Ian Hardy - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ian Hardy
World Englishes, Nov 2, 2021
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has deployed English not only as its sole work... more The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has deployed English not only as its sole working language but also as a tool for forging regional identity, unity and solidarity among its ten member‐states. Drawing on the concept of ‘imagined communities’ and, by extension, ‘imagined identity regionalism’, this article provides a critical examination of this policy desire and asks the question whether the desire should be read as a form of political rhetoric or an achievable goal for ASEAN. We argue that the unifying potential of English language as an imagined regional community and identity has yet to be realised. At best, English can be seen as contributing to ASEAN's ‘functional identity’, rather than a more substantive ‘socio‐cultural identity’. It is suggested that although the birth of a distinct hybridised variety of ASEAN English may facilitate a bottom‐up linguistic identity imagination for ASEAN, such an ideal appears utopian at this time.
Power and Education, Dec 17, 2018
This article reveals the multifaceted ways in which policy enactment was expressed as praxis in t... more This article reveals the multifaceted ways in which policy enactment was expressed as praxis in the context of assessment reform in Ontario, Canada. The research explores the way in which the Growing Success assessment policy was interpreted variously by different educators occupying senior roles within the district office in a single school district in northern Ontario. Drawing on neo-Aristotelian theorising, the research reveals how 'policy in practice' was expressed as a form of praxis, where such praxis is understood as morally committed and informed action oriented towards excellence in a field (in this case, education). While recognising the complexity of policy enactment, and how policy enactment can result in unforeseen and sometimes problematic outcomes, the research also reveals how policy enactment can have productive outcomes in relation to what are construed as the 'internal goods' of education. In the research presented, these productive outcomes included the capacity to facilitate teachers' learning within and across elementary and secondary school sites; a critical, constructive focus on standardised measures of student learning in relation to academic outcomes; and the enhancement of student learning opportunities via cultural inclusion, particularly in relation to First Nations, Métis and Inuit students. In this way, the research validates a conception of policy as praxis and foregrounds how policy enactment can be understood in ways that promote the intrinsic integrity of educational practice, and the need to draw on these 'internal goods' in such enactment.
Comparative Education, Apr 27, 2023
In this article, we contest globalised notions of data as 'universally' beneficia... more In this article, we contest globalised notions of data as 'universally' beneficial, necessary and 'evidence-based'. We do so by drawing upon narrative accounts of the problematic ways data impact educators researching and working in university and schooling settings over time and in varied national contexts. We reveal how data are transient and often erroneous, even as data appear omnipresent and omnipotent. Employing an autoethnographic storytelling approach, we draw upon our diverse experiences as educators working within and across multiple national and subnational contextsin England, Singapore, Bangladesh and Australiato reflect on how data have reconstituted and recalibrated our experiences in school and university settings. We seek to break the 'myth' of datathat we cannot live without the supposedly complete construction of work and life that dominant, reductive assemblages of data provide. In doing so, we argue for the reimagination and demystification of broader data regimes.
Globalizations, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Feb 27, 2022
International Journal of Inclusive Education, Jul 25, 2019
In this article, we reveal the complex and contested nature of principals' understandings of incl... more In this article, we reveal the complex and contested nature of principals' understandings of inclusion policy in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drawing upon critical policy sociology, research into inclusion, and interviews with 18 principals from rural, regional and urban areas throughout the state, the research shows how principals expressed a range of absences and uncertainties about the nature of policies pertaining to inclusion. They also tended to refer to a limited range of domains in their understandings of inclusion policy, and conflated different forms of inclusion. While principals exhibited a belief in the importance of including students with a variety of needs in a range of ways, their responses reveal how such inclusive desires can be simultaneously confounded by policy settings characterised by complexity and nebulous conceptions of inclusion. Given the importance of principals in guiding schooling practices in their respective sites, the research argues a need for increased attention to the broader policy conditions within which principals seek to exercise more inclusive practices. It also shows how such conditions need to cultivate a coherent and contextualised understanding of inclusion, rather than simply fostering principal policy enactment as merely 'coping'.
