New Educational Governance in Central Asia: Examining the (Side)Effects of International Comparisons, Benchmarking, and Best Practices Professor Iveta Silova College of Education, Lehigh University

Globalization Education policy Post-socialist transformations

Shifts in Policy Processes ‘… a shift in the center of gravity around which policy cycles move’ (Jessop, 1998, p. 32) From centralized and bureaucratic government  to governance in and by networks (and by numbers)

“Good” Education Governance Transparency of decision-making Technologies of measuring educational performance The development of performance indicators International benchmarking New standardized testing regimes Mechanisms of quality assurance Accountability systems Multiple sources of educational funding Effective use of public resources

The Politics of Comparison A new ‘global architecture of education’ – ‘a complex web of ideas, networks of influence, policy frameworks and practices, financial arrangements and organizational structures’ (Jones, 2007, p. 326) New policy actors (OECD, EU, the World Bank, international NGOs, etc.) New policy instruments (PISA, TIMSS, TALIS, etc.)

The Scope of Standardized Comparison Example of OECD OECD Member Countries Countries/Economies Engaged in Working Relationships with the OECD

The Politics of Numbers Benchmarks are reference points or measurements used for comparison, usually with the connotation that the benchmark is a 'good' standard against which comparison can be made Benchmarking is a process of finding ‘best practice’ and of learning from others Benchmarking is also a means of measuring performance against comparator institutions Quantitative analyses appear as “neutral” and “scientific” in nature The numbers are increasingly seen as “facts”

But… The relationship between numbers and politics is mutually constitutive

The (Side)Effects of International Benchmarking “Name, shame, and blame” politics Educational convergence, including a greater emphasis on economic outputs Numbers define what counts as “quality” in education within and across national systems Losing sight of alternatives