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Theoretical Approaches 29

this global village?” In many areas of the social sciences, therefore, the ‘methodological
nationalism’ that dominated fields such as sociology, policy studies and education
during the latter half of the twentieth century is now considered to be of diminished
value. Yet while there is clearly a need to be mindful of the changing role and
capabilities of the nation state, it would be unwise to discount altogether the sig-
nificance of the national context as a meaningful and important level of analysis.
This is particularly the case in light of the sceptical and transformationalist accounts
of ‘globalisation’ reviewed in Chapter 1.
As such, it could be argued that these latter concerns from the likes of Jarvis,
Fraser et al. should be taken to warn against an exclusively national dimension to
comparative research. As such there is still a place for comparison between nation
states and countries while being aware of the need to also explore the ‘dialectic of
the global’ (Arnove 2007). Indeed, while there are certainly many areas of society
where the nation state may have less autonomy and power than it might have
previously done (such as warfare, modern communications or the maintenance of
national identity), nation states can be seen to retain a central defining role in terms
of the domestic affairs of ‘civil society’. Not least because of their relationship to
territory and population, nation states and national governments therefore retain a
powerful role in controlling and directing domestic social processes such as education –
albeit in a manner that is mediated by other interests and agendas. Thus as Roger
Dale (2005, p.123) reasons, “despite all the globalisation talk, by far the majority of
education policy decisions are taken at national level”.
There is, then, certainly still a place for ‘methodological nationalism’ in any
account of education and technology – although we should be careful not to be
exclusively national in our focus. We, therefore, need to return to the concerns
outlined at the beginning of this chapter and pay due attention to the range of
‘supranational’ and ‘subnational’ influences and processes that are located beyond
the national level. These too can be seen to set the agendas, shape the preferences,
and set the rules that structure and bind the autonomy of individual nations. Some
of these influences include transnational corporations, global capital, foreign
exchange markets and intergovernmental organisations such as the European Union
and the United Nations. Alternatively, other influences operate along societal rather
than overtly economic lines. These societal frameworks are not centred on national
boundaries per se, but instead are defined in terms of different political couplings
(e.g. democratic or totalitarian), religious affiliations (e.g. Muslim or Christian) or
even diasporic language groups (see Spring 2009).
While the power and influence of these supranational interests is of clear
significance, we should also not overlook the importance of ‘subnational’, local
issues. The scope of ‘local’ influences on what takes place in national contexts is also
considerable – from the influence of local cultures, understandings and dialects,
through to the material and physical characteristics of local settings, alongside
the influence of local institutions and individuals. All these aspects of education
and technology also require careful consideration throughout the remainder of this