Historical Perspectives on Educational Policy and Political Cultures

Abstract

This chapter explicates a core assumption of our collaborative project: This history of educational development and policies within a country will affect the way new ideas are received from outside and are incorporated into national and local discussions within that country. We look at history as a critical component of culture because it creates collective memories and “mental models” (Senge, 1990) that frame the opportunities for new ideas to enter political discussions. We do not examine events as historians, who are committed to teasing out the details of what actually happened, and how they affected participants. Our more sociological view is that “[h]istory reveals not only change but continuity. Social structures and cultures possess a resilience that fosters ideologies of stability and preservation” (Warwick & Williams, 1980, p. 333). History and events in the past have been formed not only by broad social or economic trends, but also by the preferences of often powerful groups and individuals who then determine how others react. Culture is the crucial variable that shapes how the powerful view their own interests, and how those possessed of fewer resources respond to leaders and events over which they individually have less control.