ITS Workshop: "Measuring the World: OECD, UIS, and the Politics of Global Education Metrics"

Measuring the World: OECD, UIS, and the Politics of Global Education Metrics

Friday, March 25th, 12:00-1:00 PM EST

Presenter: Radhika Gorur, Associate Professor of Education, Deakin University and Visiting Professor, Teachers College

In-person: 279 Grace Dodge Hall
Zoom: https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/j/7922330773

In their own different ways, both the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) are seeking to tame a diverse, chaotic and disordered world into becoming comparable so that progress on education goals can be monitored using a single scale. This paper analyses the distinctly different approaches to the establishment of global comparability adopted by OECD through PISA for Development (PISA-D) and the UIS through the UIS-Reporting Scales (UIS-RS). The paper describes the epistemic differences in the processes, demonstrating that one focuses on ‘adding context’ while the other focuses on ‘adding standards.’ It argues that, even as each of these efforts focuses on becoming inclusive by bringing the whole world under a single metric, each performs its own sets of exclusions. It raises questions with regard to the purposes and politics of such global metrics.

This event is part of the International & Transcultural Studies Workshop series. 

To request disability-related accommodations contact OASID at oasid@tc.edu, (212) 678-3689, (212) 678-3853 TTY, (646) 755-3144 video phone, as early as possible.