ABSTRACT
Introduction While there has been a burgeoning literature on globalization in recent years, the impact of globalization on education policymaking remains relatively unexplored theoretical territory. This essay seeks to contribute to this area of inquiry, drawing on research conducted on the influence of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in shaping education policy in Australia over the past two decades or so, within the context of globalization.1 This terrain is explored here through an examination of vocational education and training policy, chosen in recognition of Roger Dale’s point that some policy arenas in education are more highly charged than others with respect to globalization given their explicit links with the economy.2 Vocational education and training is used somewhat loosely as an umbrella term for a number of cognate strands that have surfaced at different times and in different countries: for example, transition education, vocational and technical education, technical and further education, post-compulsory education and training, and lifelong learning.
