Comparative Education Policy

El Ghali Fikri There is wide consensus that education is essential for development and growth. A society that does not provide its pupils with (quality) education is deemed to fail in today’s competitive global economy. But one might probably want to precise the kind of growth that schools are expected to deliver. To be sure, we want our education system to provide inclusive growth. In other words, for competition to be fair, schools ought to provide a level playing field to all pupils and equally enable them to be emancipated actors in their economic sectors of choice. An equal and inclusive education system is expected to reduce social inequalities related to gender, race, origin, religion or class. The latter consideration drives us from a pure economic perception of education policy to one that incorporates a social approach. In other words, not only do schools have to enable pupils integrate the labor market with appropriate skills and knowledge but they also have to ensure tha...

Stephanie Hagen Is education policy-making a science or an art? If you work for your national education ministry, how would you attempt to create reforms in your country's school system? It would be tempting to take a scientific approach by analyzing the various policy-approaches used around the world, eliminating those deemed ineffective enough until one “end all be all” approach stands which can be applied to your national school system. However, a policy-maker who neglects to consider context will be as fruitful as a painter without a brush. Professor Pont called education policy-making an   “art of the possible,” it is what one can do in a constrained environment with the data, evidence and actors available to him or her. It is diverse, dynamic, messy and very much embedded in its context. According the PISA 2015 Education Policy Outlook there are five primary governance approaches which are summed up in the table below. Each approach has its advantages and disadvan...

Amélie Reichmuth Over the last years, policy makers throughout OECD countries undertook numerous reforms (over 450 in 7 years!) aiming at improving their respective education systems in order to ensure both the equity and quality of education for all students. These reforms have taken various forms going from teacher training reforms (France and Nordics) to defining national priorities for education (Japan). More generally, what these reforms have in common is the fact that they focus on broad areas such as governance and funding (focusing on systems), school improvement and evaluation (focusing on schools), as well as the preparation of students for the future (focusing on students).  The core of the efforts so far has been concentrated around three pillars: 1. Preparing students for the future by investing in vocational education and training (VET, 29% of the reforms, see relevant reforms in Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary). 2. Improving schools by focusin...

André Rebeiz Observing and understanding the context of education across OECD countries is important in crafting policy that supports education systems in mutual learning, the goal ultimately being to ensure that children in school learn for the future. This is one of the messages of the introductory session to the course “Trends in Comparative Education Policy” by Professor Beatriz Pont.  The Importance of Context  With this message in mind, it is important to consider that schools reflect the societies that they belong to. It is thus important to take into account the impacts of globalization, migration, inequality, and technology. Such issues impact education, or can be impacted by education, in the following ways: Globalization and Education : the interdependency of economies increases the need for transferable skills so that countries can be competitive. How can education systems, then, deliver what the labour market (or the labour market of the futur...

Provincial governments run education in Canada, and Ontario shows how high-school students can do well whatever their family background, first language or place of birth. Ontario, Canada - Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education From: EduSkills OECD