The Policy Impact of PISA

Breakspear, Simon

doi:10.1787/5k9fdfqffr28-en

Cited by 139 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…We can understand the past without agreeing with its precepts. Bhabha (1994) takes this a stage further by arguing that it is by moving through the 'third space' of intercultural dialogue, beyond the concepts of the insider and the outsider, that we can produce new meaning that does not result in 'merging or mixing' but mutally enriches understanding. Certainly, all researchers need to come to terms with their own position within the research process and engage with a diversity of expectations and perspectives -many of which may be fragmented, imaginary, or even contradictory and divisive.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Ethnographic dazzle’ and the construction of the ‘Other’: revisiting dimensions of insider and outsider research for international and comparative education

McNess

Arthur

Crossley

2013

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents some initial ideas on how the theoretical concepts of the 'insider' and the 'outsider' might be re-examined in an era where advances in comparative, qualitative research methodologies seek to be more inclusive, collaborative, participatory, reflexive and nuanced. Earlier essentialist definitions of the outsider as detached and objective, and the insider as culturally-embedded and subjective, are re-examined and set within an international research and teaching context which recognises the increased migration of people, ideas and educational policies. It is argued that, in the context of such change, it has become more difficult to categorise and label groups and individuals as being 'inside' or 'outside' systems, professional communities, or research environments. Such essentialist notions, which often underpin the production of large-scale, international datasets of pupil achievement, need to be challenged so that more complex understandings can inform, not only new methods of research design, research ethics, data collection and analysis, but also the creation of new knowledge, giving more validity to related education policymaking. We recognise that individual and group identities can be multiple, flexible and changing such that the boundary between the inside and the outside is permeable, less stable and less easy to draw. The concept of a 'third', liminal space may have the potential to encourage new meaning which is constructed on the boundary between worlds where historical, social, cultural, political, ethical and individual understandings meet.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Ethnographic dazzle’ and the construction of the ‘Other’: revisiting dimensions of insider and outsider research for international and comparative education

McNess

Arthur

Crossley

2013

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In many countries new national standards as well as new systems of obligatory national testing have been introduced. Some of these are directly influenced by PISA documents, as also proudly noted in a comprehensive report by the OECD itself (Breakspear 2012).…”

Section: Pisa Scores: Uncertainties and Errorsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Since the first publication of results in 2001, the PISA-results have become a kind of global "gold standard" for educational quality -a single measure of the quality of the entire school system. An OECD-report on the policy impact of PISA, proudly states that "PISA has become accepted as a reliable instrument for benchmarking student performance worldwide, and PISA results have had an influence on policy reform in the majority of participating countries/economies" (Breakspear 2012 to understand how important science is for our culture, our world-view and for meeting the challenges of the future. While science as academic disciplines may be universal and independent of culture, school science needs to be embedded in the culture, and build on the interests and concerns of the learner.…”

Section: A Global Standard For All Schools?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pisa testing

Sjøberg

2017

Europhysics News

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In 2009, PISA provided the following knowledge: PISA is conceived and analysed as a programme for the transnational governance of education systems (Grek, 2010(Grek, , 2012Lundgren, 2010;Popkewitz, 2011). The 'PISA movement', 15 years old by now, has become a global phenomenon permeating education discourse worldwide and has significant impact on policymaking, according to a recent OECD report (Breakspear, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What PISA Intends to and Can Possibly Achieve: A Critical Programme Theory Analysis

Hanberger

2014

European Educational Research Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper advances the enlightened discussion of the nature, logic, and possible effects of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The purpose is to analyze the assumptions regarding how PISA is to achieve its intended effects, that is, to reconstruct PISA's programme theory (PT) and to probe the validity of its underlying assumptions. The paper demonstrates that PISA's PT has low internal validity. However, some PISA assumptions are consistent, for example, the assumption that legitimization activities justify PISA as a transnational benchmarking system measuring education system performance.PISA exemplifies systemic evaluation governance: all actors in the field are expected to use PISA results to react to and reflect on their own practice, compare themselves with others, and then act accordingly to improve education systems and school practice, though no activities or resources are allocated to change school practice. There is no empirical research into how systemic evaluation governance works in practice that can be used to probe PISA's external validity. PISA's PT is in line with discourse policy, governance theory, and school effectiveness research, but whether and under what conditions and how PISA helps change education systems and school practice are empirical questions waiting to be answered.

show abstract

The Policy Impact of PISA

Cited by 139 publications

References 15 publications

‘Ethnographic dazzle’ and the construction of the ‘Other’: revisiting dimensions of insider and outsider research for international and comparative education

‘Ethnographic dazzle’ and the construction of the ‘Other’: revisiting dimensions of insider and outsider research for international and comparative education

Pisa testing

What PISA Intends to and Can Possibly Achieve: A Critical Programme Theory Analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About