Estela Costa

Seeing education with one's own eyes and through PISA lenses: considerations of the reception of PISA in European countries

The paper addresses the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) as a public policy instrument, whose worldwide circulation is mediated by processes of reinterpretation, negotiation, and re-contextualization, where national, local, and international agencies intertwine. It is focused on the active reception of PISA in six European spaces (Francophone Belgium, France, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, and Scotland) along its first three cycles. The paper identifies two contrasting developments: the Programs divergent uses and its attractiveness in different social worlds. The paper gives particular attention to what is called the ‘update of reference societies’ in the context of national receptions of PISA. These ‘updates’ are analyzed as part of a composite process that involves domestic reasons, either related to current agendas for education or to deep historical factors, and injunctions related to PISAs rationale and PISA objects.

Dealing with Opposition: Uncomfortable Moments in Research.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to methodological discussions on elite interviewing. The point of departure is that elite interviewing constitutes/represents continuous challenges for researchers. This may be due to several reasons; one of these concerns the possible critical incidents that may occur in the course of the interview. The article applies a reflexive perspective, and so draws on two critical incidents of elite interviewing experienced in different research contexts. The theoretical assumptions reflect on the literature on the use of power and the changing power relations in the interview. Then, through thoughts on the dialogical nature of the interview, the article moves to practical reflections and approaches. Through the case analysis the article illuminates moments of difficulty in interviewing, and it calls attention to the necessity of deploying and employing possible strategies for the successful management of the interview. Finally the article not only presents the research and policy relation/constellation in a given context, but highlights the fact that reflexivity contributes to the accountability of the researcher and of the research.

Os instrumentos de regulação baseados no conhecimento: o caso do programme for international student assessment (PISA)

This text focuses on the study of a KRT (Knowledgebased Regulation Tool), within the wider framework of the new modes of regulation in education, and use of instruments in public action. The world economy is gradually more knowledge-based. Knowledge emerges as a tool for policy-making and for regulating social actors, and legitimating the political decision-making. We choose the OECDs Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) as an example of a KRT. The article is based on six case-studies, with interviews and document analysis. Our goal was to study the circulation and use of PISA, in Belgium, Scotland, France, Hungary, Portugal and Romania, trying to show that PISA is indeed a KRT, thus proving the circular relationship between knowledge and policy, because as a policy instrument it produces knowledge, and as a scientific tool it produces policy.

Aprendizagens profissionais de professores dos primeiros anos participantes num estudo de aula

*** *** **** RESUMO: O estudo de aula e um processo formativo que leva os professores a refletirem, atraves de um trabalho eminentemente colaborativo, sobre a sua pratica profissional. Trata-se de uma experiencia que envolve tres momentos principais: planejamento, observacao da aula, e reflexao pos-aula e seguimento. O seu objetivo e criar condicoes para uma maior compreensao dos processos de raciocinio dos alunos por parte dos professores e, assim, contribuir para o seu desenvolvimento profissional. Neste artigo, analisamos as possibilidades formativas dos estudos de aula no que se refere as aprendizagens profissionais dos professores relativas a pratica letiva, com enfoque na selecao de tarefas e na analise do raciocinio dos alunos, bem como a sua visao da colaboracao e reflexao profissional. Para isso, seguiu-se uma metodologia qualitativa e interpretativa, tendo por base a observacao participante. O estudo de aula que apresentamos decorreu num Agrupamento de Escolas, situado numa zona rural, e envolveu cinco professoras dos primeiros anos e uma equipe do Instituto de Educacao. Os resultados reforcam a ideia de que os estudos de aula podem proporcionar aos professores um olhar mais atento sobre a natureza das tarefas a propor em sala de aula e leva-los a valorizar mais os processos de raciocinio dos seus alunos. Alem disso, este trabalho evidencia o contributo do estudo de aula para o desenvolvimento de um trabalho colaborativo entre professores e para a sua valorizacao da reflexao. Palavras-Chave: Estudo de aula. Desenvolvimento profissional. Tarefas. Colaboracao. Reflexao.

Espaces, acteurs et modalités de l’hybridité politique. Le cas de la construction d’un modèle pour l’évaluation externe des écoles au Portugal dans la première décennie du siècle

Cet article propose un cadre conceptuel pour l’etude de l’adoption d’instruments d’evaluation durant la premiere decennie du siecle au Portugal. Ces instruments de regulation par la connaissance se construisent au travers de processus sociaux et cognitifs qui impliquent des flux multidirectionnel de connaissances et d’idees politiques. L’article accorde une attention particuliere au processus d’assemblage et de coordination des differents mondes sociaux impliques dans la mise en place des dispositifs d’evaluation. Il developpe la notion d’hybridation qui parait particulierement adequate pour l’etude des multiples forces sociales a l’oeuvre.

National Policies and New Forms of Social Regulation within the Framework of Europeanization

Review Essay National Educational Policies and Globalization. New Educational Institutions and Processes. Vocational Schools Subsystem in Portugal (1987-1998) FATIMA ANTUNES, 2004 Braga: CIE/IEP, University of Minho 544 pages, paperback, ISBN 972-8746-19-9