This thesis makes a productive contribution to understanding the rapidly expanding and contested field of global school partnerships, by placing the rich narratives from a handful of school partnerships into the global education context of social, historical, political, and cultural processes. Principally, it tells the story of one partnership, between two primary schools in rural Devon and urban Tanzania, nested within a network of partnerships and governed by DfID’s Global School Partnership (GSP) programme. The cross-continental nature of the school partnerships called for a multi-sited, ethnographic approach, informed and shaped by postcolonial and feminist principles. Partnerships comprise a range of practices, most significant of which were the reciprocal teacher visits that punctuated, and energised, the partnership calendar, presenting spaces for encounter. The emotional and embodied encounters formed the backbone of the partnerships, and produced narratives that were circulated amongst the partnerships and re-presented to audiences in the home country. Firstly, school partnerships engendered the production of moral subjectivities, which were underscored by broad discourses of citizenship, global citizenship, and moral education. With its objective to foster global citizenship, the global partnership occupied an ambiguous position within this discursive framework. Secondly, the encounters presented moments in which narratives of education, teaching, and learning were produced, contested, negotiated, and in some cases, reworked by the participating teachers. As a cultural device, the GSP was both indicative, and constitutive, of the discourse surrounding the neoliberal realignment of the education sector around the world, and provided a productive lens through which to reflect upon the contemporary transformation of the institution. Importantly, the GSP presented a significant site in which neoliberal stories of aspiration, hard work, and global outlooks, became intimately entangled with ‘caring’ stories of concern and responsible citizenship. Most scholarship has focused on the role of secondary and tertiary education sectors in the production of the knowledge economy, but this ethnography finds that nascent discourses and imaginaries of the ‘global’ citizen are already being established and performed in primary schools around the world.

<p>The overall aim of this study is to describe and analyse some of the consequences of market forces and decentralisation in the educational systems of Sweden and England.</p><p>Since the 1980s, many countries have restructured their educational systems and introduced decentralisation and market forces. The reasons have sometimes been the same and sometimes they have differed, but demands for better school performance and the need for economic cuttings in the public sector, including schooling, are two of the most common reasons. This study will describe the development towards market forces and decentralisation in some countries in the western world in general, and, in particular Sweden and England. </p><p>The thesis makes a general overview of research on these issues in different countries and focuses on certain key concepts. Interviews and document analyses are the principal methods used, and case studies have been conducted in seven secondary schools in one Swedish municipality, and in ten schools in an English county. Interviews were made with 20 school leaders in the Swedish municipality and 20 in the English community in order to study their opinions on market solutions like competition and choice of school, as well as decentralisation and local management of schools.</p><p>The findings indicate that the educational systems of Sweden and England differ in many aspects, even if both can be described as decentralised. While the Swedish system gives the schools a high degree of autonomy, whereby the school leaders are responsible for almost everything in the daily running of the school, the English system includes more aspects of centralism, and provides less local decision making. The findings also indicate that the school leaders in Swedish municipalities are more satisfied with both decentralisation and market forces in schooling than their English colleagues. Several plausible interpretations could be made of the interview answers from the school leaders, but it seems that the higher degree of decentralisation in the Swedish educational system is perhaps the most important factor in this case. </p><p>Finally, the findings also indicate that the school leaders see positive aspects of choice and competition in schooling, like increased quality and better efficiency, as well as negative aspects, primarily the risk of segregation due to free school choice.</p>

The overall aim of this study is to describe and analyse some of the consequences of market forces and decentralisation in the educational systems of Sweden and England. Since the 1980s, many countries have restructured their educational systems and introduced decentralisation and market forces. The reasons have sometimes been the same and sometimes they have differed, but demands for better school performance and the need for economic cuttings in the public sector, including schooling, are two of the most common reasons. This study will describe the development towards market forces and decentralisation in some countries in the western world in general, and, in particular Sweden and England. The thesis makes a general overview of research on these issues in different countries and focuses on certain key concepts. Interviews and document analyses are the principal methods used, and case studies have been conducted in seven secondary schools in one Swedish municipality, and in ten schools in an English county. Interviews were made with 20 school leaders in the Swedish municipality and 20 in the English community in order to study their opinions on market solutions like competition and choice of school, as well as decentralisation and local management of schools. The findings indicate that the educational systems of Sweden and England differ in many aspects, even if both can be described as decentralised. While the Swedish system gives the schools a high degree of autonomy, whereby the school leaders are responsible for almost everything in the daily running of the school, the English system includes more aspects of centralism, and provides less local decision making. The findings also indicate that the school leaders in Swedish municipalities are more satisfied with both decentralisation and market forces in schooling than their English colleagues. Several plausible interpretations could be made of the interview answers from the school leaders, but it seems that the higher degree of decentralisation in the Swedish educational system is perhaps the most important factor in this case. Finally, the findings also indicate that the school leaders see positive aspects of choice and competition in schooling, like increased quality and better efficiency, as well as negative aspects, primarily the risk of segregation due to free school choice.

