Series editors’ preface

Summary

In a world that is rapidly changing, increasingly connected and uncertain, there is a need to develop a shared applied policy analysis of welfare regimes around the globe. Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy is a series of books that addresses broad questions on how nation states and transnational policy actors manage globally shared challenges. In so doing, the series includes a wide array of contributions, which discuss comparative social policy history, development and reform within a broad international context. The series invites innovative research by leading experts on all world regions and global social policy actors, and aims to fulfill the following objectives: it encourages cross- disciplinary approaches that develop theoretical frameworks reaching across individual world regions and global actors; it seeks to provide evidence- based good practice examples that cross the bridge between academic research and practice; not least, it aims to provide a platform in which a wide range of innovative methodological approaches, whether these be national case studies, larger- N comparative studies or global social policy studies, can be introduced to aid the evaluation, design and implementation of future social policies.

Although sometimes challenged, there are still concerns that mainstream comparative and global social policy analysis has tended to overlook the critical welfare pillar of education. This is why we are delighted to be able to include in our book series the edited volume by Edwards, Verger, McKenzie and Takayama which explores a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches to study the movement of global education policies. More specifically, this book highlights the processes and mechanisms through which education policies are diffused, transferred and translated across different contexts, scales and geographies. The chapters in this edited volume illustrate how these approaches can help to understand and problematize the dynamics and effects of policy movement in various areas of education. This includes exploring areas such as charter schools, school accountability, inclusive education, gender equality, the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) and new public management.

More precisely, this ambitious contribution to our book series is a collection of 13 chapters that apply various analytical perspectives and approaches – namely cross- scalar, discursive, topological and decolonial – to analyze how and why the movement of policies in global education occurs and with what implications.