the concepts of professionalisation and professionalism have been put into place.     

Ellen Pinsent: including the ‘feebleminded’ in Birmingham, 1900–19131

This paper addresses the theme of ‘insiders and outsiders in the history of education’ in two ways. First, it is an exploration of the journey of one woman from being an educational outsider to her influential position on the inside as a local and national educational policymaker. Ellen Pinsent’s life is illustrative of the transition of middle class women from a private to a public sphere, from lady philanthropist to professional policymaker. Second, it examines her influence on policy decisions in the emerging field of special education in the period 1900–1913.     

The implicated advocate: the discursive construction of the democratic practices of school principals in the USA

Changes in the public service sector during the last stages of the twentieth century contributed to an international reconfiguration of state-centric governance. Supported by the discourses of individualism, marketization, national governance, and competition, this (re)shaping of governance presents a specific dilemma for the political identity of educational leaders. In response to the troubling lack of international scholarship focused on the political role of educational leaders, this article provides insight into the ways in which the political identity of school leaders within the USA is influenced by dominant discourses. The understandings highlight the ways in which educational leaders are expected to realize their roles as resolute implementers of state policy, while also being directed to act as deliberative advocates within the jurisdiction of educational policy making. We believe that these competing discourses have altered the identity of educational leaders into what we have labeled as the implicated advocate. The purpose of this article is to provide the field of the politics of educational with a concept that may expose the double bind that is experienced by the educational leaders.     

Defining educational research: A perspective of/on presidential addresses and the australian association for research in education

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教育政策研究的类别、特征和启示

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Examining key issues underlying the Audit Commission Reports on SEN Policy Paper 1 (5th series)

This book is the first publication in the fifth series of seminars organised by the SEN Policy Options Steering Group to examine policy issues to do with special educational needs. The aim of the seminar was to examine in depth several underlying issues raised by the recent Audit Commission Reports on special educational needs. The seminar provided a distinctive perspective and analysis of these reports. The focus was on (1) assurance for parents: alternatives to statements? (2) justifying common national definitions of difficulties and SEN and (3) managing inclusion. Papers were presented by: Peter Gray, SEN Policy Consultant, on common national definitions of difficulties and SEN; Penny Richardson from Nottinghamshire Local Education Authority (LEA) on assurance for parents: alternatives to statements? and Chris Beek from Capita Strategic Education Services on managing inclusion. The main purpose of this publication is to provide policy makers at all levels of the education system with an examination of relevant and practical policy options in the field of special educational needs. The book raises crucial issues and outlines ways forward.     

美国教育政策循证研究的理论与实践:对中国的启示

文章对2002-2017年间美国教育和政策研究领域中12种有代表性的学术期刊的研究论文类型和发表要求进行了可视化分析,基于美国教育政策领域中循证研究兴起的背景、证据类型和证据链检验标准,提出我国教育政策制定和研究过程中应重视循证研究理念,提高教育决策质量;加强教育政策智库建设,保证高质量的政策证据;政策类学术期刊重视循证研究,提升教育研究的科学性和权威性。     

农村教育和城市教育的互补与差异——教育政策价值视角下的审思

农村教育和城市教育不是彼此孤立的,两者彼此互补又存在差异;本文以教育政策价值视角对农村教育和城市教育进行审思,提出重构教育政策价值、解决城乡教育均衡发展的建议。     

农村教育和城市教育的互补与差异——教育政策价值视角下的审思

农村教育和城市教育不是彼此孤立的,两者彼此互补又存在差异;本文以教育政策价值视角对农村教育和城市教育进行审思,提出重构教育政策价值、解决城乡教育均衡发展的建议。     

Competing Paradigms of Educational Justice: Parent Organizing for Educational Equity in a Neoliberal Reform Context

This article examines a grassroots parent organizing effort in a large, high-poverty, urban school district. Drawing from ethnographic field research at a community-based popular education organization, the study describes how parent organizers worked to educate and mobilize Latina/o immigrant parents on issues of educational justice and equity. It identifies three pillars of their approach—a social theory, a theory of change, and a theory of knowledge— and argues that these were not reducible to a set of practices or methods; rather, they constituted a coherent paradigm of educational justice. This paradigm differs in significant ways from the neoliberal justice paradigm that currently dominates education reform and policy. By examining points of tension between these two competing paradigms, this article seeks to accomplish two aims. First, it aims to deepen our understanding of how underlying paradigms of educational justice shape the work of educating, organizing, and reforming schools. Second, it aims to expose the cultural specificity, or non-universality, of the neoliberal paradigm in order to challenge its hegemonic status in education reform and policy.