IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v7y2020i1d10.1057_s41599-020-00621-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interpreting public policy dilemmas: discourse analytical insights

Author

Listed:
  • Ian Wash

    (University of Nottingham)

Abstract

This article explains the value of discourse analysis for interpreting the construction and resolution of policy dilemmas in the field of international education. Its case material is drawn from official documents relating to international education policy, published by global bodies such as the United Nations and World Bank from 2000 to 2018, explored with two purposes in mind. The first is empirical, the analysis revealing how a dominant ‘liberal’ model governing international education was discursively constructed as a grand narrative about the purpose and intended outcomes in international education. This is achieved by applying an interpretive discourse analytical approach, customised for this particular policy puzzle, to the international education corpus. The article’s second purpose is methodological, to reflect on the various criticisms and supposed limitations of using discourse analysis as a tool of public policy analysis. This part of the article argues that the discourse approach can equip analysts with a reliable tool-kit for carrying out research into the subtle and often unrecognised ways in which ideas and beliefs inform global education policy practices. A systematic discourse analysis reveals the tensions and sometimes conflicting meanings that elite decision-makers possess about international education. Ultimately, it is argued that the discourse approach can offer both empirical insights and a range of policy recommendations from a discourse analysis that destabilises the dominant ‘liberal’ narrative about international education in the relevant documents.

Suggested Citation

  • Ian Wash, 2020. "Interpreting public policy dilemmas: discourse analytical insights," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:7:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-020-00621-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-020-00621-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-020-00621-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-020-00621-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to investment in education: a further update," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134.
    2. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2000. "Greed and Grievance in Civil War," CSAE Working Paper Series 2000-18, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    4. World Bank, 2003. "Lifelong Learning in the Global Knowledge Economy : Challenges for Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15141.
    5. World Bank, 2011. "Learning for All," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 27790.
    6. Charlotte Epstein, 2008. "The Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of an Anti-Whaling Discourse," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262050927, April.
    7. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2004. "Greed and grievance in civil war," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 563-595, October.
    8. Philip B. Whyman & Alina I. Petrescu, 2020. "The Economics of Brexit," Springer Books, Springer, edition 1, number 978-3-030-55948-9, January.
    9. Bennell, Paul, 1996. "Rates of return to education: Does the conventional pattern prevail in sub-Saharan Africa?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 183-199, January.
    10. Charlotte Epstein, 2008. "The Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of an Anti-Whaling Discourse," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262550695, April.
    11. World Bank, 2018. "World Development Report 2018 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2018]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28340.
    12. Harry Anthony Patrinos & Norman LaRocque, 2007. "Enhancing Accountability in Schools : What Can Choice and Contracting Contribute," World Bank Publications - Reports 10296, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Reindersma & Isabelle Fabbricotti & Kees Ahaus & Sandra Sülz, 2022. "Integrated Payment, Fragmented Realities? A Discourse Analysis of Integrated Payment in the Netherlands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mayer-Foulkes, David, 2008. "The Human Development Trap in Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 775-796, May.
    2. Robert MacCulloch & Silvia Pezzini, 2010. "The Roles of Freedom, Growth, and Religion in the Taste for Revolution," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(2), pages 329-358, May.
    3. Oleg Badunenko & Daniel Henderson & Romain Houssa, 2014. "Significant drivers of growth in Africa," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 339-354, December.
    4. Halvor Mehlum & Karl Moene & Ragnar Torvik, 2006. "Institutions and the Resource Curse," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Baez, Javier E., 2011. "Civil wars beyond their borders: The human capital and health consequences of hosting refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 391-408, November.
    6. Sharmistha Self & Richard Grabowski, 2006. "Agricultural Development, State Effectiveness And Long-Run Economic Development," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 73-90, December.
    7. Pham, Thai-Hung & Reilly, Barry, 2007. "The gender pay gap in Vietnam, 1993-2002: A quantile regression approach," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 775-808, October.
    8. Malul Miki & Hadad Yossi & Bar-El Raphael, 2007. "Ranking and Measuring Efficiency of Middle East Cooperation Projects," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 54-64, December.
    9. Mehlum, Halvor & Ove Moene, Karl, 2011. "Aggressive elites and vulnerable entrepreneurs - trust and cooperation in the shadow of conflict," Memorandum 16/2010, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    10. Adewale Samuel Hassan & Daniel Francois Meyer & Sebastian Kot, 2019. "Effect of Institutional Quality and Wealth from Oil Revenue on Economic Growth in Oil-Exporting Developing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, July.
    11. Pedro Carneiro & Michael Lokshin & Nithin Umapathi, 2017. "Average and Marginal Returns to Upper Secondary Schooling in Indonesia," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 16-36, January.
    12. Kilburn, Kelly & Handa, Sudhanshu & Angeles, Gustavo & Mvula, Peter & Tsoka, Maxton, 2017. "Short-term impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program on child schooling: Experimental evidence from Malawi," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 63-80.
    13. Matata Ponyo Mapon & Jean-Paul K. Tsasa, 2019. "The artefact of the Natural Resources Curse," Papers 1911.09681, arXiv.org.
    14. Lawer, Eric Tamatey & Lukas, Martin C. & Jørgensen, Stig H., 2017. "The neglected role of local institutions in the ‘resource curse’ debate. Limestone mining in the Krobo region of Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 43-52.
    15. Thierry Deffarges, 2003. "Sur la nature et les causes du terrorisme. Une revue de la littérature économique," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 44(174), pages 369-392.
    16. Omgba, Luc Désiré, 2015. "Why Do Some Oil-Producing Countries Succeed in Democracy While Others Fail?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 180-189.
    17. Emilia Bedyk & Jacek Liwiński, 2016. "The wage premium from parents’ investments in the education of their children in Poland," Working Papers 2016-14, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    18. Marysse, Stefaan & Luzolele Lola Nkakala, Laurent, 2002. "Besoins de financement de la reconstruction de l’économie congolaise: ampleur et conditions préalables," IOB Discussion Papers 2002.03, Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB).
    19. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Russell D. Murphy, 2006. "Labor market flexibility and investment in human capital," Working Papers e06-5, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Economics.
    20. Ludger Wößmann, 2008. "Efficiency and equity of European education and training policies," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 15(2), pages 199-230, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:7:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-020-00621-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.