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Educational Policy

Code: 101159
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Sociology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Antoni Verger Planells
Email :
antoni.verger@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Clara Fontdevila Puig

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

  • Preferably, students should have a background on education (in subjects such as sociology of education, education sciences or economics of education) and/or public policy.

Objectives

This course aims to:

  • Introduce a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives for examining the processes and outcomes of education policy, and equip students with the knowledge and analytical skills needed to understand education policy in different contexts.
  • Develop a broad understanding of the social, economic, and political dimensions of education policy.
  • Apply these perspectives across different levels of education (early childhood education, primary and secondary education, higher education, and vocational education and training) and policy impact dimensions (equity, quality, efficiency, inclusion, etc.).
  • Foster interest in further studying education policy from a social sciences perspective.


Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • Identify the objectives and strategies of education policies and assess their impact across a range of dimensions.
  • Understand and recognize the main actors and processes that shape education policy at different levels.
  • Understand the processes involved in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of education policies.
  • Develop critical thinking and analytical skills, and effectively communicate analyses of social phenomena and policy interventions using a basic level of English.
  • Develop the skills and competencies needed to work effectively in teams.


Learning outcomes

  1. Effectively communicating the basic analysis of social phenomena in an elementary level of English.
  2. Students must be capable of managing their own time, planning their own study, managing the relationship with their tutor or adviser, as well as setting and meeting deadlines for a work project.
  3. Searching for documentary sources starting from concepts.
  4. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  5. Generating innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
  6. Defining the appropriate sociological concepts in order to interpret the educational and school phenomena.
  7. Comparing the different theoretical approaches about education.
  8. Distinguishing the social interpretations of education according to these approaches.
  9. Expressing the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to education.
  10. Relating the debates regarding these approaches, that refer to education, with the historical context in which they emerged.
  11. Distinguishing the underlying social phenomena of educational policies and conflicts.
  12. Distinguishing the underlying educational phenomena of specific policies or conflicts.
  13. Relating the concepts, methods and techniques used to analyse education with general theoretical and methodological debates.
  14. Distinguishing sociological concepts concerning education adopted by the actors involved in the educational system.
  15. Distinguishing the explanations of educational inequalities between classes, between genders and between ethnic groups that these actors take for granted.

Contents

1. Thinking Critically About Education Policy

1.1. Understanding education policy as public policy.

1.2. Theories on the role of the state in education.

1.3. The development of education systems and education regimes.

1.4. The governance paradigm: education policy beyond the state.

1.5. Sociological approaches to the analysis of education policy.


2. Dimensions of the Impact of Education Policy

2.1. Funding and efficiency.

2.2. Students' academic achievement.

2.3. Social, gender, and ethnic inequalities.

2.4. Social cohesion, inclusion, and diversity.

2.5. Innovation and diversity.

2.6. Teachers and professionalism.


3. Education Reforms: Policies and Programmatic Ideas

3.1. Privatization and quasi-markets in education.

3.2. School choice and school zoning.

3.3. National and international assessments.

3.4. New public management: autonomy and accountability.

3.5. New teacher policies.

3.6. Vocational education and training as a tool for development.


4. The Public Policy Cycle

4.1. Multi-level governance: local, national, and transnational actors.

4.2. Formulation and design of education policies.

4.3. Implementation of education policies.

4.4. Evaluation of education policies.

4.5. Public and private actors.


Please note that the syllabus may be subject to minor changes during the academic year. Any changes will be communicated to students in advance. For the most up-to-date version, students are advised to consult the course handbook distributed on the first day of class.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
autonomous work and study 75 3
tutorials 30 1.2
seminars 24 0.96
In-class exercices 16 0.64

This class is structured as a student-centred, collaborative course, which places great emphasis on the role of peers in the learning process. Thus, students are expected to come to class having completed all the readings, to enhance discussions by sharing their experiences and insights every session, to pose questions and to engage with the contributions of their classmates.

