Session Information
23 SES 05 A, Fabricating Quality in Europe: Data and Education Governance (Part 1)
Symposium, to be continued in 23 SES 06 A
Time:
2009-09-29
08:30-10:00
Room:
HG, HS 28
Chair:
Ken Jones
Discussant:
Jane Kenway
Contribution
This paper discusses the growth of evaluation and the techniques associated with it, including the focus on measurable outputs, the selection and use of ‘reliable’ data, the idea of mobility of technologies and the intended and unintended consequences of evaluation in different national contexts. Further, it will explore the movement and shifting meaning of ideas and ‘best practices’ in terms of data use (Segerholm 2009). Is the apparent convergence produced by measurement superficial, hiding deep national histories and cultures (Simola and Rinne 2008), or has it penetrated the values and logics of national education systems? Can we talk about a bricolage of ideas or is data use contributing to a more radical re-shaping of education in Europe today?
Method
The paper draws on the project methodology and reports on the analysis of interviews with key policy informants at European and national levels, along with critical discourse analysis of policy texts and analysis of relevant survey data. It draws on actor network theory (Callon1986) to discuss the meanings of translation of data into governing knowledge
Expected Outcomes
Certain kinds of expert educational knowledge flow across Europe, shaping education systems and discourses; however, it flows asymmetrically as it is ‘hollowed out’ by local traditions, excluded by local and municipal practices, resisted as irrelevant or ‘brokered’ nationally (Grek et al 2009). Particular kinds of experts aid the flow of data across Europe, and so produce a shared set of evaluative practices and relations. Through shared databases, policy officers, technical experts and meetings, new synapses operate through which messages of comparison and commensurability [messages of standards, ranking scales, indicators and benchmarks] are transmitted.
References
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