The Spectacle of Global Tests in the Arabian Gulf: A Comparison of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates

Autor/in	Morgan, Clara
Titel	The Spectacle of Global Tests in the Arabian Gulf: A Comparison of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates
Quelle	In: Comparative Education, 54 (2018) 3, S.285-308 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Morgan, Clara)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-0068
DOI	10.1080/03050068.2017.1348018
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Comparative Education; International Assessment; International Education; Educational Administration; Governance; Educational Policy; Discourse Analysis; National Standards; Educational Objectives; Outcomes of Education; Educational Change; Educational Assessment; Comparative Testing; Intervention; Elementary Secondary Education; Newspapers; Interviews; United Arab Emirates; Qatar + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Internationale Erziehung; Bildungsverwaltung; Schuladministration; Schulverwaltung; Education; Educational policy; Financing; Steuerung; Bildung; Erziehung; Bildungspolitik; Finanzierung; Politics of education; Diskursanalyse; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Bildungsreform; assessment; Bewertungssystem; Newspaper; Zeitung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Vereinigte Arabische Emirate; Katar
Abstract	Although scholars have examined the effects of global tests on national and regional educational governance, few researchers have studied their impact on education in the Arabian Gulf. This research fills the knowledge gap by studying the international spectacle of PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS results in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- two small rich states at the periphery of knowledge production processes. I argue that an analysis of these narratives reveals how global accountability discourses are translated into the Arabian Gulf context as truth claims that performance in league tables is an accurate and objective representation of educational quality. Four themes emerge from the analysis: integration of test results into national visions; measurement of educational progress based on test results; ranking of student performance; and policy changes to improve test results. In conclusion, I suggest that the over-dependence on global tests in defining educational quality in Qatar and the UAE erodes educational sovereignty and restricts the capacity of small states to develop and nurture alternative, indigenous and localised solutions for guiding educational reforms. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01