Time in Education Policy Transfer: The Seven Temporalities of Global School Reform

Group Submission Type: Book Launch

Description of Session

This open-access book investigates a topic underexplored in policy transfer: time. Drawing on well-known theories from comparative education, public policy studies, political science, and sociology, but written in an easy-to-understand language, Gita Steiner-Khamsi discusses seven temporalities of policy transfer: historical period, future, sequence, timing, lifespan, age, and tempo. The temporal dimension helps us understand when the current school reform, known as the school-autonomy-with-accountability reform, developed into a global script, why it conquered the globe, and how it was selectively adopted and translated into each local context. Also, for the first time in this book, the author demonstrates what exactly diffused and what “stuck,” that is, which features of the reform were eventually institutionalized. Internationally renowned for her seminal work on policy borrowing, Steiner-Khamsi systematically applies a comparative, transnational, and global perspective to capture the role of the OECD and the World Bank in advancing and accelerating the reform’s worldwide diffusion. The book is scheduled to be published open-access in Chinese (University of Hong Kong Press) and Spanish (Prometeo Publisher).

The book launch provides an overview of the book in which the author highlights commonalities and differences with existing scholarship on policy transfer, policy mobilities, and policy borrowing. Many scholars, she is referencing in the book, are members of the CIES community, ensuring a live discussion about the book and the topic.

Two renowned scholars of policy transfer--Tricia Bromley (Stanford) and Antoni Verger (Autonomous University of Barcelona)--serve as the critical commentators of the book. The discussion will be opened to the audience after their short inputs.

Sub Unit

• Book Launches and Workshops / Book Launch

Chair

• D. Brent Edwards, University of Hawaii

Book Launch Presenter

• Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Columbia University Teachers College & NORRAG

Discussants

• Patricia Bromley, Stanford University

• Antoni Verger, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona