Interrogating educational innovation: A scoping review

Abstract

Innovation has become a widely used term in educational policy and practice over the past two decades, frequently invoked as a solution to various educational challenges. However, the concept lacks a clear definition, resulting in ambiguous interpretations and varied applications. This scoping review examines the academic discourse surrounding educational innovation by reviewing 75 studies published between 2000 and 2024 focused on compulsory schooling. The study contributes by clarifying the uses of innovation in education through the identification of six narratives, grouped under two discourses: (1) innovation as adaptation—characterized by narratives of adjusting to education systems’ external needs, diversifying schools, employing rhetoric to construct pedagogical imaginaries based on economic paradigms and on change valued as an inherent good; and (2) innovation as transformation—comprising innovation as a means to foster shared learning experiences between teachers and students, and innovation as a driver for a justice-based transformation of society. A closer examination of these narratives reveals a fundamental tension between reproduction and transformation in education systems within educational innovation discourses, and findings indicate that despite the rhetoric of change and the promise of transformative outcomes, dominant innovation discourses frequently tilt the balance in favor of reproduction.