Rob Hulme

Policy Transfer and the Internationalisation of Social Policy

This article analyses the theoretical utility of policy transfer in developing perspectives on international and comparative social policy. It argues that existing work on policy transfer provides us with a theoretical tool to connect perspectives on international policy change, by focussing on the knowledge base of policy and the motivations of actors throughout the policy process from the global level to the context of practice. In doing so, it explores the role of epistemic communities in policy-oriented learning, particularly in education. The article concludes by suggesting four areas for future work on transfer which would serve to advance international policy analysis.

The Role of Policy Transfer in Assessing the Impact of American Ideas on British Social Policy

This article assesses the contribution of existing work on policy transfer to our understanding of policy change on the international stage. It explores the impact of American ideas and practices on aspects of social policy in the UK. It argues for a focus on the role of ‘epistemic communities’ and policy learning in the development of generic international agendas such as the ‘Americanized medical model’ of evidence-based practice adopted by the New Labour government in health and education. It argues that international social policy analysis should take account of the movement of ideas and practices at three levels: global/international, national and inter-organizational.

Learning in third spaces: developing trans‐professional understanding through practitioner enquiry

The paper explores the value of practitioner enquiry in the development of common language and shared understandings for a group of mid‐career professionals from a variety of public service backgrounds, brought together to formulate responses to the English agenda for integrating services. It draws upon data gathered from multi‐professional action learning and focus groups via a collaboration between an English University and six regional authorities. Theories of ‘third space’ and ‘hybridity’ are engaged in arguing that the achievement of ‘integrated’ or ‘trans‐professional’ knowledge can develop within ‘undecided’ reflective spaces through which new ways of working are discovered. It concludes that collaborative multi‐professional practitioner enquiry offers a realistic means of embedding this challenging aspect of policy.

Trading places: The role of agents in international student recruitment from Africa

As state subsidies to higher education contract, the recruitment of international students is becoming a strategic priority for many UK universities. Academic roles are reconfigured as the commercialisation of higher education and the commodification of education services re-position the student as consumer, academic as entrepreneur, and university as ‘marketer’ (Slaughter and Rhoades 2009). Despite rapid growth in the number of students and universities using external third-party recruitment agents, little research has been undertaken on the work of agents and the relationships between agents, institutions and students. Drawing on a case study of one UK higher education institution conducted in May–June 2012, this paper considers the role and experiences of the principal actors in this economised relationship: educational consultants/recruitment agents operating in the sub-Saharan African market, university international officers (UK-based and offshore), faculty and international students. The paper considers the position and role of education brokers (within public and for-profit contexts) in the international higher education market. Whilst these actors pursue common activity in linking students with providers, they differ in terms of rationale and stance. Although internationalisation presents opportunities for enhanced revenue, questions of ‘value’ raise important educational and ethical issues for universities as they develop collaborative ventures in emerging markets.

Engaging with research through practitioner enquiry: the perceptions of beginning teachers on a postgraduate initial teacher education programme

This study focuses on the perceptions of student-teachers towards their engagement in small-scale research projects undertaken whilst on a one-year postgraduate initial teacher education programme. We present an institutional response to national and international policy agendas regarding the place of research within initial teacher education at master’s level, focusing on the role of practitioner enquiry in facilitating a critical engagement with practice. The paper concludes that practitioner enquiry offers a potentially powerful and illuminating way of exploring emerging professional identity and asserting agency in beginning teachers.

From commissar to auctioneer? The changing role of directors in managing children’s services in a period of austerity

This article explores the impact of changing policy priorities on the role of director of children’s services, before and after the economic crisis of 2008 and the election of the coalition government. The role of director of children’s services from 2003 to 2010 was driven by the New Labour imperative to deliver regionally based integrated services, as called for in Every Child Matters (Department for Education and Skills, 2003). Changing political and economic priorities since the election of 2010 have recast the notion of ‘integrated services’. The Conservative-led coalition has instead emphasised the importance of localised decision-making at institutional level in education and social services. This article reflects on the perceptions of directors, drawing on empirical data gathered from two sets of interviews conducted with directors of children’s services in North-West England between 2007 and 2012. Concerns are expressed about this changing political and economic landscape which has left the role of director of children’s services open to question. Recent reforms in education and health have devolved responsibility for coordinating public services to institutions, potentially marginalising broader agendas about welfare, rights, and so on for children and young people.

Perceptions of value: assessing the agent/commission model of UK higher education recruitment in Africa

The UKs higher education relationship with Africa has changed in recent years. Past associations of developmental cooperation have been superseded by market-based student recruitment seeking income for UK universities. This paper is about assessing a form of recruitment that helps underpin this new relationship: the agent/commission model. It identifies the nature of this approach to recruitment, and the processes involved. The paper also asks who benefits from the agent/commission model. The research captured a ‘snapshot’ of opinion within a case study UK university, seeking the views of agents themselves and their service users. It was found that all these actors considered the work of agents to be of value. There are certainly flaws in the agent/commission model, and wider societal implications for African states and economies, but it is suggested that agents should be given more credit for the work that they do than is presently reflected in the current literature.

The ‘re‐imagining’ of evidence under New Labour: policy and practice in education in uncertain times

This article considers the relationship between evidence, policy and practice in education in England during the period of New Labour’s governance. It suggests that the established model of evaluation of public services is challenged by the economic crisis. The article draws on policy documentation since October 2008 to suggest that the language of the market may be receding from education policy discourse. Instead there is evidence of new emphases, recalling responses to earlier systemic crises, with calls for a ‘global new deal’ and the promotion of ‘connectedness’ and ‘fairness’. The literature on evidence‐based policy is reviewed to highlight New Labour’s use of the evidence movement(s) as a key aspect of ‘experimental’ and ‘strategic’ governance. Selective and partial use of evidence has linked the movement to the politics of the market and an ‘economisation’ of education policy. The paper concludes by suggesting that in the wake of the economic crisis, governments may seek to develop ‘less programme...