The course is structured according to four types of activities that will follow different methodological principles:

  • Theoretical classes organized around the lecturer presentation but that are open to the intervention and participation of students.
  • Practical sessions (debates around the readings, documentaries and other multimedia materials, and practical exercises to solve problems).
  • Tutorial meetings to provide feed-back and guidance, organized on a one-to-one basis or in small groups.
  • Autonomous activities by the students (both individual and in group) such as reading the course texts or writing the assignments.
Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
In-class participation 10 0 0 1, 4, 9, 15
Group essay 30 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 15
Exam 45 2 0.08 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15
Class presentation 15 1 0.04 2, 3, 5, 8, 12

Some remarks relative to assessment:

  • Students need to pass each of the components to pass the course.
  • Students with an average mark below 5 will be able to do a recovery exam.
  • If plagiarism is detected in a written input, it will be given the mark of 0.

This subject contemplates the possibility of a single assessment, which will be done with the final exam, which has a competitive nature and covers all the thematic blocks of the subject

AI. Allowed use: In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution by the student in the analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.

Bibliography

1. Thinking critically about education policy

Essential readings

  • Carnoy, M. (1982). Education, economy and the State (pp. 79-126). In M. Apple (Ed.), Cultural and Economic Reproduction in Education. Essays on Class, Ideology and the State. London/New York: Routledge.
  • Dale, R., & Robertson, S. (2009). Beyond methodological ‘ISMS’ in comparative education in an era of globalisation. In R. Cowen and A. M. Kazamias (Eds.), International Handbook of Comparative Education (pp. 1113-1127). Dordrecht: Springer.
  • Rizvi, F. and Lingard, B. (2010). Conceptions of education policy (pp. 1-21) In Globalizing Education Policy. London: Routledge.

Recommended readings

  • Cairney, P. 2011. Introduction: theories and issues (pp. 1-20). In Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Klees, S. J. 2008. Reflections on theory, method, and practice in comparative and international education. Comparative Education Review 52(3), 301-328.
  • Pawson R., & Tilley N. Realist Evaluation. London: Cabinet Office.
  • Verger, A., Novelli, M., & Altinyelken, H. (2018). Global Education Policy and International Development: A Revisited Introduction. In The Handbook of Global Education Policy [2nd edition] (pp. 1-32). Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
  • West, A., & Nikolai, R. (2013). Welfare regimes and education regimes: Equality of opportunity and expenditure in the EU (and US). Journal of Social Policy, 42(3), 469-493.
  • Williams, J.A. (1997). The Diffusion of the Modern School. In W. Cummings & N. McGinn (Eds.) International Handbook of Education and Development: Preparing Schools, Studentsand Nations for the Twenty-First Century (pp. 119-136). Oxford, New York, Tokio: Pergamon/Elsevier Sciences.

2. Globalization and education policy

Essential readings

  • Grek, S. (2009). Governing by Numbers: the PISA effect in Europe. Journal of Education Policy 24(1), 23-37.
  • Heyneman, S. P. 2003. The history and problems in the making of education policy at the World Bank 1960-2000. International Journal of Educational Development 23, 315-337.
  • Mundy, K., Green, A., Lingard, B., & Verger, A. (2016). Introduction: The globalization of education policy–key approaches and debates. The handbook of global education policy, 1-20.

Recommended readings

  • Ball, S. (2009). Privatizing education, privatizing education policy, privatizing educational research: network governance and the 'competition state'. Journal of Education Policy, 24(1), 83-99.
  • Bhanji, Z. The Business Case for Transnational Corporate Participation, Profits, and Policy-Making in Education. In K. Mundy, A. Green, B. Lingard, & A. Verger (Eds.), The Handbook of Global Education Policy [2nd edition] (pp. 419-432) Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
  • Breakspear, S. (2012). The Policy )mpact of PISA: An Exploration of the Normative Effects of International Benchmarking in School System Performance (OECD Education Working Papers, 71). Paris: OECD.
  • Carnoy, M. 1999. Chapter 3: Globalization’s impact on educational reform strategies (pp. 37-46). In Globalization and Educational Reform: What Planners Need to Know. Paris: UNESCO.
  • Jones, P. (1999). Globalisation and the UNESCO mandate: multilateral prospects foreducational development. International Journal of Educational Development 19, 17-25.
  • King, K. (2007). Multilateral agencies in the construction of the global agenda on education. Comparative Education, 43(3), 377-391.
  • Lawn, M., & Lingard, B. (2002). Constructing a European policy space in educational governance: the role of transnational policy actors. European Educational Research Journal (2), 290-307.
  • Mundy, K., & Murphy, L. (2001) Transnational advocacy, global civil society? Emerging evidence from the field of education. Comparative Education Review, 45(1), 85-126. 

