Education Policy in National and International Context, 7.5 credits
Contents
The course provides a critical introduction to and analysis of education policy. It offers an overview of debates around policy at the level of international organizations, but also at the national level. It examines the relationships between policy contexts, processes and outcomes, and illustrates these through specific examples of policies in Europe and Sweden. The course presents and analyses research on policy and reflects on the connections between education policy and school practice. In particular, the course is structured around the following: understanding policy in education, how it is implemented and received in schools; what are the values that policies represent and how these values are mediated in the contexts of education institutions, and, what does policy and research on policy mean for teachers and students. The course will use case studies to explore these themes, drawing on research in the fields of:
- School marketization and privatization.
- Inclusion in education and in teacher education.
- Changing education governance in the European Union, and the role of international organizations in education policy.
The case studies will have both Swedish, international comparative elements.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the trends of educational policy in Sweden and selected international contexts
Skills and abilities
- Identify and problematize issues of values in education policy and educational goals as these are formulated by governments and international organizations
- Identify and analyse important contemporary policy issues in Sweden and Europe and discuss their implications for schools and students
Values and critical approach
- Analyse and critically evaluate selected policy developments for schools' and teachers' practice
- Relate their understandings of education policy to particular policy areas and be able to translate this knowledge into a written and oral presentation
Required Knowledge
Prior university studies of 90 credits. English for basic required knowledge for university studies.
Form of instruction
The main forms of instruction are lectures and seminars. The course will also include guided individual work and student presentations. The course has mandatory parts that demands physical presence at campus, see further in the course schedule and study guide.
All teaching will be in English.
Examination modes
Physical presence in mandatory parts is demanded for passed result on the course if not otherwise written in current schedule and study guide. There will be two forms of assessment in the course.
- An individual written essay of 3,000 words.
- An individual student presentation.
In order to be awarded a Pass grade for the course, it is required that both forms of assessment are passed. Possible grades are Passed with distinction, Passed, or Failed.
The course work is examined at the ordinary examination or re-examined at a later occasion during the same semester. An opportunity to re-examine the course work is normally given in the following semester provided the student has requested it. After that a student with a fail is advised to participate in the next ordinary examination.
A student has the right to change examiner for a course based on a written request to the head of department after two fails on the same course or a part of the course.
Transfer of credits
Students have the right to apply for transfer of credits from earlier higher education or occupational experience. For more information, see the Higher Education Ordinance and: http://www.student.umu.se/english/getting-your-degree/transfer-of-credits/
A negative decision about transfer of credits is possible to appeal to Överklagandenämnden för högskolan:
http://www.onh.se/in-english
A negative decision shall be motivated in writing.
For more information, take contact with Student Services.
Other regulations
Cannot be studied in combination with 2PE142 Education Policy and Practice in International Perspectives, 7.5 Credits or 6PE239 Education Policy and Practice in International Perspectives, 7.5 Credits.
Re-examinations based on the same curriculum are guaranteed within the two years of the first registration on the course.
Literature
Valid from: 2018 week 1
Managing inclusion in competitive school systems: The cases of Sweden and England
Alexiadou N, Erixon Arreman I, Dovemark M, Ho AS, Lundahl L, Lundström U
Umeå universitet / Research in Comparative and International Education :
2016 :
Mandatory
Teacher Education for inclusive practice
: Responding to policy
Alexiadou N, Essex J
Included in:
European journal of teacher education
London :
Taylor & Francis :
2000- :
39 :
5-19 pages
Länk
Mandatory
Allan Julie
The inclusion challenge
Included in:
Bildning för alla!
Kristianstad :
Kristianstad University Press :
2012 :
247 s. :
109-120 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Still social and democratic?