Educational restructuring is an international phenomenon, which emphasizes flexibility, local decision-making, self-regulation and innovation in contrast to previous bureaucratic governing and standardised teaching. Current reforms aim at a school adapted to the emerging information- and knowledge intensive society. The aim of the dissertation is to examine current curriculum reforms concerning the governing and organisation of time in compulsory school. In what ways is the temporal order of schools changing in a late modern post-industrial society? What new conditions for teaching are these changes implicating? What kinds of dilemmas emerge for different school actors in conducting these reforms? By using critical discourse analysis, educational reforms are studied as a dynamic discursive practice with different concurring imperatives formatted in tension fields of cultural, social and political changes. Four case studies are used to explore how a current Swedish curriculum reform, Without a National Timetable in Compulsory School, was conducted in an experiment period over five years. The local appropriation of the policy intentions was found to depend on: (i) the preparedness of reform within the particular school, (ii) the dominant school culture, (iii) the local decision-making processes, and (iv) variations in reform mobilisation (identified in the case studies as micro-political struggle, resistance by evasiveness, preservation of consensus and stratification). The results demonstrate that curriculum reform, the ongoing movement of educational restructuring, is not a linear unambiguous process of application. On the contrary, it is a discursive arena, which has a great impact as it involves discourses of efficiency and quality development, increased professionalism, economical cost-reduction, choice and devolution. These discourses involve concurring imperatives for school actors to handle time in the organisation of teaching dependent upon how they are positioned as (i) effective ‘goals makers’ (ii) problem-solvers, who remove obstacles for individual learning projects, (iii) strategists in a more competitive educational landscape, (iv) and moral agents, who in deliberation with others work towards a fair and equal school. It is concluded that for school actors, who work under the crossfire of educational restructuring, these imperatives pose a number of complex dilemmas.

This dissertation deals with the changing conditions for schools and the teaching profession from a teachers’ perspective. The process of the global restructuring of national educational systems that gained momentum in Sweden in the 1990s, involved the introduction of a school voucher system, competition mechanisms and the decentralization of responsibilities to schools and teachers.  The aim of this dissertation is to examine teachers’ professional identities in relation to changes in local and global conditions for schools and the teaching profession.     Empirically, this study is anchored in 15 life history interviews conducted with eight teachers who have been working at the same secondary school in a Swedish mid-sized town. The school opened in 1965 in a residential area and closed down 2007 facing difficulties in attracting students. The teachers’ professional identities are analyzed in terms of identity performances, that is, the socially situated actions embedded in the stories and the interviews, in which they express and negotiate who they are or would like to be as a teacher. Methodologically this study contributes to a new way of investigating the relation between local school contexts and teacher identities by analyzing the institutional memories of a school.     Results show that educational restructuring in this local school context entailed shifts in the meanings of previously known social relationships and phenomena, such as the school’s mixed student base, reputation and forms of cooperation, and that the local press became an important actor when market mechanisms were introduced. The study highlights the complexity and variability when professional identities take shape in the teachers’ stories. Some features of the professional identities focused on in this study appear to be relatively stable, while others appear to be more varying. Self biographical factors, culturally available narratives of the teaching profession, as well as local factors tend to have a stabilizing effect on the identities shaped in the stories. However, diverse professional aims, life events and changing working conditions contribute to changes in the identity constructions. In the analysis of the institutional memories presented in the thesis, it is evident that identity performances are shaped in the teachers’ retellings of those memories. In different teachers’ versions of institutional memories, identity performances that stress e.g. the importance of discipline in school and opposition to women’s subordination are shaped.

