The annual IEA General Assembly (GA) is always an auspicious occasion. In the world of education, there aren’t many times each year when individuals with such levels of knowledge and understanding of policy and reform meet in such numbers. IEA is proud to count these GA representatives as colleagues.
The GA, as IEA’s central decision-making body, enables members to shape the organization’s strategy, governance, and new initiatives. Alongside this, IEA is honored to facilitate broader international discussions on the future of education each year. The national contexts of the myriad IEA member countries are diverse, and with each different national setting comes a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Meeting at the GA is a chance for members to confer, hear and share. Today, a particularly noteworthy afternoon of deliberation on the implications of education data on policies took place.
Ms. Carmen Tovar Sánchez from INEE, GA representative for Spain and esteemed Standing Committee member, began the afternoon’s agenda with a keynote speech as our host in Madrid. Ms Tovar Sánchez explained that the afternoon would be dedicated to providing a space to share how education research has shaped education policy around the world. She underlined the importance of these kind of in-depth discussions by drawing inspiration from her own experiences in Spain, and the foundational belief that they “can't have a competitive society without education.” As inspiration to begin the session, she shared that in Spain, people look to shape policy in an evidence-informed way by “seeing the problems, seeing the data, and acting.”
Guests from stakeholder organizations in global education then set the stage for further dialogue with their participation in a roundtable discussion on the international policy implications of IEA data. Representatives from the European Commission and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States shared invaluable perspectives on how international large-scale assessment research from IEA is affecting development on an international scale.
Mr. Stefaan Hermans from the European Commission, highlighting the keen interest in improving basic skills across the EU, said: “We don't simply collect data for the sake of collecting data. We want to know what trustworthy and reliable data can tell us in order to move ahead, and to improve.”
National perspectives were then provided by Mr. Barclay Anstiss from the Ministry of Education, Educational Measurement and Assessment of New Zealand, Dr. Chung-I Lin from the National Academy for Educational Research in Taipei City, and Ms. Carmen Tovar Sánchez.
Dr. Chung-I Li shared how PIRLS has been a crucial piece of their national strategies on teaching reading and literacy, saying “PIRLS results changed the way we teach, and how we perceived how reading can be.”
Echoing his colleague’s remarks, Mr. Anstiss also used PIRLS as an example of how IEA studies altered their perspectives on approaches to teaching and learning and helped them better support teachers in their work. He noted that “PIRLS challenged us to think that our children could manage more difficult texts, to do more.”
Next, IEA Chair Christian Christrup Kjeldsen introduced the opportunity for all GA members to participate in a group discussion on the topic. Representatives met in small groups to share how IEA data and data from large-scale education research in general has affected their respective national policies. It was a truly inspiring collective activity, as colleagues discussed challenges, successes and innovations involved in implementing progressive changes in an area so vitally important to the present and the future of all our countries and societies. And, as Dr. Christrup Kjeldsen emphasized, learning from these discussions helps inform IEA about how better to support its members into the future.
IEA is privileged to have been able to accommodate a knowledge exchange at this level. We acknowledge the responsibility that comes with contributing research, data, support, services and more in this field. Working together through IEA and the General Assembly strengthens our collective efforts.