ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the theoretical and methodological issues related to the concept of refraction in social sciences and education. The concept has recently been developed to investigate and explain social reform initiatives and restructuring in Europe, and it marks the phenomenon of global trends and initiatives being modified, redirected and potentially transformed in different contexts of time and space. Exploring the phenomenon of refraction is particularly relevant in the context of substantial reform initiatives and massive restructuring in many social spheres around the world since the 1980s, commonly regarded as being directed by the doctrine of neoliberalism. Such an exploration is crucial for predicting whether the reform initiatives succeed and are embedded or redirected, or fail and are phased out. In the chapter, we examine definitional issues related to the concept of refraction and the relevance of investigating refraction in the European context. We also introduce the methodology for investigating refraction, focusing on the narrative approach as a way of analysing the interaction between the global, the national and the individual in the process of local adjustment to global policies.
