Towards Research-Based Policy and Planning for Secondary Education

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N I E R

Towards Research-Based Policy and Planning for Secondary Education

Final Report of a Seminar

National Institute for Educational Research (NIER)

Tokyo, Japan

February 1993

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N I E R 1993

Published jointly by

the Section for International Co-operation in Education

and

the Section for International Co-operation in Research,

National Institute for Educational Research (NIER)

5-22 Shimomeguro 6-Chome, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

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C O N T E N T S

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Synthesis of Country Experiences

Chapter 3: Priority Problem Areas and

Proposed Research Designs

Chapter 4: Conclusions and Recommendations

Appendix I: Summaries of Country Reports

Australia Bangladesh China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Nepal

New Zealand Pakistan Philippines

Republic of Korea

Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand

Viet Nam

Annex I: List of Participants

Annex II: List of Group Members

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Background

There is widespread agreement on the need to more closely integrate research findings with the formulation of educational policy and educational planing. All too often educational decisions are based nor on sound research findings but on social, economic and political presumption about educational issues.

At the previous Regional Seminar on Goals, Aims and Objectives of Secondary Education, convened in 1991 by the National Institute for Educa- tional Research (NIER) of Japan within the framework of the Asia and Pacific Programme of Educational Innovation for Development (APEID), the participants expressed great concern at the marginal attention given to research. They

therefore proposed that a forum be held to examine this shortcoming.

As a follow-up of that recommendation, NIER, in close collaboration with Asian Centre of Educational Innovation Development (ACEID), UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (PROAP), organized from 4 to 20 November 1992, a Regional Seminar on Educational Research in Relation to the Planning of Secondary Education in Asia and the Pacific.

Objectives

The objectives of the Seminar were:

1. to review the state of educational research in secondary education;

2. to identify common priority problem areas for research on secondary education, in terms of preparing young people to face the

challenges of the twenty-first century;

3. to co-operatively develop alternative designs and strategies for research, the findings of which will serve as bases for a system-

wide reform of secondary education as well as other aspects of

education.

Participation

Twenty participants from sixteen countries took part in the Seminar.

They were from: Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The UNESCO PROAP was represented by Miss Charatsri Vajrabhaya, Programme Specialist in Educational Innovation, ACEID.

The list of participants and the NIER Secretariat members appears at Annex I.

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Towards Research-Based Policy and Planning for Secondary Education Inauguration

On the first day of the Seminar, addresses were made by Mr. Hiromitsu Takizawa, Director-General of NIER, Mr. Hiroshi Gyoda, Director, International Affairs Planning Division, Science and International Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MONBUSHO) of Japan, and Miss Charatsri Vajrabhaya, ACEID, UNESCO PROAP, Bangkok.

Election of Officers of the Seminar

The Seminar unanimously elected the following as Officers of the

Seminar:

Chairperson: Dr. Mohammad Miyan (India)

Vice-Chairpersons: Dr. Nor Hayati Abd. Rasid (Malaysia) Dr. Young-Hwa Kim (Rep. of Korea)

Rapporteur: Dr. Phillip McKenzie (Australia)

Organization of the Seminar

Before and after the inaugural session, a briefing on the substantive and logistic arrangements of the Seminar was given by Mr. Ryo Watanabe, Chief, Section for International Co-operation in Education, and Mr. Nobuya Higuchi, Chief, Section for International Co-operation in Research, Department of International Education, NIER.

The Seminar conducted its work in plenary sessions as well as in group sessions. After the presentation of country reports, the participants identified 20 priority problem areas for research on secondary education, out of which three topics were selected for preparation of research designs:

1. Raising the quality of secondary school students;

2. Teacher preparation and development; and

3. School-based management, evaluation and accountability.

Topic 1 was discussed by both groups, while topics 2 and 3 were discussed by Group I and group II respectively.

The two working groups had the following office bearers:

Group I: Chairperson: Mr. Dharmasiri Gunaratne (Sri Lanka)

Rapporteur: Dr. Iftikhar-ur-Din Khawaja (Pakistan)

Group II: Chairperson: Dr. Alberto P. Mendoza (Philippines)

Rapporteur: Ms. Ngaire Bennie (New Zealand)

The list of group members appears at Annex II.

Closing Session

The draft final report was presented to the Seminar at the final working session on 20 November 1992, and was adopted with minor modifications.

