Globalisation and education policy

What are the 2 ways globalisation has made an impact on educational policies

•privatisation and marketisation of education

•international comparisons to form policies

What does exporting private companies on education policies do

Often private comparisons are exporting UK education policy to other countries and then providing the services to deliver the policies

What do international comparisons do

There is a huge range of international data available on all aspects of education including versions international student achievement surveys which compare the educational performance of a range of countries

What are 3 examples of international comparisons

•PISA

•TIMSS

•PIRLS

What does PISA stand for

PISA- programme for international student assessment

What does TIMSS stand for

TIMSS- trends in international mathematics and science study

What does PIRLS stand for

PIRLS - progress in international reading literacy study

What do these international comparisons involve

These involve conducting tests in maths, science and reading, of samples between 325,000 and over 600,000 - 9-15 year olds drawn from around 50-65 countries every 3-5 years

How is data ranked

Data is then ranked in the form of league tables of different countries

How are results used

To monitor education system globally, to see what policies high achievers use and what low standard schools can introduce in their country

What are the 6 policies of international comparisons

•national literacy and numeracy strategies

•slimming down the national curriculum

•raising the academic entry requirements of trainee teachers

•variety of schools- free schools and academies

•additional funding for maths and science

•raising standards for teachers

What are 3 strengths of international comparisons

•useful to see whether education spending matches educational achievement

•useful for benchmarking - comparing standards

•provide evidence for policy makers wanting to learn from other countries

What are 5 limitations of international comparisons

•PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS tests are based on a very narrow conception of education, according to Kelly - globalisation has led to the view that education is primarily on economic activity- to prepare for work, meeting the needs of economy

•test results do not necessarily mean that the education received by students is better or worse in different countries

•limited subjects monitored

•cultural differences between nations

•validity and reliability of testing expensive and often short-lived policies