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This paper examines the expansion of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and associated growth in the influence of the OECD's education work. PISA has become one of the OECD's most successful 'products' and has both strengthened the role of the Directorate for Education within the organization and enhanced the significance of the organization in education globally. We provide an overview of the OECD, including organizational changes in response to globalization and the changing place of the Directorate for Education within the organization, particularly with the development of PISA in the late 1990s. We show how the OECD is expanding PISA by broadening the scope of what is measured; increasing the scale of the assessment to cover more countries, systems and schools; and enhancing its explanatory power to provide policy-makers with better information. The OECD has also developed the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and PISA-based Tests for Schools, which draw on the PISA template to extend the influence of its education work to new sites. The paper draws on data from 33 interviews with past and present personnel from the OECD, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the English and Australian education systems, as well as analysis of relevant OECD documents. We argue that PISA, and the OECD's education work more broadly, has facilitated new epistemological and infrastructural modes of global governance for the OECD in education.

This paper examines the outstanding performance of Shanghai, China on PISA 2009 and its effects on other national systems and within the global education policy field. The OECD's PISA is helping to create this field by constituting the globe as a commensurate space of school system performance. The effects of Shanghai's success are considered in three other national contexts: the USA, England and Australia. We combine (a) analysis of data from more than 30 research interviews with senior policy actors at the OECD, the IEA and within Australia and England; and (b) document analysis of policy speeches, commissioned research reports and media coverage from the three national contexts. Shanghai's performance in PISA 2009 produced a global 'PISA-shock' that has repositioned this system as a significant new 'reference society', shifting the global gaze in education from Finland to the 'East' at the beginning of the so-called 'Asian century'.

This paper examines the promises made in education policy regarding people's future education, employment and social mobility. Specifically, the paper analyses how the term 'potential' functions in education policy texts and discourses to make tacit promises at an affective level. Contemporary education policies often invoke the need to realise personal and national economic potential, and speak of the risk of 'wasted potential', when justifying reform agendas directed at both increasing human capital investment and reducing educational inequity. Drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze, the paper develops a philosophical concept of potential that provides a theoretical framework for the analysis. The aim of the paper is to analyse how the term 'potential' functions in policy to: (a) couple economic and equity purposes for education; and (b) imply a relationship between talent, opportunity and aspiration, and particular a distribution of responsibility between governments and citizens for 'realising potential'. While primarily theoretical, the paper is informed by analyses of interview data and documents in two research projects: (1) a small pilot study of higher education equity policy in England and Australia since the mid-1990s and (2) a study of the expansion of human capital theory and large-scale educational assessments to include non-cognitive skills. The paper diagnoses the potential of 'potential' as a key word in policy and raises questions about the risks of becoming invested in the promises of education to 'realise potential'. [Author abstract]