This study was conducted to investigate the change in pre-service teacher education in Turkey by using Chaos Theory. The research questions were the following: 1) How did the 1982 restructuring relate to the 1998 restructuring? (2) What were the reasons for the anomalies that led to the 1998 restructuring? (3) How did the 1998 process of transformation work? (4) At which stage of the curve is the system now? (5) What are the possible paths the new model may evolve? The data sources in this qualitative research study were interviews and documents. The 28 participants of the interviews included some key decision-makers at related institutes and some academic staff at 8 different Education Faculties in Ankara, EskiSehir, Bolu, Adana, and KirSehir. The written documents included some relevant reports, meeting minutes, the proceedings of conferences and panel discussions, research articles, and some articles of four different newspapers in Turkey. A model of &lsquo / Change as Chaotic Transformation&rsquo / was designed by the researcher as a theoretical framework. The data, subjected to a content analysis, revealed that the logic of chaotic transformation has significant implications in investigating and understanding the stability versus instability phases in teacher education affairs in Turkey / roughly 1950s - 1970 (evolution and stability), 1970s (disequilibrium and turbulence), 1982 &ndash / early 1990s (&lsquo / forced stability&rsquo / ), and mid-1990s to 1998 (turbulence and transformation) are significant phases in this sense. The data also revealed that the reasons for the anomalies that led to the 1998 restructuring were in both program and administrative issues. Further, the process of transformation in 1998 was &lsquo / self-organization.&rsquo / It is found that presently the 1998 model is perceived as not yet institutionalized / the achievements in program issues realigned teacher education to its &lsquo / identity&rsquo / , but the path the new model may evolve depends on the clarification and institutionalization of &lsquo / governance&rsquo / and implementing strategies for developing &lsquo / human resources&rsquo / (the teacher educator profile).

Text in English, abstract in English and Afrikaans / Dramatic changes in Newfoundland's environment and global developments during the past decade, significantly influenced growing demands for restructuring the education system of Newfoundland. Responding to these demands, Newfoundland educators succeeded in creating a single unified non-denominational education system which became fully operational at the beginning of the 1998/99 school year. This achievement has been hailed by the majority of Newfoundlanders as a monumental landmark in the provinces' lengthy experience with denominational education. As well, it is viewed as pivotal in achieving educational excellence and ensuring that children receive a relevant education that will prepare them for the demands of the next century. The former education system (which consisted of four separate denominational school systems operated jointly by the church and the state) had become too cumbersome and inefficient, thus adversely affecting the quality of education. This thesis looks in particular at the contextual realities and perspectives that influenced the demands for changing the system. Such factors as the declining school population, economic conditions, technological developments, as well as legal and political issues have distinctly changed the Newfoundland society during the past number of years, hence the necessity to restructure the education system. The thesis furthermore discusses the proposed government model for restructuring the system and highlights the proposals for improving education. It also focuses briefly on the minority rights issue in Canada, as this has bearing on the legal rights of the church to educate in Newfoundland and its current role within the new structure. An evaluation of Newfoundland's educational reform initiatives (which includes the views of key educators in Newfoundland on these issues), deals with some of the problem areas which currently exist within the new system. However, the focus centres mainly on the obvious improvements in such areas as management, organization, parent involvement, curriculum development, educational achievement and accountability. The impact of these reforms on the social, educational and political dimensions of the Newfoundland society will only become evident in time, yet they hold the promise of having a lasting impact on educational achievement. The remarkable feature of the whole reform process is, that it was achieved from within. / Die ingrypende veranderings wat die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap oor die afgelope dekade ondergaan het, tesame met ontwikkelings op wereldvlak, het aanleiding gegee tot toenemende eise om die onderwysstelsel van Newfoundland te herstruktureer. Gevolglik onderneem die Newfoundlandse regering 'n omvattende herondersoek van die onderwys wat lei tot die vorming van 'n enkele, openbare, ge'integreerde onderwysstelsel wat aan die begin van die skooljaar 1998/99 in werking tree. Hierdie prestasie word as 'n besondere keerpunt in die onderwys deur Newfoundlanders beskou, aangesien die behoud en vooruitgang van die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap en onderwys daardeur verseker word. Voorheen het die onderwysstelsel uit vier afsonderlike kerkskoolstelsels bestaan wat gesamentlik deur die staat en kerk op alle vlakke beheer en bestuur is. Hierdie eiesoortige struktuur het die onderwys al hoe meer belemmer en opvoedkundiges genoodsaak om dit te hersien. Hierdie studie kyk eerstens na die vergestaltende faktore en lewensbeskouings wat die onderwys in Newfoundland ten diepste raak. Faktore soos dalende geboortegetalle, ekonomiese toestande, tegnologiese en staatkundige ontwikkelings dra veral by tot die veranderde leefwereld van die Newfoundlander en noop die regering om