International Journal of Educational Research, 2015
This paper explores how teachers and school-based administrators at a large, low socioeconomic pr... more This paper explores how teachers and school-based administrators at a large, low socioeconomic primary school responded to policy support for a highly detailed version of the new national curriculum in Queensland, Australia. Drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu's 'thinking tools' of field, habitus and capital, and recent theorising of policy enactment, the paper indicates how competing relations between different policy actors influenced how they responded to the policy enactment process. The research outlines what is described as the 'field of policy enactment' as a contested site with those educators with more capital more actively responding to policy prerogatives, at the same time as those with less capital were often simply managing to cope.
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
International Journal of Educational Research, 2022
International Journal of Multilingualism, Nov 21, 2021
Journal of vocational education & training, Oct 31, 2021
Teacher Development, Jun 18, 2019
The authors argue that the professional learning practices of teachers in precarious employment m... more The authors argue that the professional learning practices of teachers in precarious employment may have a significant impact upon their understandings of specific policy reforms. The analysis considers a teacher's understandings of learning about a new policy in light of the various 'epistemological resources' he brought to bear to his learning opportunities and the particular 'framing' which developed. The research reveals that enactment of policy reform is dependent upon opportunities for teachers in precarious employment circumstances having access to paid, professional learning opportunities on an ongoing basis. Such access may be reduced by the neoliberal challenge to historical employment relationships in education.
Teaching and Teacher Education, Apr 1, 2018
h i g h l i g h t s Policy enactment can be understood as a form of professional/teacher learning... more h i g h l i g h t s Policy enactment can be understood as a form of professional/teacher learning. District educators' professional learning is important for enacting policy reform. District educators draw upon various 'epistemological resources' to make sense of reform. But these resources are always enacted within particular 'epistemological communities'. District educators' experiences of these communities are essential for fostering teacher learning.
Policy Futures in Education, Nov 23, 2020
This article examines the nature of neoliberal influences upon educational policy making in the F... more This article examines the nature of neoliberal influences upon educational policy making in the Finnish education system in recent times. The article draws upon key policy documents, government reports, journal articles and media articles about reforms in the early childhood, basic/compulsory school and vocational education and training sectors to evidence these processes. Analytically, these reforms are understood as instances of what Peck and Theodore (2015) refer to as 'fast policy'. Methodologically, we draw upon principles of zeitgeist analysis to reveal the features and effects of these fast policy influences as they relate to educational provision in Finland. These features and effects include: intensification and fragmentation of educational reform processes; increased individualisation and decontextualization of the educational reform agenda, and; a trend towards increased instability, privatisation and reduction in funding for educational provision. The article foregrounds the features and effects as reflective of the 'spirit of the times' in which such reforms are undertaken, and cautions against these fast policy effects for the problematic consequences they appear to be having upon policy making processes, educational outcomes in Finland and the 'spirits' of Finnish educators.
Current Issues in Language Planning, Aug 11, 2021
ABSTRACT Although most international organisations are, in principle, multilingual, the ten-membe... more ABSTRACT Although most international organisations are, in principle, multilingual, the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has adopted a radical approach by operating monolingually, ostensibly for convenience and pragmatism. In order to provide an evaluation of the ASEAN policy context, this paper compares and contrasts ASEAN to two other more familiar international organisations, namely the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU). The paper attempts to rationalise language policy and planning (LPP) in these organisations, grounded in principles such as equality, inclusivity, practicality, instrumentality, economic viability and even arguably, ‘neutrality’ in the context of ASEAN. These principles are discussed in relation to two underlying models of language ideology, i.e. linguistic pluralism and internationalisation, which characterise ASEAN, EU and UN LPP. The article presents the argument that ASEAN has embraced English-only monolingualism, rooted in internationalisation, while both UN and EU strive to achieve plurilingualism, albeit through divergent multilingual operational models. The analysis, however, shows that the ideology of linguistic pluralism characterising UN and EU is at best symbolic, as this ideology has practically maintained the hegemony of English and, to some extent, the other languages of power. This suggests that ASEAN may not have much to learn from EU or UN for an alternative to its English-only policy.
