In broad terms the dominant national discourses influencing education can be characterised as humanist, socially-orientated and trusting of teachers in Denmark (Hermann, 2007) and techno-rationalist, individualist and accountability-focussed in England (Goodson & Lindblad, 2011). These are mediated by teachers working in particular circumstances, and the outcome is pedagogy which is nationally situated (Dorf et al., 2012; Kelly et al., 2012). Our concern is in contrasting the effect on pedagogy of prioritising knowledge utility as a key aspect of techno-rationalist policy discourse in England with one of valuing knowledge for its own sake which prevails within a humanist education tradition in Denmark.

Working from intended to actual policy (Ball and Bowe, 1992) we look at how techno rationalist and humanist traditions construct different purposes for schooling and views of the nature of knowledge. We then look at the consequences of these constructions for practice and particularly for student experiences across different subjects and levels of attainment. To do this we report the findings of a comparative study of pedagogy which maps broad societal discourses as they are recontextualised into pedagogic practice in the classroom (Bernstein, 1990; 1996). We look specifically at students aged 12-13 and their teachers in eight folkskole in Denmark and eight community colleges in England, chosen to represent the geographical, sociocultural and economic diversity of each country.

An analysis of pedagogy requires an analysis of practice embedded in discourse (Alexander, 2001). In this study we explore practice by identifying teacher and student roles (Kelly et al., 2012). We use the term role metaphorically. Importantly, roles indicate a division of labour and carry an assumption that others will reciprocate in their roles. Constructed thus, teacher roles provide a social unit of analysis: it is not simply in the gift of teachers to adopt and act out their preferred roles; roles can be assigned, adapted or resisted by the actions of others. Teacher roles are the visible outcomes of teacher mediations across many situated influences and wider educational discourses within a contested social arena; they respond to the roles adopted by students; and they are enacted within a particular subject, classroom, school culture, and so on. Hence teacher roles characterize the act of teaching whilst acknowledging its situated and reciprocally defined nature.

We categorise roles using Bernstein’s model of pedagogic discourse (1990; 1996; 2004). This comprises two elements which are expressed by teachers and embedded in their practices; an instructional discourse which concerns the content, sequencing and pace of teaching and the approach to and focus of assessment, and a regulatory discourse which concerns managing the division of labour and promoting appropriate conduct in the classroom (Bernstein, 1990). By linking roles to pedagogic discourse we describe pedagogy and by contrasting our analysis across national groups we compare pedagogy. Finally, we consider the contribution socio-political educational discourses about knowledge utility or intrinsic worth make to the formation of pedagogic discourse.

Adams, P. (2008) Considering ‘best practice’: the social construction of teacher activity and pupil learning as performance, Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(3), 375-392. Alexander, R. (2001) Border Crossings: Towards a comparative pedagogy, Comparative Education 37(4): 507-523. Ball, S.J. (2006) Education Policy and Social Class: The selected works of Stephen Ball. London: Routledge. Ball, S. (2008) The Education Debate: Policy and Politics in the 21st Century, London: Policy Press. Ball, S. and Bowe, R. (1992) Subject Departments and the 'implementation' of National Curriculum Policy, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 24 (2), 97-115. Berlak, A. and Berlak, H. (1981) Dilemmas of Schooling. Teaching and Social Change. London: Methuen. Bernstein, B. (1990) The structure of pedagogic discourse. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Bernstein, B. (1996) Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: theory, research, critique. London: Taylor Francis. Bernstein, B. (2004) Social class and pedagogic practice, in S.J. Ball (Ed) The RoutledgeFalmer reader in Sociology of Education. London: RoutledgeFalmer: 196-217. Dorf, H., Kelly, P., Pratt, N. & Hohmann, U. (2012) Varieties of teacher expertise in teaching Danish language and literature in lower secondary schools, Nordic Studies in Education, 32, 17-34. Goodson, I. & Lindblad, S. (Eds) (2011) Professional knowledge and educational restructuring in Europe, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Hermann, S. (2007) Magt og oplysning. Folkeskolen 1950-2006, Unge Pædagogers: Forlag. Kelly, P., Hohmann, U., Pratt, N. & Dorf, H. (2012) Teachers as mediators: an exploration of situated English teaching. British Educational Research Journal: DOI:10.1080/01411926.2012.665433 Morris, P. (2012) Pick ’n’ mix, select and project; policy borrowing and the quest for ‘world class’ schooling: an analysis of the 2010 schools White Paper, Journal of Education Policy, 27(1): 89-107. Singh, P. (2002) Pedagogising Knowledge: Bernstein's theory of the pedagogic device. British Journal of Sociology of Education 23(4): 571-582. Tomlinson, S. (2005) Education in a Post-Welfare Society, Buckingham: OUP.