die onderwysstelsel daarby aan te pas en 'n onderwysmodel vir die toekoms te ontwerp. Hierdie onderwysmodel wat alle komponente asook die struktuur van die onderwysstelsel aanraak, word vervolgens ontleed. Aandag word ook gewy aan die kwessie van minderheidsregte in Kanada, omdat dit die kerk se reg om onderwys in Newfoundland te bedryf, raak. Laastens word die onderwyshervormings vanuit sekere perspektiewe in oenskou geneem en die standpunte van sommige Newfoundlandse opvoedkundiges word gestel. In die slotbeskouing word ook enkele probleme ge'identifiseer. Die bespreking word egter hoofsaaklik gewy aan aspekte van die onderwys wat alreeds verbetering toon soos onder andere onderwysbeheer en onderwysorganisasie, ouerbetrokkenheid, curriculumontwikkeling en onderwyskundige ontwikkeling. Die toekoms sal bepaal hoe hierdie omvangryke en omvattende onderwysveranderings die sosio-kulturele dimensies van die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap sal be'invloed, terwyl dit die belofte inhou om 'n dinamiese verbetering te bewerkstellig. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Text in English, abstract in English and Afrikaans / Dramatic changes in Newfoundland's environment and global developments during the past decade, significantly influenced growing demands for restructuring the education system of Newfoundland. Responding to these demands, Newfoundland educators succeeded in creating a single unified non-denominational education system which became fully operational at the beginning of the 1998/99 school year. This achievement has been hailed by the majority of Newfoundlanders as a monumental landmark in the provinces' lengthy experience with denominational education. As well, it is viewed as pivotal in achieving educational excellence and ensuring that children receive a relevant education that will prepare them for the demands of the next century. The former education system (which consisted of four separate denominational school systems operated jointly by the church and the state) had become too cumbersome and inefficient, thus adversely affecting the quality of education. This thesis looks in particular at the contextual realities and perspectives that influenced the demands for changing the system. Such factors as the declining school population, economic conditions, technological developments, as well as legal and political issues have distinctly changed the Newfoundland society during the past number of years, hence the necessity to restructure the education system. The thesis furthermore discusses the proposed government model for restructuring the system and highlights the proposals for improving education. It also focuses briefly on the minority rights issue in Canada, as this has bearing on the legal rights of the church to educate in Newfoundland and its current role within the new structure. An evaluation of Newfoundland's educational reform initiatives (which includes the views of key educators in Newfoundland on these issues), deals with some of the problem areas which currently exist within the new system. However, the focus centres mainly on the obvious improvements in such areas as management, organization, parent involvement, curriculum development, educational achievement and accountability. The impact of these reforms on the social, educational and political dimensions of the Newfoundland society will only become evident in time, yet they hold the promise of having a lasting impact on educational achievement. The remarkable feature of the whole reform process is, that it was achieved from within. / Die ingrypende veranderings wat die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap oor die afgelope dekade ondergaan het, tesame met ontwikkelings op wereldvlak, het aanleiding gegee tot toenemende eise om die onderwysstelsel van Newfoundland te herstruktureer. Gevolglik onderneem die Newfoundlandse regering 'n omvattende herondersoek van die onderwys wat lei tot die vorming van 'n enkele, openbare, ge'integreerde onderwysstelsel wat aan die begin van die skooljaar 1998/99 in werking tree. Hierdie prestasie word as 'n besondere keerpunt in die onderwys deur Newfoundlanders beskou, aangesien die behoud en vooruitgang van die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap en onderwys daardeur verseker word. Voorheen het die onderwysstelsel uit vier afsonderlike kerkskoolstelsels bestaan wat gesamentlik deur die staat en kerk op alle vlakke beheer en bestuur is. Hierdie eiesoortige struktuur het die onderwys al hoe meer belemmer en opvoedkundiges genoodsaak om dit te hersien. Hierdie studie kyk eerstens na die vergestaltende faktore en lewensbeskouings wat die onderwys in Newfoundland ten diepste raak. Faktore soos dalende geboortegetalle, ekonomiese toestande, tegnologiese en staatkundige ontwikkelings dra veral by tot die veranderde leefwereld van die Newfoundlander en noop die regering om die onderwysstelsel daarby aan te pas en 'n onderwysmodel vir die toekoms te ontwerp. Hierdie onderwysmodel wat alle komponente asook die struktuur van die onderwysstelsel aanraak, word vervolgens ontleed. Aandag word ook gewy aan die kwessie van minderheidsregte in Kanada, omdat dit die kerk se reg om onderwys in Newfoundland te bedryf, raak. Laastens word die onderwyshervormings vanuit sekere perspektiewe in oenskou geneem en die standpunte van sommige Newfoundlandse opvoedkundiges word gestel. In die slotbeskouing word ook enkele probleme ge'identifiseer. Die bespreking word egter hoofsaaklik gewy aan aspekte van die onderwys wat alreeds verbetering toon soos onder andere onderwysbeheer en onderwysorganisasie, ouerbetrokkenheid, curriculumontwikkeling en onderwyskundige ontwikkeling. Die toekoms sal bepaal hoe hierdie omvangryke en omvattende onderwysveranderings die sosio-kulturele dimensies van die Newfoundlandse gemeenskap sal be'invloed, terwyl dit die belofte inhou om 'n dinamiese verbetering te bewerkstellig. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)