Introduction: Western colonial expectations and counter-narratives of women and education

Abstract

While there is always a risk when feminists within academia aim to foreground the experiences of women outside of the Western context, this aim is still needed given that so much scholarship and hegemonic discourse frames the Western experience as standard. This special issue presents scholarship embedded in local contexts; scholarship that relies on both large-scale studies and close qualitative work. The scholarship spotlights the voices and experiences of women outside of the Western context within educational spaces; and actively parses out and contravenes the centering of Western experience and expectations around education and schooling. This special issue is needed, especially as universities and international governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations adopt Western expectations around education; multiple nation states and regions are contracting with Western corporations and universities to provide education and schooling in developing areas. This special issue provides a balancing caution toward attention to local experience—particularly local women’s experiences—as education becomes a globally traded commodity.