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A Collaborative Agenda for Improving International Comparative Studies in Education

A Collaborative Agenda for Improving International Comparative Studies in Education


PREFACE

The Board on International Comparative Studies in Education was established in 1988 at the request of the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. National Science Foundation. The board operates under the aegis of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The board monitors U.S. participation in cross-national comparative studies in education that are funded by its sponsors and provides advice to the sponsoring agencies. In carrying out its responsibilities, the board provides a forum for information and discussion; assists in planning the conduct and funding of international studies; establishes principles regarding the quality of study design, data collection and analysis procedures, and report preparation; encourages dissemination of study findings; promotes the use of assessment findings to improve U.S. education; and periodically suggests studies that would be useful additions to agencies' plans for U.S. participation in international studies.

This document is the result of activities of the board in considering studies that would enrich the agencies' plans. In assessing the feasibility of a new international study, it is essential to consider the interest and willingness of other countries to participate in the study. At present, worldwide arrangements for planning and conducting cross-national research and data collection in education are inadequate. Responsibility is fragmented among many organizations in many countries and, consequently, there is no easy way to assess the feasibility of a study. Since reliable information based on sound cross-national research and data collection can be useful in improving educational practices and outcomes in the United States as well as in other nations, members of the board believe it is important to establish a coherent and effective worldwide system to develop such information.

This document includes discussion of what the board perceives to be the value of international comparative studies in education and its views on how these studies could be improved. It also includes a challenge to governments and leaders in education to form alliances to develop the information needed to improve educational outcomes and practices; it also suggests a possible approach to meet the challenge. The board hopes that this document will encourage interest and a willingness to engage in this work by suggesting a vision of what international comparative research and data collection might produce in the next 20 years.

The board began with several discussions of this vision and of current international data collections. To serve as a further catalyst in encouraging the development of a worldwide system for planning and conducting cross-national research and data collection in education, the board convened an International Conference on Long-Range Planning for Large-Scale Collections of International Education Statistics in Paris in June 1992. Participants included representatives of intergovernmental, governmental agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. An earlier version of this document was prepared as a basis for discussions at the conference. Key topics for discussion included agenda items for cross-national research for the next 10-20 years, improvement of infrastructures for cross-national research, and cooperative efforts that might be taken to meet the data requirements for the next decade. The conferees agreed that it would be useful to meet again to discuss cooperation between organizations and strategies for the development of a consortium or a new international network for long-range planning.

Therefore, the board, in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Academy of Education (IAE), convened a second international conference in Washington in January 1993. At the second conference, key discussion topics included the status and problems of international education statistics as well as challenges and prospects for international cooperation in education statistics and research. Participants agreed to continue and further the cooperation that has begun with these two conferences. Colin Power, UNESCO assistant director general for education and UNESCO representative to the conferences, agreed that UNESCO would serve as the central organization for collecting information relating to these activities. Jacques Hallak, director, International Institute for Educational Planning, offered to host a third international conference in Paris in summer 1993. Several participants agreed to carry out various activities to prepare materials for the third meeting. With this second conference, the board concludes its role as a catalyst in stimulating international coordination for research and the collection of data, although it retains substantial and continuing hopes for the success of these enterprises.

This document reflects the collective thinking of the board. The first draft was the result of a hard day's work by three working groups comprising the entire board. The draft was then reworked by board members Judith Torney-Purta and John Schwille and staff director Dorothy Gilford. These people deserve a special note of thanks for turning several disparate pieces into a coherent draft. This draft was then discussed and further revised by the board and reviewed by over a dozen members of the education research community. I wish to thank all the board members who contributed to the stimulating discussions that led to the document as well as all the reviewers who took the time to send their reflective and cogent comments.

I am also grateful to Laura Lathrop, research assistant, and Jane Phillips, administrative assistant, who assisted Dorothy Gilford throughout the preparation of consecutive drafts of the document and to Christine McShane, editor of the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, whose highly professional editing contributed greatly to its readability.

Michael W. Kirst, Chair
Board on International Comparative Studies in Education


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