World Englishes, Nov 2, 2021
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has deployed English not only as its sole work... more The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has deployed English not only as its sole working language but also as a tool for forging regional identity, unity and solidarity among its ten member‐states. Drawing on the concept of ‘imagined communities’ and, by extension, ‘imagined identity regionalism’, this article provides a critical examination of this policy desire and asks the question whether the desire should be read as a form of political rhetoric or an achievable goal for ASEAN. We argue that the unifying potential of English language as an imagined regional community and identity has yet to be realised. At best, English can be seen as contributing to ASEAN's ‘functional identity’, rather than a more substantive ‘socio‐cultural identity’. It is suggested that although the birth of a distinct hybridised variety of ASEAN English may facilitate a bottom‐up linguistic identity imagination for ASEAN, such an ideal appears utopian at this time.
Power and Education, Dec 17, 2018
This article reveals the multifaceted ways in which policy enactment was expressed as praxis in t... more This article reveals the multifaceted ways in which policy enactment was expressed as praxis in the context of assessment reform in Ontario, Canada. The research explores the way in which the Growing Success assessment policy was interpreted variously by different educators occupying senior roles within the district office in a single school district in northern Ontario. Drawing on neo-Aristotelian theorising, the research reveals how 'policy in practice' was expressed as a form of praxis, where such praxis is understood as morally committed and informed action oriented towards excellence in a field (in this case, education). While recognising the complexity of policy enactment, and how policy enactment can result in unforeseen and sometimes problematic outcomes, the research also reveals how policy enactment can have productive outcomes in relation to what are construed as the 'internal goods' of education. In the research presented, these productive outcomes included the capacity to facilitate teachers' learning within and across elementary and secondary school sites; a critical, constructive focus on standardised measures of student learning in relation to academic outcomes; and the enhancement of student learning opportunities via cultural inclusion, particularly in relation to First Nations, Métis and Inuit students. In this way, the research validates a conception of policy as praxis and foregrounds how policy enactment can be understood in ways that promote the intrinsic integrity of educational practice, and the need to draw on these 'internal goods' in such enactment.
Comparative Education, Apr 27, 2023
In this article, we contest globalised notions of data as 'universally' beneficia... more In this article, we contest globalised notions of data as 'universally' beneficial, necessary and 'evidence-based'. We do so by drawing upon narrative accounts of the problematic ways data impact educators researching and working in university and schooling settings over time and in varied national contexts. We reveal how data are transient and often erroneous, even as data appear omnipresent and omnipotent. Employing an autoethnographic storytelling approach, we draw upon our diverse experiences as educators working within and across multiple national and subnational contextsin England, Singapore, Bangladesh and Australiato reflect on how data have reconstituted and recalibrated our experiences in school and university settings. We seek to break the 'myth' of datathat we cannot live without the supposedly complete construction of work and life that dominant, reductive assemblages of data provide. In doing so, we argue for the reimagination and demystification of broader data regimes.
Globalizations, Feb 2, 2023
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Feb 27, 2022
International Journal of Inclusive Education, Jul 25, 2019
In this article, we reveal the complex and contested nature of principals' understandings of incl... more In this article, we reveal the complex and contested nature of principals' understandings of inclusion policy in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drawing upon critical policy sociology, research into inclusion, and interviews with 18 principals from rural, regional and urban areas throughout the state, the research shows how principals expressed a range of absences and uncertainties about the nature of policies pertaining to inclusion. They also tended to refer to a limited range of domains in their understandings of inclusion policy, and conflated different forms of inclusion. While principals exhibited a belief in the importance of including students with a variety of needs in a range of ways, their responses reveal how such inclusive desires can be simultaneously confounded by policy settings characterised by complexity and nebulous conceptions of inclusion. Given the importance of principals in guiding schooling practices in their respective sites, the research argues a need for increased attention to the broader policy conditions within which principals seek to exercise more inclusive practices. It also shows how such conditions need to cultivate a coherent and contextualised understanding of inclusion, rather than simply fostering principal policy enactment as merely 'coping'.
