ERIC Number: EJ1091065
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Feb
Pages: 31
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-4086
EISSN: N/A
PISA for Schools: Topological Rationality and New Spaces of the OECD's Global Educational
Lewis, Steven; Sellar, Sam; Lingard, Bob
Comparative Education Review, v60 n1 p27-57 Feb 2016
This article examines the OECD's new PISA-based Test for Schools ("PISA for Schools") program. PISA for Schools is part of the expanding education work of the OECD, building upon main PISA to enable school-to-schooling system comparisons. We examine the development of PISA for Schools, the nature of the instrument, and some initial effects of its introduction. Our theoretical framework focuses on new spatialities associated with globalization and the emergence of topological rationalities and heterarchical modes of governance. We analyze 33 interviews with personnel at the OECD and relevant edu-businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and philanthropic foundations. Pertinent documents and web-based media are also analyzed. We suggest that PISA for Schools provides an exemplary demonstration of heterarchical governance, in which vertical policy mechanisms open up horizontal spaces for new policy actors. It also creates commensurate spaces of comparison and governance, enabling the OECD to "reach into" school-level spaces and directly influence local educational practices.
Descriptors: Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Governance, Philanthropic Foundations, Achievement Tests, Comparative Education, Secondary School Students, Interviews, Nonprofit Organizations, Employee Attitudes, Administrative Organization, Global Education, Test Use
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A