Curriculum In International Contexts

This book is an exposition of how political, cultural, historical, and economic structures and processes shape the nature and character of curriculum landscapes globally. By developing theoretical connections and providing contextual background, Kumar explores how colonialism and imperialism, state-led ideological control, and the wave of neoliberalism and capitalism insidiously impact the process of curriculum development in different parts of the world. Kumar also underscores how intellectual movements such as Marxism and postmodernism have shaped curriculum theory in varied political and economic settings. By emphasizing the connections between and among diverse cultural and political conceptualizations of curriculum, this volume contributes to the internationalization of curriculum studies discourses.

This volume addresses problems and emerging trends in curriculum and technology, and discusses educational matters at the intersection of national and international challenges. It takes the reader on a journey considering issues in curriculum research and practice and developments in teacher education and technology. The book also shows that curriculum as an applied discipline has direct and indirect influences not only on schooling, but also on uncertainties of society, vulnerable groups and global changes. It will be of great interest to curriculum scholars, educators and practitioners, especially when distance education and remote teaching are on the agenda of all education systems throughout the world.

This book draws on this key and developing notion of 'distributed leadership' and focuses on the relationship between leadership and learning in educational settings.

Taking a global perspective, the chapters within this book follow a common framework to explore how macro-level factors help to create the conditions in which school-to-school collaboration is likely to succeed or fail ‘on the ground’.

This publication provides an insight to the origins and characteristics of international schools, curriculum and assessment, students and teaching staff, and the management, leadership and governance of these schools. It also discusses how international schools (usually private and fee-paying) might develop in the future against a backdrop of growing forces of globalization and other international influences. In all cases, attention is drawn to the implications of the issues discussed for both policy-makers and planners in national and international contexts.

Provides a provocative examination of the interplay between political culture and educational policy. The goal is to provide a better understanding of how different countries are responding to the global exchange of policy ideas that includes 'the standards movement' and 'new public management' or accountability in the public sector.

The widely cited, though highly contested, idea that “the world is flat” (Friedman, 2004) carries with it a call for education to provide a leveling effect across continents and cultures Students in Skokie or in Skopje, as the theory goes, are expected to experience a school curriculum that shares certain common elements, goals, and purposes. Such a globalized view is not, however, without its complications. This book addresses some of the issues that arise when the transmigration of educational ideas occurs, with a particular eye toward the ethical dilemmas that curriculum workers face in international contexts. The authors who have contributed to this volume explore, through case examples and critical reflection, what happens when ideas that are drawn from one set of cultural norms and experiences is introduced into other cultural contexts. In many cases these are the stories of “donors” and “hosts,” of structured inequities of power and influence, of disparities in material resources, and, as expressed in one of the cases, the dynamics of the “colonizer” and the “colonized.” A recurrent theme concerns the challenges faced by educators working internationally to reconcile their own ethical predispositions toward equity and cultural responsiveness with certain tacit assumptions about the appropriateness or value of curriculum practices brought from the “developed” world for teachers and students in the “developing” world. How these dilemmas are navigated forms the content of this collection of reports from the field written by those who engage in this complex and important work. While the content of this volume is situated at the intersection between the field of curriculum studies and comparative education, it is fundamentally a book about curriculum. Most of the authors come from various disciplinary backgrounds with specializations in curriculum development in content areas such as social studies, geography, or mathematics. As “outsiders looking in” on the field of international education and with thoughtful reflections grounded in practice, the authors provide a new set of insights into the challenges of international curriculum work. Finally, since many of the questions raised by the work included here are ethical in nature, the book begins and ends with analyses that link the practical realities presented in the cases with contemporary philosophical thought. This, then, can be seen as the primary contribution of the book to the educational literature as it offers a careful and well-articulated synthesis of theory and practice in the field of international curriculum work. This publication would make an important contribution to courses in curriculum theory and practice, comparative and international education, and international development outside of the field of education.

The Early Years Curriculum brings together a range of curriculum models from across the world, providing in-depth discussion on key issues and theories, and enabling readers to consider each approach to children's learning within an international context. It encourages readers to explore different ways of understanding the curriculum, and to develop a critical understanding of the key issues that shape the way a curriculum is designed.