Overview

This book challenges conventional approaches to global education policy (GEP) by exploring its often-overlooked onto-epistemic and religio-spiritual dimensions. Through eight thought-provoking chapters, leading scholars critically examine how fundamental questions of knowing, being, and worldview shape the field's theoretical foundations and practical implications. The contributors delve deep into the Western modernist assumptions that underpin GEP. From Vietnam's educational exchange with Mozambique to Christian normativity in higher education, the chapters offer diverse perspectives on how colonial legacies, religious frameworks, and philosophical traditions continue to influence educational policy and practice worldwide. The book makes a vital contribution by: Interrogating the Western-centric nature of GEP scholarship Exploring alternative epistemological and ontological frameworks Examining the intersection of rationalized bureaucracy with ritual governance Investigating transnational academic mobility in relation to the notion of multiple selves This volume is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand the deeper structures and assumptions that shape global education policy. By bringing together perspectives from comparative education, philosophy, and critical theory, it opens new pathways for reimagining the field beyond its current theoretical and methodological boundaries. It was originally published as a special issue of Comparative Education.

Full Product Details

Author:   D. Brent Edwards Jr
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.520kg
ISBN:  

9781041135746

ISBN 10:   1041135742
Pages:   182
Publication Date:   30 October 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

1. The global education policy field: theorization and problematization 2. The racial grammar of development: a critical narrative inquiry of Vietnam’s educational exchange program with Mozambique 3. Developmentalism as colonial residue: historicising the onto-epistemic foundations of the global education policy field 4. Unthinking critique: when will ‘critical’ global education policy scholarship emerge from Marx’s shadow? 5. Christian normativity in global higher education policy and practice 6. Ritual governance, rationalized bureaucracy, and ‘failure': the religio-spiritual dimension of global education policy 7. Ethnophilosophy as intellectual resource: self-reflective inquiry into the onto-epistemic foundations of global education policy research 8. An invitation to an interdependent mode of academic engagement in comparative and global education studies: a response to Edward Vickers’ criticism 9. Transnational academic mobility and knowledge production: learning and being differently in the global education policy field through multiple selves

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Author Information

D. Brent Edwards Jr is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Hawaii. His work focuses on the global governance of education and global education policies from critical and decolonial perspectives.

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