Think! Evidence

The Politics of League Tables

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dc.creator Gita Steiner-Khamsi
dc.date 2003-08-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned 2015-07-20T22:11:44Z
dc.date.available 2015-07-20T22:11:44Z
dc.identifier 1611-9665
dc.identifier 1618-5293
dc.identifier https://doaj.org/article/deb339a4ee164a2cbee6c7c1fe597872
dc.identifier.uri http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/14654
dc.description The article focuses on the political usages of OECD- and IEA-type studies on student achievement, and suggests that we examine in more detail how policy makers use results from international comparisons to advance fundamental school reform at national level. The author categorizes three types of policy reactions to league tables: (1) scandalization, (2) glorification, and (3) indifference. Drawing from media reports and policy debates that emerged right after the release of the results from TIMSS, PISA, and the Civic Education Study, the author points at the different policy reactions that these OECD and IEA studies have had in various national contexts. In Japan, for example, the release of TIMSS led to a self-affirmation or glorification of Japanese methods in science and mathematics, whereas the release of PISA in Germany triggered self-criticism or scandalization, and strengthened existing demands for a fundamental reform of the German educational system. Most striking is the political indifference that the release of the IEA Civic Education encountered in Germany. German students held the last rank in the international league table on attitudes towards immigrants (Civic Education Study), whereas they scored below OECD-average in reading literacy (PISA). The author provides a few tentative explanations for the following question: why was there such a political spectacle about the reading literacy scores of German students given that German students did far worse with regard to xenophobia?
dc.language English
dc.language German
dc.publisher Bielefeld University
dc.relation https://doaj.org/toc/1611-9665
dc.relation https://doaj.org/toc/1618-5293
dc.source Journal of Social Science Education, Vol 2, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2003)
dc.subject Special aspects of education
dc.subject LC8-6691
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject DOAJ:Education
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Social sciences (General)
dc.subject H1-99
dc.subject Social Sciences
dc.subject H
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Special aspects of education
dc.subject LC8-6691
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject DOAJ:Education
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Social sciences (General)
dc.subject H1-99
dc.subject Social Sciences
dc.subject H
dc.subject DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject Special aspects of education
dc.subject LC8-6691
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject Social sciences (General)
dc.subject H1-99
dc.subject Social Sciences
dc.subject H
dc.subject Special aspects of education
dc.subject LC8-6691
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject Social sciences (General)
dc.subject H1-99
dc.subject Social Sciences
dc.subject H
dc.subject Special aspects of education
dc.subject LC8-6691
dc.subject Education
dc.subject L
dc.subject Social sciences (General)
dc.subject H1-99
dc.subject Social Sciences
dc.subject H
dc.title The Politics of League Tables
dc.type article


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