1 Comparative Education as Science and Storytelling: An inquiry into the construction and advocacy of education ‘best practice’ Euan Douglas Auld Thesis submitted to the UCL Institute of Education For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2016 2 Declarations I hereby declare that, except where explicit attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the proper acknowledgement of the author. Word count (exclusive of appendices, bibliography): 79,801 Signature: Euan Douglas Auld Date: 15/06/2016 3 ABSTRACT Education reform around the world is increasingly fuelled by economic imperatives and premised on evidence of ‘what works’ in ‘world class’ systems. In parallel, an applied form of Comparative Education (CE) has emerged, promoted by a community of international organisations, consultancies, and entrepreneurs, who use comparative data to identify and promote ‘best practices’. Their approach to comparisons has been described as a ‘new paradigm’ (NP), and though scholars acknowledge their influence, they are less clear about the characteristics of this diverse community, or how knowledge is ‘being done’. This thesis subjects the NP to in-depth analysis, addressing three main questions: (1) What are the NP’s inherent and distinctive characteristics? (2) How does the NP overcome the issues associated with the identification and transfer of education ‘best practices’? (3) How did the NP influence the review of the National Curriculum in England? The analysis is guided by the concept of homo narrans, which asserts that we have an innate tendency to communicate and to make sense of existence through stories. These two aspects open the inquiry into two levels of analysis, which are informed by political science, and the philosophy of history and of consciousness, respectively. To address RQ1, a schema of plot is developed and combined with principles from genre analysis. Its symbolism is then explored through a historical- philosophical review. To address RQ2, the plot schema is combined with move analysis to analyse how advocates construct persuasive narratives that identify straightforward solutions. RQ3 focuses on the role of the NP in the recent review of the National Curriculum. I argue that the NP gains persuasive power as part of a broader storyline about the nature of social reality, and by constructing a conceptual system that is internally coherent, but which fails to overcome the issues associated with education transfer. 4 5 Table of Contents Chapter I - Introduction The emergence of a ‘new paradigm’…...……………………………………………10 Thesis aims & guiding questions……………………………………………………..12 Thesis structure and development…………………………………………………...16 Research contribution…………………………………………………………………19 Chapter II - Conceptualizing the ‘new paradigm’ Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..22 The NP as a comparative genre……………………………………………………..23 Perspectives on policy: the narrative turn……………………………...……………27 Policy, discourse, and narrative: three sides of the same coin?..........................29 Deconstructing the story………………………………………………………………30 The story of decline………………………………………………………………...31 The story of control………………………………………………..……………….32 The comparative turn………………………………………………………………33 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..34 Chapter III - Inside the NP: Narrative structure and elements Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..36 The narrative policy framework (NPF) ………………………………………………36 Narrative form and elements………………………………………………………….38 The point of departure: artistic differences with the NPF………………………….39 Using narrative to access discourse…………………………………………...........40 Operationalizing plot: aims and approach…………………………………………..41 Overview of narrative stages and content…………………………………………..44 1. The imagined ordinary…………………………………………………………..44 2. The call: inciting incident and crisis rhetoric………………………………….45 3. The designation of blame.………………………………………………………46 4. The path to redemption..………………………………………………………..47 5. The idealised future……………………………………………………………..48 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..49 Chapter IV - Analytical framework: actors and levels Introduction.…………………………………………………………………………….52 The NPF’s guide to analysis: advocacy coalitions…………………………………52 Discourse coalitions: the policy raconteurs…………………………………………54 Levels and dynamics.…………………………………………………….……………55 Guidelines for analysis: simultaneous operation at three levels.…………………58 Summary.……………………………………………………………………………….61 Chapter V - Characteristics of the NP: Discourse and meaning-making Introduction..……………………………………………………………………………64 (a) Genre analysis: what’s in a story?...……………………………………………..65 (b) Myths and meaning-making..……………………………………………………..68 The search for meaning: theoretical perspectives...……………………………69 6 Existential angst and systems of order……..……………………………………72 The seduction of the new, and ersatz religion…………………………………..75 Self-interpretation, eschatology, and the meaning of history…….……………78 Summary…………………………………………………….………………………….88 Chapter VI - Taming the stream of being Introduction…………………………………………………………………….……….90 Beyond philosophy: ‘what works’ as ‘actual knowledge’…….…………….………90 The calculable world: (Re)constructing the cosmos……………………….………92 Initial inquiry into the NP’s comparative method…………………………….……..97 Clarifying the paradox of control…………………………………………….……….99 Confronting the paradox……………………………………………..……….……..101 The libido dominandi and the prohibition of questions………………..….………102 Reification, and the problem of cognizance……….………………….……….…..105 Achieving narrative coherence…………………………….……….……………….108 Summary……………………………………………………………………….……..109 Chapter VII - Science, Storytelling, and the politics of expertise Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....111 Method: Analysis of narrative moves and strategies…………………………..…111 Selection of sample texts………………………………………………………..…..112 Act 1. A platform for advocacy: the imagined ordinary and ‘the call’….……......116 Move one. The logic of action……………………………………..…………….111 Move two. Establishing expertise………………………………………….……129 Act 2. The story of control: buttressing beliefs & (re)interpreting reality….…….135 Move 3. Restrict analytic focus……………………….……………………........135 Move 4. Draw recommendations: making causal inferences…………..........143 The Ocean of facts: notes on the path(s) to salvation…………...……………152 Move 5. Qualify recommendations…………………….………………………..156 Act 3. Fortunate of fatal? ……………………………………………………………161 Move 6. Present the idealised and/or tragic futures...………………………...161 Summary………………………………..…………………………………………….163 Chapter VIII - Constructing a framework for learning Introduction…………...……………………………………………………………….166 Method and process………………………………………………………………….167 1. The review of the National Curriculum……..…………………………………...169 The institutionalization of the NP………………………...