Generation learning framework: Applying Margaret Mead's typology to agenda-setting stage of policy diffusion

Abstract

The prompt development of the world's South and the stagnation in the evolution of the world's North altered the directions of policy diffusion. Up to date, the literature lacks a clear framework that captures these changes. This article contributes to research by offering a Generation Learning Framework to study the new paths of policy and technology dissemination around the globe. Anthropological propositions of Margaret Mead are adapted to capture a higher demand and popularity of the South-South transfers over the less frequent South-North transfers. Illustrating the framework with the examples of South-Korean lesson-drawing, the study concludes that the era of knowledge transfer exclusively from the North to South is over. The proposed framework can be further applied to the fast-growing experiences in the learning practices that take place in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.