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OECD Education Policy Committee meeting at CEO level - 2-3 September 2008, Seoul, Korea
Policymakers need to build consensus on the aims of education reform and actively engage stakeholders, especially teachers, in formulating and implementing the policy responses. This key lesson emerged from the OECD Education Policy Committee meeting at CEO level hosted by the Korean Government in Seoul on 2-3 September 2008. Officials came together to share their experience and learn from each other how to implement policy changes so countries achieve their ambitions to improve school outcomes, expand tertiary education and use ICT effectively in schools.
The Chair of the meeting, Vice-Minister Hyung-Sik Woo of Korea, described some common themes that emerged from the wide range of experiences. He noted the importance of involving all stakeholders, and especially teachers, in the entire reform process; making effective use of evidence to shape policies; and explaining clearly the underlying principles and aims of any reforms.
The meeting covered four topic areas in some depth and Vice-Minister Woo drew out some key messages in each of these areas.
Improving school outcomes
In building a common understanding among stakeholders:
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There is a shift towards building a self-adjusting system: rich feedback at all levels, incentives to react, and tools that strengthen capacities to deliver better educational outcomes.
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All political players and stakeholders need to develop more realistic expectations about the pace and nature of reforms to improve outcomes, since improvements in outcomes take longer than an election cycle, accumulating evidence of ultimate success requires even more time, and there are no simple action plans to reform complex educational systems.
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Teachers need reassurance during the reform process – they will not just be expected to change, they will also be given the tools that will enable them to fulfil their professional motivation to improve outcomes for their pupils. Countries also need to invest in change management skills in school leadership and the education system more broadly.
And evidence can be used more effectively to guide policy-making:
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Policy is best informed when it combines international benchmarks with national surveys and with inspectorates – to provide a better diagnosis. Evidence is most helpful when it is fed back to schools along with information and tools about how they can use the information to improve outcomes.
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Educational goals and objectives should be defined on their underlying merits, not by whether or not we can easily measure them.
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We are shifting towards an evidence-rich policy environment, with intensive, open discussion about the different types of evidence. Evidence serves to inform the policy dialogue, but it often cannot give very concrete and specific answers to policy questions.
Factors involved in successful delivery of tertiary reform
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Successful tertiary reforms have often capitalised on external pressures, aligned the interests of the internal and external stakeholders involved and built a compelling case for change, ideally through those responsible for delivery at the frontline.
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Attention should also be paid to the place and mode of delivery for the outcomes and to backing reform objectives with sustainable financing.
ICT in Education
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Governments are less in advocacy or directing roles. Instead, they provide support and enable the means for effective learning environments to emerge, including those which intensely use ICT, They are also there to provide frameworks around the controversial aspects of open access governance, and as one speaker put it, the ‘moral dimension’.
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The issue has become much more about pedagogy and the organisation of learning than about technology per se. And some of the real promise and potential of ICT use to transform education will probably take another generation at least to become widespread.
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Teachers remain fundamental to any educational and reform strategies involving ICT in schooling. They are critical to their effective implementation and as potential obstacles to their success.
Whole-of-government approaches
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Lifelong learning is an example of comprehensive and broad reform, requiring a ‘whole-of-government’ approach that implicates multiple ministries and actors. Education ministries cannot do this alone. The success of such reforms rely on bringing together all the relevant ministries with co-ordination and overall leadership through cabinets, inter-ministerial bodies, tripartite bodies, or bodies representing different levels of government. There are limits on how frequently such approaches can be used before ‘reform fatigue’ sets in.
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The risk of ‘reform fatigue’ is aggravated when there is no consensus on the need for reform.
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It is important not to overstate the role of evidence in reform. It is difficult to ensure that critical evidence is available when it is needed. Relevance of evidence hinges on its validity and reliability, as well as its interpretation.
The meeting was attended by almost 80 participants representing 21 OECD member countries, the European Commission, Estonia, Indonesia and Thailand, as well as UNESCO and the Council of Europe.
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