National Reports and Global Education Policy Diffusion

Abstract

Comparative research projects have become one of the main sources of information to investigate national systems of education and to inform education policy making at the national level. However, the way that national education authorities interpret and use the results of these projects may differ substantially among countries. This process, that we refer to as the national interpretation in comparative education, is overlooked in the debate regarding comparative research projects in education. This paper addresses this issue analysing national reports of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) from eight different countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada (Alberta), Chile, England, Mexico, Portugal and Spain. The results indicate that the national interpretation and reporting of international comparative data is fairly homogeneous considering the socio-educational diversity of the selected countries. However, our analysis also suggests that reports from English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, and England) have a higher degree of similarity with the survey’s conceptual framework, whereas national reports from Mexico and Chile showed a lower degree of similarity. Moreover, our analysis reinforces the relevance of understanding countries’ focus and interpretation of evidence produced by international comparative research projects in education.