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A Comparative Analysis of Discourses on Equity in Education in the OECD and Norway

The Impact of International Achievement Studies on National Education Policymaking

ISBN: 978-0-85724-449-9, eISBN: 978-0-85724-450-5

Publication date: 31 December 2010

Abstract

This chapter undertakes a comparative analysis of discourses on equity found in OECD and Norwegian policy documents. This is an interesting area to study as the OECD is found to be an important agenda setter for many countries' educational policies. A comparative analysis of OECD and Norwegian educational policies is especially interesting because the OECD is often found to be pressing for a neo-liberal agenda, while Norway has a socialist-alliance government. Combining Basil Bernstein's theoretical framework with key principles from Critical Discourse Analysis, the author investigates power relations within OECD and Norwegian educational policy documents. Two equity models serve as analytical tools: equity through equality and equity through diversity, which can be described along the three dimensions: de-/centralization, de-/standardization and de-/specialization. Using the analysis of two key documents on equity in education from the OECD and Norway, the author points out the similarities and differences in two documents. Both the OECD and Norwegian approaches to equity in education can be related to a centralized decentralization or a conservative modernization of education. However, there are also important differences between the two documents. For example, the Norwegian ministry has more emphasis on equity through equality and is less influenced by neo-liberalism and authoritarian populism than the OECD. In conclusion, the author argues that neither of the two described approaches appears to improve the inequities in education. A different way of targeting these inequities could be based on critical theory and research.

Citation

Rønning Haugen, C. (2010), "A Comparative Analysis of Discourses on Equity in Education in the OECD and Norway", Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) The Impact of International Achievement Studies on National Education Policymaking (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 207-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3679(2010)0000013011

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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