OECD Examiners' Report on Educational Research and Development in England

Abstract

Introduction. OECD Review in England on Educational Research and Development What is an OECD Review?There exist two types of reviews the OECD is conducting, country reviews and thematic reviews. Although all country reviews are also thematic by nature, the focus lies more on one country and the analysis serves the specific needs of the country under review and the other member states as a reliable, standardised source of information. So-called thematic reviews treat one theme over many countries -at least five or six -and end in a comparative study that shows differences between countries, best practice in particular countries, tendencies, etpara. and should give an insight into the general mechanics of the chosen topic and be a guideline for all member states.The review of the educational research policy in England is somewhere in between the two types of reviews. It is a distinct country review as it has been done on the request of the English Government and resulted in a country report on England but it was also intended as part of a larger thematic review on the same topic as other countries should have participated in the same type at University-Ulster at Belfast on June 25, 2015 eer.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Problems of Interdisciplinarity: Evidence‐Based and/or Artist‐Led Research?

“…However, this is not peculiar to art education. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has identified such weaknesses as endemic throughout European educational research (Wolter et al 2004). The finding that the majority of studies were doctoral theses is evidence of the significant role higher education degrees play in sustaining art education research.…”

Evidence and Policy Research

“…Here Stefan Wolter, Edwin Keiner, Donatella Palomba, and Sverker Lindblad (Wolter et al, 2004) formulated in different ways the following critique.…”

“…This modern concept of rationality assumes, said the critics, that decisions get better when the amount of information is increased. This argument is contested in two ways: first, one can argue that there is no evidence that this 'great promise of modern concepts of rationality' (Keiner, 2004) is correct. Second, the review argues that educational research should be an instrument policy makers can use in reducing complexity, because policy makers and practitioners find it increasingly difficult to manoeuvre in a complex context.…”

“…It is constructed from a knowledge management perspective and is therefore consumer-led, it says. The generic template shows that although it is stated at the beginning of the report that a linear dissemination is not what CERI believes in, the linear disseminations concept from the UK review persists: when writing about a 'repository of knowledge', 'best practice' and 'the production, distribution and application of knowledge' they are still writing within a paradigm that treats knowledge as a commodity (Ball, 2003;Wolter et al, 2004) that can be transported from one party to another.…”

What Kinds of Democracy in Education are Facilitated by Supra- and Transnational Agencies?

“…According to these critics, the modern concept of rationality assumes that decisions get better when the amount of information is increased. This argument is contested in two ways: first, one can argue that there is no evidence that this 'great promise of modern concepts of rationality' (Keiner, 2004) is correct. Second, the review argues that educational research should be an instrument policy makers can use in reducing complexity, because policy makers and practitioners find it increasingly difficult to manoeuvre in a complex context.…”