Globalization and the Business of Educational Reform

Current policy environments worldwide are heavily influenced by corporatism, neoliberalism, and their companion, New Public Management. These are discussed here. This chapter also wrestles with such concepts as individualism and collectivism, nationalism, and competition and collaboration, among others, as foundational concerns. This chapter presents a discussion of current educational reform initiatives and the lessons learned from them through their analysis. Charter schools and, to a lesser extent, the linking of teacher and school assessment, along with the assessment of teacher education programs, to student achievement test results are used as illustrative examples.