Olli Suominen, Johanna Kallo, Risto Rinne and Yihong Fan
Different aspects of the globalisation of Chinese basic education have been examined in recent studies. This paper aims to contribute to this research base by examining the…
Abstract
Purpose
Different aspects of the globalisation of Chinese basic education have been examined in recent studies. This paper aims to contribute to this research base by examining the relationship between global quality assurance and evaluation (QAEVAL) trends and reforms in the Chinese basic education system.
Design/methodology/approach
Relevant research literature in English and Chinese was reviewed to assesses whether a movement of increasing convergence with global QAEVAL policy contents and policy instruments has taken place in China following the introduction of the so-called “equality education”. A guiding theory regarding the basic features of QAEVAL was used to conceptually structure the findings of the authors.
Findings
The findings indicate that several subtle convergences are evident in China with global trends in QAEVAL, but a few notable exceptions are also evident.
Research limitations/implications
Albeit the research indicates certain convergence, the authors acknowledge that further research is still needed to examine causal mechanisms of QAEVAL policy convergences and the processes and logic through which global trends are localised.
Originality/value
Both the importance of QAEVAL in global education governance as well as China’s importance to world affairs are increasing. However, so far, the effects of QAEVAL policies on China’s education system have not been thoroughly examined. This paper can serve as a concise starting point for examining the topic more deeply.
Details
Keywords
Tuomas Takala, Johanna Kallo, Jaakko Kauko and Risto Rinne
In the field of comparative education there is a vast and growing amount of research on how education policy agendas are formed at the transnational level, and how these may…
Abstract
In the field of comparative education there is a vast and growing amount of research on how education policy agendas are formed at the transnational level, and how these may influence policymaking in individual countries. Particularly the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) play an important role in the dissemination of education policies. This article seeked to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how the two organizations have formulated their policy advice concerning quality assurance and evaluation of school education toward the intended beneficiaries of such advice, either in standardized form or taking into account local contexts. The case countries were Brazil, China, and Russia (BCR), which in terms of their political power and economic resources differ from the typical World Bank client countries, but at the same time are not OECD members. Our data consisted of World Bank and OECD publications from the three BCR countries published during two decades from the mid-1990s onward. The document analysis was complemented by some factual information gained through interviews of relevant actors. In the analyzed material prescriptions given in the tone of “international best practice” were predominant. This position saw the quality of education as a concept that has a globally applicable definition. In addition, the advice directed at Russia and China has in an ambivalent manner acknowledged the sociocultural context of the concept of quality in the national pedagogical tradition.