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First ISA Forum of Sociology
Sociological Research and Public Debate
Barcelona, Spain
September 5 - 8, 2008
Research
Committee on
Sociology of Education RC04
Main theme
Accountability, standards, testing, and inequality: Critiques, collaboration, and future research
Accountability has become the hallmark of educational systems in much of the developed and developing world. In some instances standardized achievement testing serves as a central indicator of educational progress and against which school systems, national groups, and future labor market participants are measured.
The standards-based school reform movement that spawned this use of tests is laden with numerous unintended consequences, including potentials for widening, rather than narrowing the gaps among social groups in a society and among societies in a globalizing world. RC04 seeks a dialogue among scholars to address the issues of accountability, standards, the use of achievement testing, and their effects on inequalities.
Programme Coordinator
A. Gary Dworkin, University of Houston, USA. gdworkin@mail.uh.edu.
Members of the Program Committee
Ari Antikainen (RC04 President), University of Joensuu, Finland; Jeanne Ballantine, Wright State University, USA; Jaap Dronkers, European University Institute, Italy; A. Gary Dworkin, University of Houston, USA; Shaheeda Essack, South Africa; David Konstantinovski, Russian Academy of Sciences; Slivia Llomovatte, Argentina; Narsimha Reddy, Osmania University, India; Lawrence J. Saha, Australian National University; Antonio Teodoro, Lusophone University, Portugal; Carlos Alberto Torres, UCLA, USA; and Rami Yogev, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Venue of RC04 sessions:
Faculty of Communication Blanquerna
University of Ramon LLull
Valldonzella, 23
08001 Barcelona, Spain, map
Topic 1: The use of international data sets for national educational policies
Session 1: Chair/Organizer: Rami Yogev, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Yogev@post.tau.ac.il
Friday, September 5, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Numerous national ministries have relied on the PISA, OECD, TIMSS data sets to assess where their countries rank in the world and to seek educational reform efforts to improve those rankings. Numerous nations have come to believe that the test results illustrate to prospective employers and investors the extent to which there exists a competitive labor pool in the country. Issues of the use and misuse of test score data should be addressed by participants at the conference. Likewise, there are numerous methodological issues associated with the reliability and validity of the data sets, given differences in the nature of the test versions used in various nations.
Topic 2: High-stakes testing
Some nations have adopted and others are considering adopting tests that determine student access to continued education, access to any education (and hence the UNESCO concern over “Education for All’), and the continued employment of school personnel. Many of the tests are externally imposed, which changes accountability of school personnel from “a professional to a bureaucratic” model.
Session 2a: The persistence of inequalities
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Chair/Organizer: A. Gary Dworkin, The University of Houston, USA, gdworkin@mail.uh.edu
Session 2b: Facing the challenges
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 11:30-13:30
Chair/Organizer: A. Gary Dworkin, The University of Houston, USA, gdworkin@mail.uh.edu
Topic 3: Accountability, standards, and teachers
Session 3a
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: Lawrence J. Saha, Australian National University. Lawrence.Saha@anu.edu.au
Session 3b
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Chair/Organizer: Lawrence J. Saha, Australian National University. Lawrence.Saha@anu.edu.au
This session will examine the impact of accountability systems on teacher morale, teacher turnover, and the effectiveness of efforts to recruit teachers. Further, attention will be paid to the extent to which effective teachers can be measured through the use of student test scores.
Topic 4: Accountability for and by whom? Standards for and by whom?
What are the variations in standards-based accountability movements around the world and what are the appropriate groups who should establish standards? To what extent should educators shape policy and to what extent can corporations or national legislative bodies define what students are expected to know?
Session 4a: Determining standards
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: A. Gary Dworkin, The University of Houston, USA
gdworkin@mail.uh.edu
Session 4b: Who decides?
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 11:30-13:30
Chair/Organizer: A. Gary Dworkin, The University of Houston, USA
gdworkin@mail.uh.edu
Session 4c: Open session
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: A. Gary Dworkin, The University of Houston, USA
gdworkin@mail.uh.edu
Topic 5: Education for all
This topic is central to the agenda of the International Institute for Educational Planning of UNESCO and under that theme structural and socio-cultural barriers to access to schooling are to be addressed. Additionally, papers can address nuances in a society's obligation to promote the equality of educational opportunity for all of its citizens.
