PPE6014 COMPARATIVE EDUCATION

DR. MOHD ASRI MOHD NOOR

4. HOW ARE COMPARISONS MADE?

LEARNING OUTCOMES
• At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
• identify sources in comparative education,
• explain statistical use of data in educational comparison,
• understand databases on national systems of education,
• explain the use of international surveys on students achievement.
ACTIVITY 1
• What is primary data and how is it different from secondary data?
• Can you think of any advantages and disadvantages to collecting and
analysing both forms of data?
INTRODUCTION
• Many students studying comparative education will not have the opportunity
to conduct primary research in another country.
• Primary research – original research through observation, experiment or
interview.
• You may use a range of secondary sources.
• Secondary sources – policy documents, curriculum frameworks and
educational statistics.
• Who collects data on national education systems and for what purpose?
• What kind of data is collected and are there limitations of using statistical
sources?
ORGANISATIONS & STATISTICS
• Marc-Antoine Jullien tried to make comparative education a science by
systematically analysing data gathered from survey research.
• Years later, Bereday (1964) and Noah & Eckstein (1969) believed
researchers in the field should adopt a positivist, or scientific, approach
using quantitative methods.
• Many international organisations such as UNESCO, OECD, and
international surveys of student achievement such as PISA & TIMMS adopt
this approach.
• Governments are paying increasing attention to international comparisons
as they search for “effective policies”.
UNESCO STATISTICS
• UNESCO plays vital role in producing and sharing information and
knowledge in education field since inception in 1945.
• 1950s and 1960s – UNESCO was the “premier education statistics
institution”.
• 1999 – UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) was established to meet
growing need for “reliable and policy-relevant data”.
• Today – UIS produces statistics on: educational programmes, access,
progression, school completion and human financial resources.
• Produces Global Education Digest. (Check MyGuru for a sample).
UIS’S GLOBAL EDUCATION DIGEST
UIS WEBSITE
ACTIVITY 2
• Have a look at UNESCO’s UIS website. What kind of data is being
presented: qualitative or quantitative? What topics are featured?
OECD STATISTICS
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was
formed in 1947 to help rebuild Europe.
• Mission: “to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-
being of people around the world”.
• Education plays key role for both a country’s economy and society.
• To help governments share information and analyse trends on a range of
topics, including education, in order to bring about social and economic
benefit.
• Due to a demand for better ways of collecting and interpreting national
education data, OECD developed a set of international indicators in statistical
form.
OECD’S CURRENT 34 MEMBERS
OECD’S REPORTS ON MALAYSIA
STATISTICAL DATA ON MALAYSIA
EUROSTAT
• Another key source of education statistics is Eurostat.
• Provides statistics at a European level that enables comparisons between
countries and regions.
• Publish statistics on a range of topics from the economy to education and
vocational training.
• Eurostat belief: “democratic societies do not function properly without a
solid basis of reliable and objective statistics”, and
• “the public and media need statistics for an accurate picture of
contemporary society and to evaluate the performance of politicians and
others”.
EUROSTAT WEBSITE
ACTIVITY 3
• Evaluate the previous statements by Eurostat. How important are statistics
in our everyday life? How important are they in providing evidence in order
to make decisions? Can they ever be purely reliable and objective?
EDUCATIONAL DATABASES
• A good starting point for conducting research on other countries is a
database that provides information on national education systems.
• Eurydice – administered by EU Education, Audiovisual and Cultural
Executive Agency (EACEA) – consists of 40 countries.
• Mission: “to provide those responsible for education systems and policies
in Europe with European-level analyses and information which will assist
them in their decision making”.
• Provide comparative thematic reports to do with policy, practice and
research on topics such as mathematics and science education, etc.
EURYDICE WEBSITE
IBE
• IBE – International Bureau of Education has a number of databases that are
useful in comparative education research.
• The databases include:
• World Data on Education (WDE)
• Country Dossiers
• IBE Digital Library of National Reports
IBE WEBSITE
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SURVEYS
• A number of international surveys of students achievement have greatly
influenced educational policy and practice across the globe.
• They tell us:
• How well our own education systems are doing compared to other nations and systems.
• If our education systems are efficient, productive and cost-effective.
PROGRAMME FOR INTERNATIONAL
STUDENT ASSESSMENT (PISA)
• Launched in 1997, administered by OECD in over 70 countries.
• Evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge
of 15-year-old students.
• Conducted every 3 years in reading, mathematics and science.
• PISA has had a tremendous impact on educational reforms in many
countries.
ACTIVITY 4
• Have a look at the PISA In Focus number 25 report. Which education
systems are more equitable? How can we explain these differences? What
role do policy and culture play in narrowing the gaps between advantaged
and disadvantaged students?
TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS
AND SCIENCE STUDY (TIMSS)
• Administered by the International Association for the Evaluation of
Educational Achievement (IEA), established in 1958.
• TIMSS assesses students enrolled in the fourth (ages 9-10) and eighth
grades (ages 13-14) in mathematics and science.
• Top 5 performers at fourth grade level in 2011: Singapore, Korea, Hong
Kong, Chinese Taipei and Japan.
• Top 5 performers at eighth grade level: Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei,
Hong Kong and Japan.
WHY PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS?
• The findings from international surveys can help inform policy makers
where they might choose to focus their efforts.
• TIMSS can point out relative strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum.
• For example, the Canadian government announced that it would use data
from PISA to improve its systems of education.
• The impact can be seen in many countries such as Germany, USA and
Japan; and including Malaysia!
• But, are international surveys the only way to measure success?
ACTIVITY 5
• Would you consider the education you received to be a ‘success’? Would
you say Malaysia has a successful education system? How would you
define and measure ‘success’?
MEASURING SUCCESS
• Both TIMSS and PISA compare mathematics and science achievement. So
how then do these two surveys compare?
• PISA is much more concerned with students’ ability to apply knowledge
rather than processing the knowledge itself.
• TIMSS tasks are very close to those tasks that students are involved with at
school; to examine the results in comparison with the curricula.
• Are we comparing apples and oranges?
MEASURING SUCCESS
• TIMSS content domains are fairly consistently found in the curricula of the
participating countries and the results provide an indication of curriculum
areas on which students perform relatively better or worse, both within and
across countries.
• TIMSS is inside the school wondering what makes it tick, PISA is outside
the street waiting to see what’s coming out.
• Western countries perform relatively better in PISA compared to TIMSS.
• Asian and Eastern European countries tend to do better in TIMSS than in
PISA.
• Why?
BENEFITS OF STATISTICS
• Can access high-quality secondary data without the time and expense of
collecting it.
• Statistics offer opportunity for longitudinal analysis, which enables you to
monitor progress.
• Statistics can answer many questions, such as:
• Is society heading in the direction promised by politicians?
• Is unemployment up or down?
• Are there more carbon dioxide emissions compared to ten years ago?
• How many women go to work?
• How is your country’s economy performing compared to other ASEAN countries?
LIMITATIONS AND CRITICISMS
• There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics!
• Statistics ignore the human and cultural dimensions of society.
• Raw data do not reveal the underlying philosophy or rationale of an education
system.
• Statistics are open to multiple interpretations.
• The issue of comparability: definitions and educational terms vary from country
to country.
• Nations vary in geographical size and population. How does this affect the
sample?
• Culture, ethnic diversity and language may have effect.
CONCLUSION
• Despite the criticisms surrounding international statistics and surveys, they
are likely to remain an important source of comparative education data.
• To fully understand, appreciate and utilise them to their fullest capacity,
they need to be explored in the context of a country’s culture and certainly
with a healthy amount of caution.