International Journal of Educational Research, 2015
This paper explores how teachers and school-based administrators at a large, low socioeconomic pr... more This paper explores how teachers and school-based administrators at a large, low socioeconomic primary school responded to policy support for a highly detailed version of the new national curriculum in Queensland, Australia. Drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu's 'thinking tools' of field, habitus and capital, and recent theorising of policy enactment, the paper indicates how competing relations between different policy actors influenced how they responded to the policy enactment process. The research outlines what is described as the 'field of policy enactment' as a contested site with those educators with more capital more actively responding to policy prerogatives, at the same time as those with less capital were often simply managing to cope.
Routledge eBooks, Dec 29, 2020
International Journal of Educational Research, 2022
International Journal of Multilingualism, Nov 21, 2021
Journal of vocational education & training, Oct 31, 2021
Teacher Development, Jun 18, 2019
The authors argue that the professional learning practices of teachers in precarious employment m... more The authors argue that the professional learning practices of teachers in precarious employment may have a significant impact upon their understandings of specific policy reforms. The analysis considers a teacher's understandings of learning about a new policy in light of the various 'epistemological resources' he brought to bear to his learning opportunities and the particular 'framing' which developed. The research reveals that enactment of policy reform is dependent upon opportunities for teachers in precarious employment circumstances having access to paid, professional learning opportunities on an ongoing basis. Such access may be reduced by the neoliberal challenge to historical employment relationships in education.
Teaching and Teacher Education, Apr 1, 2018
h i g h l i g h t s Policy enactment can be understood as a form of professional/teacher learning... more h i g h l i g h t s Policy enactment can be understood as a form of professional/teacher learning. District educators' professional learning is important for enacting policy reform. District educators draw upon various 'epistemological resources' to make sense of reform. But these resources are always enacted within particular 'epistemological communities'. District educators' experiences of these communities are essential for fostering teacher learning.
Policy Futures in Education, Nov 23, 2020
This article examines the nature of neoliberal influences upon educational policy making in the F... more This article examines the nature of neoliberal influences upon educational policy making in the Finnish education system in recent times. The article draws upon key policy documents, government reports, journal articles and media articles about reforms in the early childhood, basic/compulsory school and vocational education and training sectors to evidence these processes. Analytically, these reforms are understood as instances of what Peck and Theodore (2015) refer to as 'fast policy'. Methodologically, we draw upon principles of zeitgeist analysis to reveal the features and effects of these fast policy influences as they relate to educational provision in Finland. These features and effects include: intensification and fragmentation of educational reform processes; increased individualisation and decontextualization of the educational reform agenda, and; a trend towards increased instability, privatisation and reduction in funding for educational provision. The article foregrounds the features and effects as reflective of the 'spirit of the times' in which such reforms are undertaken, and cautions against these fast policy effects for the problematic consequences they appear to be having upon policy making processes, educational outcomes in Finland and the 'spirits' of Finnish educators.
Current Issues in Language Planning, Aug 11, 2021
ABSTRACT Although most international organisations are, in principle, multilingual, the ten-membe... more ABSTRACT Although most international organisations are, in principle, multilingual, the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has adopted a radical approach by operating monolingually, ostensibly for convenience and pragmatism. In order to provide an evaluation of the ASEAN policy context, this paper compares and contrasts ASEAN to two other more familiar international organisations, namely the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU). The paper attempts to rationalise language policy and planning (LPP) in these organisations, grounded in principles such as equality, inclusivity, practicality, instrumentality, economic viability and even arguably, ‘neutrality’ in the context of ASEAN. These principles are discussed in relation to two underlying models of language ideology, i.e. linguistic pluralism and internationalisation, which characterise ASEAN, EU and UN LPP. The article presents the argument that ASEAN has embraced English-only monolingualism, rooted in internationalisation, while both UN and EU strive to achieve plurilingualism, albeit through divergent multilingual operational models. The analysis, however, shows that the ideology of linguistic pluralism characterising UN and EU is at best symbolic, as this ideology has practically maintained the hegemony of English and, to some extent, the other languages of power. This suggests that ASEAN may not have much to learn from EU or UN for an alternative to its English-only policy.