In Search of Swedish Assessment Culture/s

Author(s):

Eva ForsbergHenrik Román

Conference:

ECER 2008

Network:

23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

23 SES 03B, The Audit Society (Part 1)

Paper Session to be continued in 23 SES 04B

Time:

2008-09-10

14:00-15:30

Room:

B1 114

Chair:

Linda Rönnberg

Contribution

In recent years, many countries have increased their participation in international comparative tests. The outcome of these tests is often used in national debates on education for legitimizing educational (non-)reforms. The aim of our research project International student assessments, national assessment culture and reform history is to develop knowledge about the relationships between international comparative tests and national reform history. We claim that participation in as well as use of international tests both are related to the national assessment culture and the national reform history. This project is designed as a historical-comparative study, comparing Sweden and Germany, two countries with divergent assessment cultures and reform histories. In this particular study - restricted to the Swedish case - we study how different types of journals within the educational field have dealt and deal with assessment issues, including the international comparative student tests, during the last decades. Through discourse analysis we study articles in journals belonging to the sphere of educational research and educational bureaucracy, as well as in journals oriented towards teachers and school practice. Thereby we map discursive patterns in how to address the issue of assessment. To be more precise, we analyse articles from the following journals: Pedagogisk forskning i Sverige, Forskning om utbildning, Pedagogiska magasinet, Svenskläraren and Nämnaren. These journals cover either general educational phenomena or school subject specific matters. The conclusions to be drawn from this comparative analysis are still at a preliminary stage. In this study and supported by previous research, we discuss our findings on assessment cultures with regards to three dimensions, which we claim to be relevant in these kinds of analyses. The first dimension concerns what is at stake when assessment issues are addressed: What kinds of assessment are presented and how are they displayed? What is the purpose of the assessment presented and what is presented as a purpose? What types of assessment are included and what types are not? Another dimension concerns the degree of stability-change over time and the degree of homogenity-heterogenity between the different educational spheres. A third dimension concerns the degree of autonomy and dependence in assessment matters, with respect to the different educational spheres. In addition, we relate the patterns of the assessment culture/s to the Swedish school reform of the 1990s, by identifying different legitimating and dislegitimating references in the journal articles to history, science, profession and bureaucracy, and not least references to the international context. By taking all these references in to account, it is possible to put the impact of the international comparative tests in perspective and relate them to other sources of influence.

Expected Outcomes

The conclusions to be drawn from our comparative analysis are still at a preliminary stage. In this study and supported by previous research, we discuss our findings on assessment cultures with regards to three dimensions, which we claim to be relevant in these kinds of analyses. The first dimension concerns what is at stake when assessment issues are addressed: What kinds of assessment are presented and how are they displayed? What is the purpose of the assessment presented and what is presented as a purpose? What types of assessment are included and what types are not? Another dimension concerns the degree of stability-change over time and the degree of homogenity-heterogenity between the different educational spheres. A third dimension concerns the degree of autonomy and dependence in assessment matters, with respect to the different educational spheres. In addition, we relate the patterns of the assessment culture/s to the Swedish school reform of the 1990s, by identifying different legitimating and dislegitimating references in the journal articles to history, science, profession and bureaucracy, and not least references to the international context. By taking all these references in to account, it is possible to put the impact of the international comparative tests in perspective and relate them to other sources of influence.

References

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Author Information

Eva Forsberg

Uppsala university

Department of Education

Uppsala

186

Henrik Román

Uppsala university

Department of Education

Uppsala

186

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