……………………...169 The remit for the review of the National Curriculum……………………..……174 The genesis of Could Do Better: ‘the right kind of paradigm’.………………..177 2. Could Do Better: Constructing a framework for learning……………….……..179 The logic of action…………………………………………………….…………..180 The battle of expertise……………………………………………………………184 The story of control……………………………………………………………….187 (a) Framework and assumptions: learning how to learn……………………………..187 (b) Curriculum coherence………………………………………………………………..188 (c) Control factors...………………………………………………………………………190 7 (d) Critical realism and caveats…………………...…………………………………….195 One tiny bit of one control factor: benchmarking high-performing systems...200 Summary………………………………………………………………………………205 Chapter IX - Conclusion Introduction…...……………………………………………………………………….207 Summary of chapters……………………………...…………………………………206 Contribution, limitations, and future directions…………………………………….209 End game: Pink clouds and the dream of global governance……………...……212 List of Tables Table 1. Main sample reports……………………………………...…………………26 Table 2. Schema of plot: stages and content (narrative fabric)…………………..43 Table 3. Overview of analytical framework……………………………….…………63 Table 4. Additional background information on main actors/reports featured in the analysis……………………………………………………………..…………………114 Table 5. Summary of moves and strategies……………………………………….115 Table 6. Illustrative overview of themes and policies/practices (sub-stories) in sample reports…..………………………………………………………….155 Table 7. Summary of story in foreword of Schools White Paper……................173 List of Appendices Appendix 1. Example information sheet (interviewees)…………..……….……..216 Appendix 2. Example consent form (interviewees)………………………….……218 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………219 List of Acronyms ACF………...………………………………………… Advocacy Coalition Framework CCSSM.………………...……... Core Curriculum State Standards for Mathematics CDB……………...…………………………………………………….. Could Do Better CE…………………...………………………………………… Comparative Education CSFC…………………...……………….. Children Schools and Families Committee DfE………………………...………………………………... Department for Education EU…………………………...…………………………………………. European Union GEMS………………………...…………… Global Education Management Systems HMI………………………………………………………… Her Majesty’s Inspectorate IAC……………………………………………………. Intergalactic Audit Commission IBO…………………………………...…….International Baccalaureate Organization IEA…..... International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement 8 IMF……...……………………………………………….. International Monetary Fund INCA……...………………….. International Review of Curriculum and Assessment IOE………...……………..………………………………………..Institute of Education IPPR………...…………………………………… Institute for Public Policy Research MA……………………………………………………………………… Master of Arts MP……..……………………………………………………… Member of Parliament NFER…………………………….. National Foundation for Educational Research NESTA…………….. National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts NP.…………………………………………………………………….. New Paradigm NPF…………………………………………………….. Narrative Policy Framework NPM……………………………………………………….. New Public Management OECD………………. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Ofqual……………….. The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation PIAAC….. Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies PIRLS………………………….. Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PISA………………………….. Programme for International Student Assessment PPP………………………………………………………. Private-Public Partnership QCDA……………………… Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency RQ……………………………………………………………….. Research Question SER………………………………………………… School Effectiveness Research SESI……………………………… School Effectiveness and School Improvement SEU……………………………………………… Standards and Effectiveness Unit SWP……………………………………………………………. Schools White Paper TAN.……..……………………………………….. Transatlantic Advocacy Network TIMSS…………………. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study UAE……………………………………………………………. United Arab Emirates UCL……………………………………………………… University College London UK……………………………………………………………………. United Kingdom UN……………………………………………………………………... United Nations UNESCO……... United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization US…………………………………………………………. United States of America WB………………………………………………………………………… World Bank WTO……………………………………………………… World Trade Organisation 9 10 Chapter I. Introduction The emergence of a ‘new paradigm’ In 2010, the Conservative-led coalition government published its first white paper in education, The Importance of Teaching (DfE 2010). The paper supported its proposals with reference to evidence of ‘what works’ in systems that had performed well on international comparative assessment surveys (e.g. PISA and TIMSS). I was a Masters student at the time, studying Comparative Education (CE), and had recently digested Robin Alexander’s Culture and Pedagogy (2000). Having spent several years teaching in Taiwan and Japan, Alexander’s nuanced portrayal of the complex interrelation between education and society resonated with my experience. Classroom discussions further emphasised the need for deep understanding of the context in which education systems are embedded, and the problem of comparing their aims and outcomes on common terms. In his speech at the World Education Forum, Michael Gove1 (2011a) dismissed such reservations: No nation that is serious about ensuring its children enjoy an education that equips them to compete fairly with students from other countries can afford to ignore the PISA and McKinsey studies. Doing so would be as foolish as dismissing what control trials tell us in medicine. It means flying in the face of the best evidence we have of what works… Our recently published Schools White Paper was deliberately designed to bring together – indeed, to shamelessly plunder from – policies that have worked in other high-performing nations. The concept of developing an applied CE, one which might be used to initiate policy transfer, is recognised as one of the field’s most enduring themes. The fancy has surfaced in varying guises, responding to the prevailing intellectual trends, and to the social and political demands of the time. As Cowen (2014) points out, the theme of CE as a ‘useful science’ was already in place with Marc- Antoine Jullien in 1817, ‘and many of the comparative educationists of the 1960s such as C. Arnold Anderson, Edmund King, Brian Holmes and Noah and Eckstein signed up to different versions of an ideology of science’ (291). Although conceptions of CE as a ‘scientific’ or an ‘applied’ discipline have taken a variety of forms, Mattheou (2009) notes they ‘tend to agree on the pragmatic dimensions 1 British Conservative MP, and former Secretary of State for Education, 12th May 2010- 15th July 2014.