Around the world, education is one of the central institutions of society, developing the next generation of citizens, workers and individuals. How do countries balance these competing priorities? In which ways do countries converge on policies, or develop novel approaches to education?

This course will examine why schools around the world look the way they do through studying 1) the colonial impact of education around the globe and the role of education in independence movements 2) the way in which education functions as a sorting mechanism 3) how schools function as central places to develop citizens, particularly in multi-ethnic communities like Singapore, and alongside minority and indigenous communities 4) how countries work to improve their education systems, with a focus on Singapore and Finland as a case studies of transformation 5) an examination of key policy debates in global education reform.

Through the course, students will learn the a) impact of colonialism on contemporary education systems, b) the competing tensions of the demands of citizen and worker and c) how a variety of educational policies are impacted around the world and their impact on diverse populations of students. They will have the opportunity to co-create knowledge on this topic by sharing their own expertise and consider how they might contribute now and in the future to educational change.