Journal of Education Policy

Contents

Journal of Education Policy is a peer-reviewed scholarly periodical publishing research on policy and practice in primary, secondary, and tertiary England, Scotland, Wales and internationally, engaging debates that intersect with political science, sociology, economics, and public administration. The journal appears bimonthly and is published by Taylor & Francis, serving audiences among academics at institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Manchester, and policy practitioners in ministries and agencies including the Department for Education, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and multinational organizations like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank.

History

Established in 1986 during a period of reform led by figures associated with the Education Reform Act 1988 and responding to debates involving participants from think tanks such as the Institute of Education Sciences and Institute for Fiscal Studies, the journal emerged as a venue for comparative analyses involving scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Toronto, and Australian National University. Early editorial leadership included academics with affiliations to Institute of Education, University College London and research groups linked to the Economic and Social Research Council. Over successive decades the journal has documented policy shifts connected to events and initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the implementation of free schools in England, and the expansion of charter schools in the United States. Editorial transitions tracked intellectual movements in policy studies influenced by theorists associated with Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman, Anthony Giddens, and empirical traditions linked to Thomas S. Kuhn and Paul A. Samuelson.

The journal aims to publish empirical, theoretical, and methodological work that addresses policy formation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation across contexts including case studies from United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, China, India, Brazil, and nations of the European Union. Contributions examine intersections with legal frameworks such as the Equality Act 2010, financial instruments discussed by the International Monetary Fund, and governance reforms seen in documents from the UNESCO. The journal invites submissions that draw on disciplinary approaches from political science, sociology, history, economics, anthropology, and law to interrogate issues such as accountability regimes, marketization, standardised testing, teacher professionalization, and faith-based schooling initiatives linked to organisations like Catholic Church, Church of England, and Muslim Council of Britain.

The editorial board is composed of scholars with appointments at universities including King's College London, University of Edinburgh, London School of Economics, University of Bristol, and international partners at University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and University of Hong Kong. The editor-in-chief works with associate editors and an international advisory board featuring experts who have previously served in agencies such as the OECD, the World Bank, and national departments like the Ministry of Education (China). Manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process drawing reviewers from networks that include members of the British Educational Research Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the Comparative and International Education Society. Ethical oversight aligns with guidelines modelled on practices from the Committee on Publication Ethics.

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic databases and indexing services such as Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, and EBSCOhost. It is listed in citation indices that inform institutional assessments like those conducted by the Research Excellence Framework and is discoverable through library catalogues at institutions including Bodleian Libraries, British Library, Library of Congress, and university repositories such as Oxford University Research Archive.

Articles published in the journal have informed policy reports produced by organisations including the Department for Education, OECD, and the World Bank, and have been cited in parliamentary inquiries, reports by the National Audit Office, and deliberations within assemblies like the Scottish Parliament. Citation metrics place the journal among leading outlets in its field, attracting contributions from scholars who earlier published in journals such as Educational Researcher, Comparative Education Review, British Journal of Sociology of Education, and History of Education Quarterly. Critics and commentators in outlets associated with The Times Educational Supplement, The Guardian, and The Economist have engaged with the journal's findings, generating debates about school choice, accountability, and equity shaped by scholarship from contributors linked to Harvard Graduate School of Education and Stanford Graduate School of Education.

The journal has published influential articles addressing topics such as market reforms and school choice analyses referencing cases from Chicago Public Schools, New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, and districts in São Paulo. Special issues have focused on themes including neoliberalism and policy, comparative assessment systems referencing the PISA, governance innovations in low-income countries with case material from Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, and the politics of teacher labour addressed with material linked to National Education Association and Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Landmark articles have been authored by scholars affiliated with University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Princeton University, and have been used in syllabi at graduate programs across institutions such as London School of Economics and Teachers College, Columbia University.

Category:Academic journals