Education, Politics, Inequalities: Current Dynamics and Perspectives

Abstract

Education systems around the globe are facing profound transformations. Key developments include the cultural and social diversification of student populations, changing socio-economic contexts, new forms of educational governance, the persistent relevance of international benchmarking and psychometric "test industries", and the rise of educational "big data" and digital technologies. Although their relevance is widely acknowledged, we know little about how these recent social and political dynamics actually affect the fields of education and training (be it their institutional structures, organizational processes, justifying discourses, or professional practices), especially regarding their role for the reproduction and transformation of social inequalities. Against this background, this special issue of Social Inclusion enquires into the manifold forms of interplay that currently unfold between orders of social inequality and educational politics, discourses, institutions, and practices. The contributions to this special issue will focus on a wide range of aspects, allowing for a multifaceted appraisal of the processes involved: How do recent developments affect the ways educational institutions (schools, VET, advanced training, higher education ...) deal with student populations that are disadvantaged or discriminated against along lines such as social class, gender, migration background, or "disability"? How do forms of governing and regulating education evolve over time and how do relevant actors justify these changing forms? How do schools and education systems contribute to tempering, transforming, or enforcing social classifications, inequalities, and divides? How do new technologies affect these dynamics and constellations? What do these social and political developments imply for the pedagogic profession, including professional practices and knowledge concerning educational inequalities and conceptions of educational justice?