Prelims

Half Title Page

Cross-Nationally Comparative, Evidence-Based Educational Policymaking and Reform

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International Perspectives on Education AND Society

Series Editor: Alexander W. Wiseman

Recent Volumes:

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International Perspectives on Education and Society Volume 35

Cross-Nationally Comparative, Evidence-Based Educational Policymaking and Reform

Edited by

Alexander W. Wiseman

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

Petrina M. Davidson

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2018

Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78743-768-5 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78743-767-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78743-972-6 (Epub)

ISN: 1479-3679 (Series)

Contents

List of Contributors

About the Volume Editors

Alexander W. Wiseman is Professor of Comparative and International Education at Lehigh University, USA. Dr. Wiseman holds a dual-degree Ph.D. in Comparative & International Education and Educational Theory & Policy from Pennsylvania State University and M.A. in International Comparative Education from Stanford University. Dr. Wiseman conducts internationally comparative educational research using large-scale education datasets on math and science education, information and communication technology, teacher preparation, professional development and curriculum as well as school principal’s instructional leadership activity.

Petrina M. Davidson holds a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from Lehigh University, a M.S. in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership with an emphasis on Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University, and B.A. in English and Education from The University of Tulsa. Dr. Davidson taught high school English and served as the secondary English curriculum coordinator in one of the largest school districts in Oklahoma. Her research interests include the institutionalization of education, curriculum in post-conflict societies, education for refugees and marginalized populations, and measures of teacher quality.

Preface

Given the importance of evidence-based educational policymaking and reform, and the contribution that large-scale datasets make to evidence-based decisions in national educational systems worldwide, the goal of this volume in the International Perspectives on Education and Society (IPES) series is to describe, synthesize, and forecast how large-scale assessments and quantitative data impact evidence-based policymaking derived in part from policymaking examples from national educational systems and international organizations. The volume provides a forum for scholars and policymakers to identify how large-scale assessments and quantitative data can be used to inform policymaking at all levels of education, and how these data can be used to better understand specific country- and regional-level educational challenges.

The main question this volume addresses asks how and why large-scale educational datasets impact evidence-based educational policymaking, and how that is empirically observed in national educational systems in several Middle East and North African countries as well as others worldwide. There are many kinds of large-scale datasets that are relevant to evidence-based educational policymaking. For example, many Arabian Gulf countries participate in several of the internationally comparative education assessments, including the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study, and the Programme for International Student Assessment. Of these large-scale assessments, the TIMSS includes representatives from all of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as well as many from the Arab community worldwide, but Arab countries represent only a fraction of the systems that participate in large-scale international assessments, like TIMSS.

The scope of international large-scale assessments is a bit overwhelming. For example, in 2015, the number of countries participating in TIMSS was 57 countries and 7 benchmarking communities. From these 64 countries and benchmarking communities, more than 580,000 students worldwide participated by completing academic assessments and background questionnaires. In addition, each of the students’ classroom teachers in the tested subject and their school principals or head teachers responded to background questionnaires as well. The amount of data just from TIMSS 2015 alone is enormous, but we also have to remember that TIMSS has been administered every four years since 1995. In other words, 2015 marked the sixth data collection cycle for TIMSS, and TIMSS is just one of many large-scale international assessments like it. There are even more nation- or state-specific educational assessments that collected and report quantifiable data on education worldwide. In other words, the educational data available for analysis and interpretation are enormous and complex.

Chapters in this volume emphasize that quantitative research evidence is often the most legitimized among national educational policymakers and international organizations that influence national educational policymaking because it is perceived to be more accurate and trustworthy. In fact, the phrase “scientific” for international or national educational agencies often means “based in empirical research”—typically quantitative. By contrast, useful qualitative data are not often considered “scientific” enough for national or international educational funding. The measurability of achievement scores from large-scale datasets, for example, is often perceived by policymakers to be clearer and more direct than that of learning potential or the transferability of ideas that may be measured with less quantitative instruments or methods. However, chapter authors discuss how these rich data are not always used to their full potential by policymakers or educators because of the predominant focus on student achievement and ranking systems. While student achievement data can offer great insight on educational systems, the unique country-level background data available through large international datasets, for example, provide opportunities for scholars and policymakers to develop greater insight into the social and cultural factors that influence education systems around the world.

Chapters in this volume accomplish three sub-goals. First, they identify and discuss ways that a testing and assessment infrastructure contributes to improved educational planning, policy, and implementation. Second, they discuss specific ways to build capacity in relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values about large-scale education data for policymaking. And, finally, they create a rough template for sustainable testing and assessment models and procedures to push national education systems forward, both regionally and globally. The volume also has two practical outcomes: short-term and long-term. The short-term outcome is that it builds a network of experts and colleagues, creates a set of policy recommendations related to large-scale education data and policymaking, and contributes to scholarship on both evidence-based educational policy and educational reform in diverse systems around the world. Long-term outcomes of this volume are to develop a framework for sustainable collaboration and a platform for the systematic influence of education policy using large-scale assessments and quantitative data.

Alexander W. Wiseman

IPES Series Editor

Volume Co-Editor