3. Policies and key ideas in education reform

Essential readings

  • Addey, C., Sellar, S., Steiner-Khamsi, G., Lingard, B. & Verger, A. (2017). The rise of international large-scale assessments and rationales for participation. Compare, 47(3), 434-452.
  • Rizvi. F. (2016). Privatization in Education: Trends and Consequences (Education Research and Foresight Working Papers, 18. Paris: UNESCO.
  • Verger, A., Fontdevila, C., & Parcerisa, L. (2019). Reforming governance through policy instruments: How and to what extent standards, tests and accountability in education spread worldwide. Discourse, 40(2), 248-270.

Recommended readings

  • Allais, S. (2012). Will skills save us? Rethinking the relationships between vocational education, skills development policies, and social policy in South Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(5), 632-642.
  • Ball, S. J., & Youdell, D. (2008). Hidden privatisation in public education. Brussels: Education International.
  • Kamens, D. H. and McNeely, C. L. (2010). Globalization and the growth of international educational testing and national assessment. Comparative Education Review, 54(1), 5-25.
  • McGrath, S. (2012), Vocational education and training for development: A policy in need of a theory? International Journal of Educational Development, 32(5), 623-631.
  • Paine, L., & Zeichner, K. (2012). The local and the global in reforming teaching and teacher Education. Comparative Education Review, 56(4), 569-583.
  • Robertson, S. L. (2016). The global governance of teachers' work. In K. Mundy, A. Green, B. Lingard, & A. Verger (Eds.), The Handbook of Global Education Policy [2nd edition] (pp. 375-290) Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
  • Valiente, O. (2014). The OECD skills strategy and the education agenda for development. International Journal of Educational Development, 39, 40-48
  • Verger, A., & Parcerisa, L. (2018). Test-based accountability and the rise of regulatory governance in education: a review of global drivers. In A. Wilkins and A. Olmedo (Eds). Education Governance and Social Theory: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Research (pp. 139-158). London: Bloomsbury.

4. Impact dimensions of education policy

Essential readings

  • Subrahmanian, R. (2005). Gender equality in education: definitions and measurements. International Journal of Educational Development 25, 395-407.
  • UNESCO. (2018). Setting out a conceptual framework for measuring equity in learning. InHandbook on Measuring Equity in Education (pp. 16-45). Paris: UNESCO.
  • Zancajo, A., & Bonal, X. (2020). Education markets and school segregation: a mechanism-based explanation. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. Published ahead-of-print.

Recommended readings

  • Bonal, X. (2012). Education policy and school segregation of migrant students in Catalonia: The politics of non-decision-making. Journalof Education Policy, 27(3),401-421.
  • Colclough, C. (2012). Education, poverty and development–mapping their interconnections. Comparative Education, 48(2), 135-148.
  • Lubienski, C. (2003). Innovation in education markets: theory and evidence on the impact of competition and choice in charter schools. American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 395-443.
  • MacDonald, K. (2016). Calls for educating girls in the Third World: futurity, girls and the ‘Third World Woman’. Gender, Place & Culture, 23(1), 1-17.
  • Nusche, D. (2009), What Works in Migrant Education?A Review of Evidence and Policy Options (OECD Education Working, 22). Paris: OECD.
  • Verger, A., Bonal, X., & Zancajo, A. (2016). What Are the Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education? A Realist Evaluation of the Chilean Education Quasi-Market. Comparative Education Review, 60(2), 223-248.
  • Waslander, S., C. Pater, and M. van der Weide. 2010. Markets in Education: An Analytical Review of Empirical Research on Market Mechanisms in Education (OECD Working Papers, 52). Paris. OECD.

Software

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Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English first semester morning-mixed