1. TURNING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE – LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS Belgrade 16. and17. of June 2011 Case of Slovenia 9/14/20151Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana

2. No doubt………………………..  PISA self-promotion: “results of PISA have a high degree of validity and reliability and can significantly improve understanding of the outcomes of education” (PISA, 2006a, p. 17).  Even more: “comparative assessments” of education should be at the same time an “essential tool for educational improvement” (Schleicher, 2007, p. 356—italics S.G.) 9/14/20152Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana

3. No need to guess………….……..  In societies aiming at the RISK reduction for the population, hazard of policy measures without proper evidence is beyond imagination (Dean, 2010; Foucault, 2007).  Leaving aside their self-promotion: comparative surveys of both organizations (IEA and the OECD) are valuable and aiming to support nation states in their endeavor to avoid the danger of the failure of educational policy. 9/14/20153Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana

4. Slovenia after the independence………..  IEA (TIMSS, PIRLS ), and after 2003 also PISA, are for long time our source of comparative evidence in decission making  Slovenia after the independence in 1991 - Numerous reforms (transition from socialism to representative democracy) - Education one of the priority areas - Education as national identity building - Education as competitive strength 9/14/20154Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana

5. 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana5 Reform aiming at comparable quality…………………….  TIMSS – reading results in 1991 (reading 3th grade)  Slovenia 458  Participating countries average – 487  -29 – clearly not good (possible excuses)  Aiming at knowledge society  Comparable results  Comparable investment  Comparable arrangements

6. At the subject level………...... 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana6  Measures: in terms of mother tongue:  Changes in curricula  Teachers owned  In-service teachers training – study groups  Privileged work load (22:20 and 20:18)  New textbooks

7. Measures at the systemic level…….. 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana7  At systemic level : combination of internal and external examination inside primary education and secondary education  External examination – Matura (baccalaureate)  Strong rigorous national center  Good for fairness  Good for the teachers  Bad for new middle class?  Tensions and struggles (inside middle class)  The aim of both: Quality  – national (between teachers and schools) and  international – comparing with the nations

8. Results in reading ……………………….  1991- 458: -29 points  Improving ……….  200 -493: -7 points  2006 – 522: +22 – points. Reaction: good but not yet good enough  Going down………….  2009 (483/494 – (-11) – catastrophe????  Immediate reaction – boys reading skills  BOYS: 456; GIRLS:511 (55)  Oversimplified conclusions:  Supported by OECD even: “Slovenia appears to spend too much on basic education and too little on tertiary education” (OECD 2011, 63) (HE:1.4 – average OECD spending) 9/14/20158Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana

9. Discussion sponsored by OECD report on Slovenia……… 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana9  Example of wrong approach  Reading 483 – 16th result in the EU participating countries(women 11th result)  Math 501 - 7th result in the EU participating countries  Science 512 - 6th result in the EU participating countries Important differences: 29 points  Croatia: 476(Reading); 460(Math); 486(Science) – dif: 26 points Serbia: 442(Reading); 442(Math); 443(Science) – dif: 1point Poland: 500(Reading); 495(Math);508(Science) – dif: 13 points Finland: 536(Reading); 541(Math); 554(Science) – dif: 18 points OECD: 494(Reading); 496(Math); 501(Science) – dif: 7 points

10. Messages……………… 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana10  Participate  Analyze – don’t use money to participate only  Mind: complexity and don’t be to hasty in following “policy conclusions”  In the case of Slovenia:  Inequality inside the cohort – system is weak in reducing the influence of SES, gender, ethnic background  Yet its weakness is not important between school differences (weak PISA conceptualization and subsequent calculations)  Two instead of three types of differentiation  Big inter-regional differences  To big gender differences – not only in reading

11. Evidence, conceptualization, policy, politics......... 9/14/2015Slavko Gaber-CEPS-University of Ljubljana11  Evidence necessary but not enough  Conceptualize before and after data gathering  Conceptualize policy as stake-holders owned  Don’t underestimate political reality of the country  In the circles of researchers and academia we tend to do so at least as often as politicians tend to “know it” without evidence….