Session 5a: Values and multiculturalism
Friday, September 5, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: Antonio Teodoro, Lusophone University, Portugal. a.teodoro@netvisao.pt
Session 5b: Access and democratization of education
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Chair/Organizer: Antonio Teodoro, Lusophone University, Portugal. a.teodoro@netvisao.pt
Session 5c: Access and democratization of education
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 11:30-13:30
Chair/Organizer: Antonio Teodoro, Lusophone University, Portugal. a.teodoro@netvisao.pt
Topic 6: Issues and reforms in higher education
While many nations have mandated educational access through junior high school or high school, it has been known that a high school education provides limited access to good jobs. What is being done in different nations to provide post secondary education and specialized vocational educational opportunities to labor forces and to provide access to retraining to adults whose skills are no longer commensurate with technical demands? Are pools of low-paid labor being created by differentials in educational opportunity within large economic blocs such as the European Union?Session 6a: Class, race, gender and inequalities
Friday, September 5, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: Jeanne Ballantine, Wright State University, USA
jeanne.ballantine@gmail.com .
Session 6b: Post-secondary education and jobs: Vocational, university, and adult education in the transition from school to work.
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Chair/Organizer: Jeanne Ballantine, Wright State University, USA
jeanne.ballantine@gmail.com
Topic 7: Immigration, education, and inequality
Session 7a
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 11:30-13:30
Chair/Organizer: Jaap Dronkers, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Jaap.Dronkers@eui.eu
Session 7b
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 11:30-13:30
Chair/Organizer: Jaap Dronkers, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Jaap.Dronkers@eui.eu
Migration can have positive and negative consequences for equality of educational opportunity for the children of immigrants, but also for the functioning of the education in the countries of destination. The first focus of this session will be in accounting for differences in the academic performances of immigrants from different countries both within a single society and across different societies, The second focus of this session will be the individual micro and macro factors of origin and destination, societies and cultures, that influence the educational achievement of the various immigrant populations.
Topic 8: Access, quality and sustainability in educational reform: Challenges, possibilities and the way forward
A unified concept on educational reform cannot be applied equally to all countries across the world – especially within the context of the north/south divide. The distinct socio-political and economic inequalities within and among countries and their onerous relationship with the implementation of educational policies (often well-meaning) is a compelling reason to pause and consider the effectiveness and sustainability of educational reforms in the developing world. In considering the effectiveness of educational reform programs, the following must feature as critical factors:- a. Access: Has education become more accessible to those who are most marginalized? What factors determine and ensure increased access to primary, secondary and higher education?
- b. Quality: In terms of what it means for educators and learners in the context of the relevance of curricular to broader socio-economic and cultural needs; with regard to national and international assessment practices; and with respect to diversity, heterogeneity and socio-cultural inequalities.
- c. Sustainability: Is reform sustainable and within the realm of national political imperatives? What factors determine sustainability? Is there a likelihood of north/south collaboration? What can it potentially offer those who seek this collaboration as a mechanism for sustained educational growth and development?
Session 8a: Critical factors in sustaining educational reforms – Policy versus praxis
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: Shaheeda Essack, National Department of Education, South Africa, Essack.S@doe.gov.za
Session 8b: Does increased access lead to increased participation and equity in secondary schools? – Contesting the myth of education for all
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Chair/Organizer: Shaheeda Essack, National Department of Education, South Africa, Essack.S@doe.gov.za
Session 8c: Reform in higher education – Critical global perspectives
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 15:30-17:30
Chair/Organizer: Shaheeda Essack, National Department of Education, South Africa, Essack.S@doe.gov.za
Joint sessions
Session 1: The role of university research in the future
Joint Session of RC04 Sociology of Education, RC07 Futures Research and RC23 Sociology of Science and Technology
Monday, September 8, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Co-Chairs/Organizers: Tamas Kozma, University of Debrecen, Hungary, kozmat@ella.hu, Jaime Jiménez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, jjimen@servidor.unam.mx and Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, sooryamoorthyr@ukzn.ac.za
Session 2: Leisure education in a changing world
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 09:00-11:00
Joint Session of RC13 Sociology of Leisure and RC04 Sociology of Education.
Co-Chairs/Organizers: David Konstantinovskiy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia (RC04) scan21@mail.ru and Robert A. Stebbins, University of Calgary, Canada (RC13) stebbins@ucalgary.ca
Saturday, September 6, 2008, 18:00-20:00
Joint Session of RC07 Futures Research with RC04 Sociology of Education, RC23 Sociology of Science and Technology, and RC32 Women in Society
Chairs: Solange Simoes, U Minas Gerais, Brazil ssimoes@emich.edu and Radhamany Sooryamoorthy, U KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa sooryamoorthyr@ukzn.ac.za
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International Sociological Association, July 2008 |