This article examines the OECD’s new PISA-based Test for Schools (“PISA for Schools”) program. PISA for Schools is part of the expanding education work of the OECD, building upon main PISA to enable school-to-schooling system comparisons. We examine the development of PISA for Schools, the nature of the instrument, and some initial effects of its introduction. Our theoretical framework focuses on new spatialities associated with globalization and the emergence of topological rationalities and heterarchical modes of governance. We analyze 33 interviews with personnel at the OECD and relevant edubusinesses, not-for-profit organizations, and philanthropic foundations. Pertinent documents and web-based media are also analyzed. We suggest that PISA for Schools provides an exemplary demonstration of heterarchical governance, in which vertical policy mechanisms open up horizontal spaces for new policy actors. It also creates commensurate spaces of comparison and governance, enabling the OECD to “reach into” school-level spaces and directly influence local educational practices. Este artículo examina el nuevo programa de las pruebas escolares de PISA (“PISA para escuelas) de la OCDE. PISA para escuelas forma parte del trabajo educativo en crecimiento que lleva a cabo la OCDE, basado en el PISA principal, para posibilitar comparaciones entre sistemas de escuelas en relación con escolarización. Examinamos el desarrollo de PISA para escuelas, la naturaleza del instrumento y algunos efectos iniciales de su presentación. Nuestro marco teórico se enfoca en nuevas especialidades asociadas con la globalización y el surgimiento de las racionalidades topológicas y las formas de gobierno heterárquicas. Analizamos 33 entrevistas con personal de la OCDE y empresas educativas relevantes, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y fundaciones filantrópicas. También se analizaron documentos pertinentes y medios de la web. Sugerimos que PISA para escuelas ofrece una demostración ejemplar del gobierno heterárquico, en el cual los mecanismos políticos verticales abren espacios horizontales para nuevos actores políticos. También genera espacios proporcionales de comparación y gobierno, permitiendo a la OCDE “llegar” a espacios de nivel escolar e influir directamente en las prácticas educativas locales. Cet article examine le nouveau programme de test de l’OCDE, reposant sur le PISA (Program for international Student Assessment, soit programme d’évaluation des étudiants à l’échelle mondiale), à destination des écoles (« PISA pour les écoles »). PISA pour les écoles fait partie du travail croissant d’éducation de l’OCDE, qui s’appuie sur le PISA principal pour permettre des comparaisons de l’école au système éducatif. Nous examinons l’élaboration du PISA pour les écoles, la nature de l’instrument et certains effets initiaux de son introduction. Notre cadre théorique se concentre sur de nouvelles spatialités associées à la mondialisation, ainsi que sur l’émergence de rationalités topologiques et de modes de gouvernance hiérarchiques. Nous analysons 33 entretiens avec des membres du personnel de l’OCDE et des organismes pertinents d’enseignement à but lucratif, des organisations sans but lucratif et des fondations philanthropiques. Sont également analysés des documents pertinents et des supports sur Internet. Nous suggérons que PISA pour les écoles présente une démonstration exemplaire de gouvernance hétérarchique, dans laquelle des mécanismes de politique verticale ouvrent des espaces horizontaux pour de nouveaux acteurs dans le domaine de l’élaboration de politiques. Il crée aussi des espaces de comparaison et de gouvernance de même grandeur, permettant à l’OCDE de « toucher » les espaces de niveau scolaire et d’influencer les procédures locales. 面向学校的国际学生评估项目（ ）：经济合作与发展组织（OECD）全球教育治理的拓扑合理性和新空间 、和 该文探讨了OECD新采用的面向学校的PISA测试（“面向学校的PISA”）项目。面向学校的PISA是OECD拓展教育工作的一部分，建立在PISA主研究的基础之上，以便进行从学校到学校教育体系的比较。我们审视了面向学校的PISA的研发、该工具的性质及其引进的一些初步效果。我们的理论框架注重与全球化相关联的新空间性，以及拓扑合理性和分布式治理模式的出现。我们分析了与OECD和相关教育企业、非营利组织和慈善基金会人员的33次访谈。对有关文件和基于网络的媒体也进行了分析。我们建议，面向学校的PISA提供分布式治理的示范性实证，纵向政策机制在其中为新政策行动者打开水平空间。它还创造了比较和治理的相应空间，使OECD“延伸到”学校级空间，并直接影响到当地的教育实践。 جيرارد فيرير استيبان - تحلل هذه المقالة إذا ما كان العزل الاجتماعي في المدرسة مستمد من سياسات وممارسات توزيع الطلاب بين المدارس وإذا كان التدفق داخل المدرسة مرتبطًا بفعالية نظام التعليم الإيطالي. تستخدم نماذج الانحدار الهرمي لوضع العوامل المجمعة إقليميًا لفرص التعلم تحت تأثير الفرز الاجتماعي بنظرة أبعد من أثر الفجوة الاقتصادية التقليدية بين الشمال والجنوب. وتشير النتائج إلى أن الممارسات التي تعزز أو تتفق مع التوزيع غير المتكافئ للطلاب بين الفصول الدراسية من المرجح أن تؤثر سلبًا على المستوى العام لفعالية التعليم، لاسيما في المناطق التي يوجد فيها أدنى مستويات التنمية الاقتصادية والاجتماعية. وفيما يتعلق بالتخصيص المتفاوت بين المدارس، أظهرت النتائج ما يهم عندما يتعلق الأمر بتقييم الأثر السلبي للفصل بين المدارس على النتائج التعليمية، وأنه لا يتعلق بمنطقة الإقامة ولكن بسبب إذا ما كان التلاميذ يعيشون في منطقة حضرية. وتتم مناقشة النتائج في ضوء نماذج إدارة تباين الطلاب الموجودة في الساحة الدولية. Данная статья исследует новую программу ОБСЕ для тестирования, основанную на PISA (\"PISA для школ\"). PISA для школ - это часть масштабной работы ОБСЕ в образовательной сфере, основанной на PISA , для сравнения систем школьного обучения. Мы изучили развитие PISA для школ, суть этого инструмента, а также первичные эффекты его внедрения. Наши теоретические рамки сосредоточены на новых особенностях, связанных с глобализацией и возникновением топологической рациональности и гетерархических режимов правления. Мы проанализировали 33 интервью с персоналом ОБСЕ, а также компаний, работающих в сфере образования, неприбыльных организаций и благотворительных фондов. Мы также проанализировали связанные с этим документы и Интернет-ресурсы. Мы предполагаем, что PISA для школ позволяет продемонстрировать гетерархическое управление, в котором вертикальные политические механизмы открывают горизонтальное пространство для новых политических субъектов. Он также создает сопоставимые пространства сравнения и управления, позволяя ОБСЕ \"проникать\" в пространства на уровне школ и напрямую влиять на местные образовательные практики.

The digitisation of higher education is raising significant questions about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on teaching and learning environments, highlighting the need to investigate how teachers and students can work with new educational technologies in complementary ways. This paper reports results from a pilot study of the collaborative augmentation and simplification of text (CoAST) system, which is online software designed to facilitate the engagement of university students with theoretically-sophisticated academic texts. CoAST offers a digital learning interface that uses natural language processing algorithms to identify words that can be difficult to understand for readers at different ability levels. Course lecturers use their pedagogical content knowledge to add brief annotations to identified words. The software was trialed using a quasi-experimental design with (1) 23 undergraduate Education Studies students and (2) 23 digital and technology solutions students. Results suggest that CoAST offers a digital learning environment that can effectively mediate and enhance pedagogical relationships between teachers, students, and complex theoretical texts.

