D. Brent Edwards Jr.
Chair & Professor
Educational Foundations
Areas of Expertise
- Educational Administration and Leadership
- Educational Policy
Keywords
Educational Policy, Equity and Social Justice, Program Evaluation, Sociology of Education, Policy Analysis, Decentralization, Public-Private Partnerships
Research Methodologies
- Program Evaluation
- Qualitative Methods
- Single Case Research
Research Levels
- Adult Learning
- Community
- Elementary
- Informal Education
- K–12
- Secondary
Research Overview
My research draws on frameworks and concepts from global political economy, international relations, critical policy studies, systems thinking, organizational theory, policy sociology, and post-/decolonial literature to explain and analyze global trends in education, with an emphasis on policies related to privatization (vouchers, charter schools, low-fee private schools, private tutoring) and decentralization (administrative decentralization, community-based management, participatory development, school clusters, school block grants). More specifically, my work is dedicated to answering questions about the changing nature of education governance in the context of globalization, with a focus on low-income countries. A central concern of my investigations is to understand the role of international and intermediary organizations (such as bi- and multi-lateral organizations, think tanks, civil society organizations, and philanthropic organizations) in the governance of education, as well as the effects of these organizations and the policies they promote in practice, particularly in marginalized contexts.
Geographically, my research has primarily focused on Latin America (Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay) and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore), though I have also conducted research in Africa (Kenya, Namibia, Zambia).
I have written or edited 12 books and more than 150 journal articles, book chapters, reports, and popular media publications. In addition to serving on numerous editorial and advisory boards, I publish regularly in top journals in the fields of education policy, comparative and international education, and international development. By consistently addressing issues that are of central importance to these fields, I ensure that my work remains relevant to contemporary debates around theory, method and practice. Beyond academic publications, I also regularly publish blogs and newspaper articles so that my findings reach a wider audience. My work has been published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese.
Languages: English & Spanish
- Edwards Jr., D.B., Verger, A., Takayama, K., & McKenzie, M. (Eds.) (2024). Researching global education policy: Diverse approaches to policy movement. Policy Press.
- Edwards Jr., D.B., Moschetti, M., Martin, P., & Morales, R. (Eds.) (2024). Education and development in Central America and the Latin Caribbean: Global Forces and Local Responses. Bristol University Press.
- Edwards Jr., D. B. (2023). Rethinking World Bank influence: Governance reforms and the ritual aid dance in Indonesia. Routledge.
- Edwards Jr., D.B., Moschetti, M. & Caravaca, A. (2023). Globalization, privatization, and the State: Contemporary education reform in post-colonial contexts. Routledge.
- Edwards Jr., D. B. (2018). Global education policy, impact evaluations, and alternatives: The political economy of knowledge production. Palgrave MacMillan.
- Edwards Jr., D. B. (2018). The trajectory of global education policy: Community-based management in El Salvador and the global reform agenda. Palgrave MacMillan.
- Kitamura, Y., Edwards Jr., D. B., Chhinh, S., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (2015). The political economy of schooling in Cambodia: Issues of equity and quality. Palgrave MacMillan.
- Visit my Google Scholar Profile
- Edwards Jr., D.B. (2024). “Colonial logics of contemporary education reform: Unpacking the intersection of globalization, privatization, and the state,” Latin American Studies Association, Bogotá, June 12-15, 2024.
- Edwards Jr., D.B. (2024). “The dialectics of education and development in Central America and the Latin Caribbean,” Comparative and International Education Society, Miami, March 10-14, 2024.
- Edwards Jr., D.B. (2023). “Ritual governance and the ritual aid dance: Rethinking World Bank influence.” Conference of the Comparative Education Society of Asia, Hiroshima, November 24-26, 2023.
- Quilabert, E., Moschetti, M., Edwards Jr., D.B., Caravaca, A., & Grillet, P. (2023). “Education policy and reform in Paraguay: From shadow state to neoliberal bureaucracy.” Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Washington, D.C., February 14-22, 2023.
- Saito, Y. & Edwards Jr., D.B. (2023). “The onto-epistemic foundations of global governance and global education policies: A decolonial analysis of global citizenship education in Hawaii.” Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Washington, D.C., February 14-22, 2023.
- In 2021, I was awarded $913,00 for the Crisis Management for Disaster Risk Reduction in Education Systems: Learning from the Elaboration and Integration of Technology-Focused Strategies in El Salvador, Honduras, and Colombia. This project was one of only two selected by Dubai Cares from among a pool of 173 that were submitted for its “E-Cubed” Research Envelope, through which it supports evidence for education in emergencies. .
- During 2018-2024, I led (together with Mauro Moschetti) five research projects for Education International (the worldwide federation of teachers’ unions) on the ways that privatization is advancing in education in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, and the wider region of Latin America. These case studies were part of Education International’s global campaign to combat the privatization of public education.
- Tri-level analysis of the action-oriented data-based decision-making strategy of the Hawaii Department of Education
Research team: D. Brent Edwards Jr. (University of Hawaii) & Siobhan Ng (University of Hawaii)
Funder: Hawaii Department of Education
Description: Through this project, we evaluated the action-oriented data-based decision-making strategy of the Hawaii Department of Education. This strategy has sought to promote the use of data in decision-making at and across each level of the HIDOE–that is, at the state, complex area, and school levels. The evaluation traced the implementation of the strategy, portrayed how data (particularly related to student achievement) have been used by key stakeholders, and identified promising practices related to data use at the level of complex areas and schools. This evaluation was carried out within the context of the Hawaii Department of Education partnership with the Hawaiʻi Education Research Network. - Comparative analysis of country plans to achieve Education for Sustainable Development
Research team: D. Brent Edwards Jr. (University of Hawaii) & Dewi Setiani (Independent researcher)
Funder: UNESCO
Description: Identify key country strategies related, e.g., to education policy, curriculum, teacher training, etc. intended to help achieve global targets related to Education for Sustainable Development. Based on interviews, survey, and document review of plans for ~55 countries. - Systematic review of literature on privatization trends in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2013-2023
Research team: D. Brent Edwards Jr. (University of Hawaii), Mauro Moschetti (Autonomous University of Barcelona), Xenia Gavalda (Autonomous University of Barcelona), Núria Torras Negredo (Autonomous University of Barcelona), Lorraine Kouao (University of Hawaii), and Carl Moog (University of Hawaii)
Funder: Education International
Description: Document and explain recent trends in—and resistance to—privatization of education in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2013-2023.
- Comparative and International Education Society
2021–presentAssociate editor, Journal of International Cooperation in Education2023–presentBook review editor, International Studies in the Sociology of Education2025–presentEditorial board member, AERA Open2020–presentMember, College of Reviewers, Compare, Journal of Comparative and International Education
- I was awarded Fulbright Funding for my work in El Salvador, in addition to holding visiting, affiliate, or research positions at George Washington University (USA), the University of California-Berkeley (USA), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), University of Central America (El Salvador), the University of the North (Colombia), The University of Tokyo (Japan), Waseda University (Japan), and the University of Auckland (New Zealand). Apart from being a consultant for the World Bank, I have produced evaluations, reports, and working papers for a range of international organizations, foundations, and research centers, such as USAID, UNESCO, Education International, the Global Campaign for Education, Open Society Foundations, the Spencer Foundation, and the National Center for the Study of Privatization (Columbia University).