Education in the Spirit of Archimedes: pertaining the buoyancy of PISA

Author(s):

Kirsten Sivesind(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

28. Sociologies of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

28 SES 08, Knowledge, Policy and Society

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-12

09:00-10:30

Room:

D-305

Chair:

Paolo Landri

Contribution

This paper builds on Coleman’s 'bathtub' model as a metaphoric representation to understand how the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) articulates a scientific methodology to construct knowledge about learning outcomes. Inspired by Merton (1936), this model has been frequently discussed and applied within social science research due to its significance for thinking about multi-level issues. To widen the theoretical perspective, the Coleman’s ‘bathtub’ model is viewed through three lenses of enquiry. First a ‘scientific bathtub’ is introduced, to illustrate how predictability of models and principles like Archimedes law are perceived within the PISA-study (OECD, 2009). Second, the ‘sociological bathtub’ by Coleman (1986) is presented, to demonstrate how psychometric approaches to individual learning within the PISA transform through a sociological methodology. Third, a ‘curricular bathtub’ is described, to display how the design and measurements in PISA partly eliminate curriculum and core contents and thereby modern ideas of the common school in Europe (Hopmann, 1999).

Method

Taking into consideration the current research status within the sociology of comparative research (Mills, van de Bunt, & de Bruijn, 2006), the paper examines the steps constituting Coleman's 'bathtub' model on the basis of formal documents and reports produced by PISA. By analysing what the PISA-study stepwise examines, the paper clarifies strengths and limitations of the research design. In addition, the paper discusses how a sociological approach connects with interdisciplinary rationales built into the PISA framework. Data from semi-structured interviews with five researchers experienced in international assessment in Norway, Switzerland and the U.S. were used to clarify why a sociological methodology is being preferred in PISA and why a core focus on competencies is superior to subject content knowledge.

Expected Outcomes

By comparing the knowledge construction of PISA with equivalent constructions of the modern school history in Europe, the paper concludes on the relevance and possible impact of the PISA-study in policy and research (Grek, 2009; Mangez & Hilgers, 2012; Pons, 2012). The paper argues that frameworks and measurements in PISA create redundancies through constructing knowledge as merely functional. Japanese and American researchers apply a complementary approach by pointing to the significance of educational contents as a key-matter in lesson planning (Fernandez, Cannon, & Chokshi, 2003). This content-orientation is similar to professional semantics for teacher education in Europe, which has been a core element in establishing what is known as a common school (Hopmann, 2007). The PISA-study disconnect to this semantic by neglecting subject matter content as its main core. Consequently, there is a need to examine further how different lenses of enquiry create counteracting semantics in European education as well as how they currently seem to merge through the design of formal curricula (Sivesind, 2013). The bathtub model, as a metaphoric representation, may offer valuable insights into the interdisciplinary character during future examination of these problems.

References

Coleman, J. S. (1986). Social Theory, Social Research and a Theory of Action. American Journal of Sociology, May 91(6), 1309-1335. Fernandez, C., Cannon, J., & Chokshi, S. (2003). A US–Japan lesson study collaboration reveals critical lenses for examining practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(2), 171-185. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00102-6 Grek, S. (2009). Governing by numbers: The PISA «effect» in Europe. Journal of European Policy, 1(23-37). Hopmann, S. (1999). The Curriculum as a Standard of Public Education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 18, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherland, 89-105. Hopmann, S. (2007). Restrained Teaching: The Common Core of Didaktik. European Educational Research Journal, 6(2), 109-124. Mangez, E., & Hilgers, M. (2012). The Field of Knowledge and the Policy Field in Education: PISA and the production of knowledge for policy,. European Educational Research Journal, 11(2), 189‑205. Merton, R. (1936). The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action. American Sociological Review, 1(6), 894-904. AAP Homepage, http://www.compilerpress.atfreeweb.com/Anno%20Merton%20Unintended.htm Mills, M., van de Bunt, G. G., & de Bruijn, J. (2006). Comparative Research: Persistent Problems and Promising Solutions. International Sociology, 21(5), 619-631. doi: 10.1177/0268580906067833 OECD. (2009). PISA 2009. Assessment Framework. Key competencies in reading, mathematics and science. http://www.oecd.org/document/44/0,3343,en_2649_35845621_44455276_1_1_1_1,00.html Pons, X. (2012). Going beyond the ‘PISA Shock’ Discourse: an analysis of the cognitive reception of PISA in six European countries, 2001‑2008. European Educational Research Journal, 11(2), 206-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2012.11.2.206 Sivesind, K. (2013). Mixed Images and Merging Semantics of Curricula in Europe. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 45(1).

Author Information

Kirsten Sivesind (presenting / submitting)

University of Oslo, Norway

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