: Inclusive education policies in the Nordic welfare states
Arnesen A-L, Lundahl L
Included in:
Scandinavian journal of educational research
London :
Taylor & Francis :
2000- :
50 :
285-300 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
How schools do policy
: policy enactments in secondary schools
Ball Stephen J., Maguire Meg, Braun Annette, Hoskins Kate, Perryman Jane
London [u.a.] :
Routledge :
2012 :
173 s. :
ISBN: 9780415676267
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Education around the world
: a comparative introduction
Brock Colin, Alexiadou Nafsika
London :
Bloomsbury :
2013 :
205 p. :
ISBN: 9781441105011
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Bunar N
Choosing for Quality or Inequality
: current perspectives on the implementation of school choice policy in Sweden
Included in:
Journal of education policy [Elektronisk resurs].
London :
Taylor & Francis :
1999- :
25 :
1-18 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Bunar N
Multicultural urban schools in Sweden and their communities
: social predicaments: the power of stigma, and relational dilemmas
Included in:
Urban education [Elektronisk resurs].
Thousand Oaks, CA :
Sage Publications :
1999- :
46 :
141-164 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Erixon Arreman I
The Process of Finding a Shape
: stabilising new research structures in Swedish teacher education
Included in:
European educational research journal
Wallingford :
Triangle Journals :
2002- :
7 :
157-175 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Erixon Arreman I
Student Perceptions of New Differentiation Policies in Swedish Post-16 Education
Included in:
European educational research journal
Wallingford :
Triangle Journals :
2002- :
13 :
616-631 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Inclusive education in Sweden? A critical analysis
Göransson Kerstin, Nilholm Claes, Karlsson Kristina
International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(5), pp. 541-555 :
2011 :
Mandatory
Inclusive education policies
: discourses of difference, diversity and deficit
Hardy Ian, Woodcock Stuart
Included in:
International journal of inclusive education
Routledge :
1999- :
19 :
141-164 pages
Mandatory
Labaree D.F
Public Goods, Private Goods
: The American Struggle over Eduational Goals
Included in:
American educational research journal
Beverly Hills :
Sage :
2000- :
34 :
39-81 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
New forms of European Union governance in the education sector?
: A preliminary analysis of the Open Method of Coordination
Lange B, Alexiadou N
Included in:
European educational research journal
Wallingford :
Triangle Journals :
2002- :
6 :
321-335 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Lindbom A
School Choice in Sweden
: Effects on Student Performance, School Costs, and Segregation
Included in:
Scandinavian journal of educational research
London :
Taylor & Francis :
2000- :
54 :
615-630 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Educational marketization the Swedish way
Lundahl Lisbeth, Erixon Arreman Inger, Holm Ann-Sofie, Lundström Ulf
Included in:
Education inquiry
Umeå :
Umeå School of Education, Umeå University :
2010- :
4 :
497-517 pages
Mandatory
Setting Things Right?
: Swedish Upper Secondary School Reform in a 40-year Perspective
Lundahl L, Erixon Arreman I, Lundström U, Rönnberg L
Included in:
European journal of education
Oxford :
Blackwell :
1999- :
45 :
46-59 pages
Mandatory
Globalizing education policy
Rizvi Fazal, Lingard Bob
London :
Routledge :
2010 :
228 s. :
ISBN: 0415416256
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Enacting inclusion
: a framework for interrogating inclusive practice
Florian L, Spratt J
Included in:
European journal of special needs education
Chichester :
Wiley :
1986- :
28 :
119-135 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Schwarz Anneli
The significance of place and pedagogy in an urban multicultural school in Sweden
Included in:
Education inquiry
Umeå :
Umeå School of Education, Umeå University :
2010- :
5 :
247-264 pages
Mandatory
Does initial teacher education make a difference?
: The impact of teacher preparation on student teachers’ attitudes towards educational inclusion
Sosu M.E, Mtika P, Colucci-Gray L
Included in:
JET
Abingdon :
Carfax :
1996- :
36 :
389-405 pages
Ladda ner pdf
Mandatory
Additional articles will be included closer to the start of the course.