Globalisation, Ideology and Education Policy Reforms, which is the 11th volume in the 12-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, presents scholarly research on major discourses concerning globalisation and the politics of education reforms. It reviews some of the ideological imperatives fueling education reforms. It examines critically education reforms within their social, political and global dimensions. It provides an easily accessible, practical yet scholarly source of information about recent developments in globalisation, ideology and trends in education reforms. Above all, the book offers the latest fi- ings to the critical issues concerning major discourses surrounding the nexus between ideology and education reforms in the global culture. It is a sourcebook of ideas for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in education, and schooling around the world. It offers a timely overview of current policy issues affecting education reforms globally. It provides directions in education, and policy research, relevant to progressive pedagogy, social change and transformational educational reforms in the twenty-first century. The book critically examines the overall interplay between the state, ideology and current discourses of education reforms in the global culture. It draws upon recent studies in the areas of globalisation, academic achievement, standards, equity and the role of the State (Apple 2004; Carnoy 1999; Zajda et al. 2008). It explores conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches applicable in the research covering the State, globalisation and quality-driven education reforms.

Foreword, Preface & Acknowledgements. Introduction. SECTION I: MAIN TRENDS AND ISSUES 1. The Politics of the New History School Textbooks in the Russian Federation; Joseph Zajda. 2. Constructing the Australian School History Curriculum: Ideology, High Politics and the History Wars in the Howard Years; Tony Taylor. 3. Teachers, History Wars and Teaching History Grade 6 in Greece; Stilianos Meselidis. 4. Why Educational Reforms Fail: The emergence and failure of an educational reform: A case Study from Israel; Haim H. Gaziel. 5. Japanese National Curriculum Standards Reform: Integrated Study and its Challenges; Mohammad Reza Sarkar Arani & Keisuke Fukaya. 6. Implementation of Reform Policies: The Issue of Structural and Cultural Discordance; Suseela Malakolunthu. SECTION II: EDUCATION REFORMS: IMPLICATION FOR DEMOCRACY 7. Education in China: The Urban/Rural Disparity Explained; Patricia Ayoroa, Bethany Bailey, Audrey Crossen, & Macleans A.Geo-JaJa. 8. Social Inequality in Education: Investigating the Achievement Gap in Israel; Iris BenDavid- Hadar. 9. Urban and Rural Students¿ Attitudes to University: Narratives of Difference; Madeleine Mattarozzi Laming. 10. Teachers Surviving to Teach: Implications for Post-Soviet Education and Society in Central Asia; Sarfaroz Niyozov & Duishon Shamatov. 11. The Politics of Education Reforms and Policy Shifts in the Russian Federation; JosephZajda. Index.