Search

This paper explores the emergence of the term 'polycentricity' in education policy research and compares its use in education to its historical use in its 'parent fields' of political science and economics. We focus on the leading role of Stephen Ball and colleagues in popularising the term in education, inspiring other education scholars to harness the term to examine contemporary governance arrangements. Our primary argument is that in broad descriptive terms, the use of the term in education generally mirrors its use in political science and economics. Its prescriptive usage, however, is very different, with arguments about the impacts of polycentricity in education policy often contrasting sharply with arguments in political science and economics. This has resulted, we argue, in core elements of the concept being 'lost in translation'. Yet, at the same time, its use in education has also generated new and important critical insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of the concept of assembling policy in the understanding of social and non-social formations in educational policies. Topics discussed include the philosophical works and perspectives of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, along with the points raised by Sebastien Ureta's book, "Assembling Policy: Transantiago, Human Devices, and the Dream of a World-Class Society."