This article traces developments across Stephen J. Ball's policy sociology in education oeuvre and considers their implications for doing research on education policy today. It begins with an account of his policy sociology trilogy from the 1990s, which outlined his conception of the policy cycle consisting of the contexts of influence, text production and policy practice. It then considers the emergence of a strengthening focus on the global in Ball's work, noting the significance of the 1998 paper, 'Big policies/small world', which demonstrated how policy problems and solutions circulate through global discourses, but are always recontextualised within national policies and practices. Next, the article reflects on two recent books: 'Global Education Inc' and 'Networks, New Governance and Education'. The former is concerned with the rescaling of the contexts of policy and the enhanced significance of both international organisations and global edu-business in the education policy cycle and the implications for doing policy analysis. The latter employs a network ethnography approach and provides an account of the new network governance in education: the rise of heterarchies, a melange of bureaucracy, markets and networks. The article concludes by suggesting this account is indicative of the topological turn in culture and social theory. The conclusion gestures towards the implications of this for the policy cycle conception and for doing education policy analysis today, suggesting that Ball's recent work provides the scaffolds of such an approach. [Author abstract]

A critique of what lies behind the use of data in contemporary education policy While the science fiction tales of artificial intelligence eclipsing humanity are still very much fantasies, in Algorithms of Education the authors tell real stories of how algorithms and machines are transforming education governance, providing a fascinating discussion and critique of data and its role in education policy. Algorithms of Education explores how, for policy makers, today's ever-growing amount of data creates the illusion of greater control over the educational futures of students and the work of school leaders and teachers. In fact, the increased datafication of education, the authors argue, offers less and less control, as algorithms and artificial intelligence further abstract the educational experience and distance policy makers from teaching and learning. Focusing on the changing conditions for education policy and governance, Algorithms of Education proposes that schools and governments are increasingly turning to \"synthetic governance\"-a governance where what is human and machine becomes less clear-as a strategy for optimizing education. Exploring case studies of data infrastructures, facial recognition, and the growing use of data science in education, Algorithms of Education draws on a wide variety of fields-from critical theory and media studies to science and technology studies and education policy studies-mapping the political and methodological directions for engaging with datafication and artificial intelligence in education governance. According to the authors, we must go beyond the debates that separate humans and machines in order to develop new strategies for, and a new politics of, education.

This paper explores teachers' and school leaders' perceptions of commercialisation in Australian public schools, reporting on findings from an open-ended survey question from an exploratory study that sought to investigate teacher and school leader perceptions and experiences of commercialisation. Commercialisation, for the purposes of this paper, is understood as the creation, marketing and sale of education goods and services to schools by for-profit providers and often includes (but is not limited to) the provision of curriculum content, assessment services, data infrastructures, digital learning, remedial instruction, professional development and school administration support. Our account highlights that commercialisation is prevalent in the day-to-day practice of Australian public schools. The perceptions of teachers and leaders suggest that commercialisation is complex, with both affordances and challenges. Respondents acknowledged that aspects of commercialisation are necessary for successfully running schools and classrooms in the 21st century, but also noted that there is a fine line beyond which these seemingly innocuous services become perilous. Concerns focused on how particular services are leading to the deprofessionalisation of teachers as they have less autonomy over what to teach and how to teach it. Moreover, teachers and school leaders reported being perturbed by the idea that commercial providers and services might work to replace teachers in the future. Drawing on these data we argue that growing commercialisation in Australian public schools clearly requires an ethical debate that schools, education professionals, policy makers and interested publics are yet to have. [Author abstract]

The growth of knowledge-based economies is now presupposed by education policies globally and increasing the quantity and quality of education is considered essential for the economic prosperity of individuals and nations. In this context, promises that better futures await those who succeed in education exert increasing force on imaginations in the present, including through education policies that promote aspiration-raising agendas. Aspiration, optimism and motivation involve 'affects' (emotions) that education seeks to foster and through which contemporary governance and control is exercised. This paper contrasts Margaret Mead's analysis of the generation gap that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s with contemporary marketing industry descriptions of Generation Y and iGeneration. Mead presents an optimistic view of the experiences and imaginations of young people as forces of cultural reinvention, while the latter provides an instrumental perspective on the experiences of young people as an access point through which marketers can modulate social imaginaries. Drawing on Scott Lash's argument that social imaginaries are increasingly constituted as topological objects, the paper examines some similarities between contemporary marketing and educational strategies that target the imaginations of young people. [Author abstract]

This paper examines the re-articulation of social justice as equity in schooling policy through national and global testing and data infrastructures. It focuses on the Australian National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We analyse the discursive reconstitution of social justice as equity in Australian and OECD policy, and analyse NAPLAN and PISA as technologies of governance that re-articulate equity as a measure of performance. These re-articulations are set against the extension of neo-social economistic rationalities to all domains of life and the topological production of new spaces of policy and power.