Global Education Politics and Policy: Discourses, Coalitions, and Co- Construction Among Globally Committed National, State, and District Actors
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GLOBAL EDUCATION POLITICS AND POLICY: DISCOURSES, COALITIONS, AND CO- CONSTRUCTION AMONG GLOBALLY COMMITTED NATIONAL, STATE, AND DISTRICT ACTORS Ariel Tichnor-Wagner A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education. Chapel Hill 2016 Approved by: Lora Cohen-Vogel Kathleen Brown William Gaudelli Jocelyn Glazier Eric Houck ©2016 Ariel Tichnor-Wagner ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Ariel Tichnor-Wagner: Global Education Politics and Policy: Discourses, Coalitions, and Co- Construction among Globally Committed National, State, and District Actors (Under the direction of Lora Cohen-Vogel) Our world today is more interconnected than ever before due to unprecedented levels of economic, political, social, and cultural globalization. There is growing recognition among policymakers, practitioners, and NGOs that schools must prepare students to live in a global society. Global education is one way of teaching that aims to prepare students with the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for citizenship in a globalized world. This three-article dissertation examines the politics and policies of global education in the United States on national, state, and local levels. The first article examines dominant discourses that national policy entrepreneurs have evoked when advocating for global education. A content analysis of documents disseminated by advocacy groups, foundations, government institutions, NGOs, and professional educator organizations promoting global education found that neoliberal and nationalist discourses were used most frequently overall. Yet neoliberal and nationalist discourses were also “stacked” alongside other discourses and not used by multiple NGOs. The second article uses the advocacy coalition framework to understand the evolution of state global education policy in one critical case: North Carolina. Analysis of interviews with 26 key informants and over 140 policy documents revealed that a broad coalition of governmental iii and non-governmental actors representing education, policymaking, and business sectors coalesced around four major policy objectives: systemic integration of global content and perspectives, language programs, international partnerships, and teacher training focused on global competency development. These beliefs translated into state policy incrementally passed between 2000 and 2015. Strategies that coalition members identified as catalyzing policy action included incremental will-building, setting a vision and following through, and creating hubs. The third article uses policy co-construction theory to explore how two globally committed school districts in North Carolina adapted state global education initiatives. Findings from this comparative case study demonstrate district-level actors’ agency in adapting state global education initiatives based upon local context and multi-directional influences. Overall, these three studies illuminate the beliefs, strategies, structures, and contexts that have shaped the adoption and implementation of global education policies on a national, state, and local scale and hold implications for policymakers and practitioners seeking to instill global competencies in K- 12 students. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and inspiration from countless individuals to whom I am eternally grateful. It is with deep gratitude that I thank the members of my dissertation committee. To my dissertation chair and advisor, Dr. Lora Cohen- Vogel, thank you for guiding me through my doctoral program, the endless hours you devoted to helping me craft my research ideas into a final manuscript, and for always pushing me to reach my full scholarly potential. The numerous research opportunities you provided me throughout my doctoral program taught me the skills and invaluable lessons that made me the researcher I am today. Dr. Jocelyn Glazier, if it weren’t for you I may never have come across the term “global competence.” Thank you for introducing me to to this important educational topic, opening up doors to the global education policy arena in North Carolina, and for constantly providing interest, encouragement, and suggestions as I shared my data and findings. Our thoughtful conversations always reinvigorated me. Dr. Kathleen Brown, I thank you for your constant positive encouragement, support, and pressing me to think with a critical lens. Dr. William Gaudelli, your work on global education has taught me so much on the background and history of global education in the U.S. and has provided me a conceptual lens with which to view global citizenship discourses; thank you for your support and insights as I designed these studies. Dr. Eric Houck, thank you for your insights on education policy and introducing me to the world of education budgets. v My deepest appreciation also goes out to all of my participants, who graciously took the time to candidly share their experiences, insights, successes, and challenges around global education and who provided additional feedback on my findings. I further thank my team of transcriptionists, Shantan Krovvidi, Sohil Shah, and Joel Tinkler, for their hard work and dedication. I would also like to thank the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Graduate School for providing me funding this past year to complete my dissertation. To my friends in the School of Education – I have been fortunate to collaborate with you, talk through challenges, and celebrate achievements. The dissertation process is all the more manageable when you have friends to write with, share ideas with, and take much-needed breaks with. All of your continued successes never cease to inspire me. Finally, I would like to thank my family. You have always believed in me and supported me, and you continued to do so as I wrote this dissertation. To my parents, your own life work sparked in me a love of writing, passion for politics, and desire to improve education for all students. Thank you for always encouraging me to pursue my dreams, and always being on-call when I needed advice (or an editor). Sandy, you always keep me grounded. Thank you for entertaining me for hours and hours as I drove to collect data. Sam, thank you for sharpening my mind in more ways than you know, and challenging me to see the world from others’ perspectives. Nick, you are my everything. I could not imagine going through this process without you by side, on the same rollercoaster ride of getting a PhD. I can’t wait for the next adventure life has in store for us. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................…………...........xiii CHAPTER 1: PROMOTING THE GLOBAL EDUCATION AGENDA IN THE UNITED STATES: POLICY ENTREPRENUERS AND THEIR DISCOURSES........................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Global Education, Global Competency, and Global Citizenship ........................................ 3 A Brief History of Global Education Policies in the United States ..................................... 6 Global Citizenship Discourses: A Framework for Understanding Global Education Goals ... 12 Examining Dominant Discourses: Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda-Setting Strategies ....... 20 Research Questions .................................................................................................................. 21 Methods ................................................................................................................................... 22 Data Collection ................................................................................................................... 23 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 26 Findings ................................................................................................................................... 30 Frequency of Global Education Discourses ........................................................................ 31 Discourse Differences by Policy Entrepreneur Type .......................................................... 49 Policy Entrepreneur Strategies Promoting Global Education Discourses .......................... 51 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 65 Implications ......................................................................................................................... 68 Limitations and Directions for Future Research ................................................................. 70 vii Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 72 CHAPTER 2: THE EVOLUTION OF A STATE INSTRUCTIONAL REFORM: THE CASE OF GLOBAL EDUCATION POLICY IN NORTH CAROLINA .......................... 80 Introduction................................................................................................................................80 Defining Global Education ................................................................................................