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Chapter 2: Synthesis of Country Experiences

The representatives of the 16 countries that participated in the Semi- nar each presented a substantial country report. The presentations generated wide-ranging discussions on the role of educational research in relation to the planning of secondary education. This chapter provides a synthesis of the major issues arising from the presentations and discussions. Summaries of the

country reports are included in Appendix I. The summaries, which were

prepared by the representatives themselves, focus on four main issues:

a) the current role of educational research in the planning of

secondary education;

b) a brief description of one or two important completed or on-

going research projects on secondary education;

c) priority problem areas for research leading towards major reform of secondary education; and

d) a suggested research strategy for at least one of the problem areas.

The summaries in Appendix I and the synthesis presented in this chapter generally exclude details on the nature and organization of each country's

secondary education system. Those details, which were normally included in

each country's presentation, provide an important part of the context for considering research issues. However, because such information is available in other publications, it is not repeated here. In particular, the reader is referred to the reports arising from two earlier Regional Meetings:

1. Towards Formulating Goals, Aims and Objectives of Secondary

Education for the Twenty-First Century (NIER, 1991); and

2. Towards New Schemes of Secondary Education (APEID, UNESCO/

PROAP, 1992)

An overview of the problem

The 16 Asian and Pacific countries represented at the Seminar differ markedly in the state of secondary education. In some countries, the univer- salization of junior secondary education is not on the immediate agenda. In other, more affluent countries, there is almost universal attendance in all stages of secondary education. The countries also differ markedly in the na-

ture and extent of educational research that is conducted on secondary education. Some countries have long-established research institutes, exten- sive educational research conducted in the university and teacher education sectors, and active professional associations of educational researchers.

Other countries, unfortunately, lack even the most basic infrastructure for conducting educational research.

However, even in those countries that are relatively well-endowed in terms of educational research facilities and resources, there is a general concern that research does not have a substantial impact on either policy

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making or planning for secondary education. This situation exists despite the

widespread acknowledgment that the knowledge and understandings that can

be provided by research are vital ingredients in innovative policy formulation and systematic planning. Why is it that research appears to have so little impact? Part of the answer lies in the different time scales used by

policy makers and researchers. Policy makers often have to operate under

very short time frames. Where they do seek to use research, they tend to

look for research that can be undertaken quickly and therefore favour

literature reviews and limited survey studies rather than intensive eth-

nographic or longitudinal studies. Another part of the answer lies in the scope of problems. Researchers often break up complex issues into research- able components, and thereby delay analysis of the relationships between the components until the elements are better understood. Policy makers, however, must deal with whole issues and implement policy changes in a way that takes account of their total impact. A third explanation lies in language: the language of theoretical explanation and the language of policy action can be

quite different, thereby limiting communications between the worlds of re-

search and practice. The complex and often tentative findings from research may not satisfy policy makers but, for researchers, they help to sharpen fu-

ture research questions.

Whatever the reasons for the gaps between research, policy and planning, there is common agreement on the need for the gap to be narrowed, if

not eliminated altogether. Educational research is essentially an applied

field of research, and without close linkages to policy and practice, it runs the risk of becoming too academic and irrelevant. Policy makers and planners need the knowledge and understandings that can come from research so that sound, cost-effective policy proposals can be designed and implemented. One

of the major purposes of the Seminar was to develop strategies to more

closely integrate educational research, policy and planning.

The scope of educational research

It was clear from the country reports that educational research is a broad field of activity that is essentially applied and multidisciplinary in nature. Breadth is evident in the wide range of research studies that were summarized in the country reports. The research topics included the struc-

ture and outcomes of secondary school curricula, the role of secondary

education in the education sector as a whole, teachers' competencies, ex-

amination systems, student attendance of school, rationalization of school

facilities, school financing, and the factors influencing student attainment and achievement. Studies were also reported on the linkages between primary (elementary) schools and secondary education, and between secondary school experiences and post-school life. There was also a great variety reported in

the research methodologies used in these studies. Interviews, surveys, docu- ment analyses, test items, experimental trials, observations, and case studies

were all used to varying degrees. Although most of the studies showed a

strong emphasis on quantitative data and analytic techniques, data of a more qualitative kind was also used in most of the studies.

Irrespective of the topics that were studied and the techniques that were used, the research projects all showed a common purpose: to provide

knowledge, information and insights that would lead to the improvement of

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Chapter 2: Synthesis of Country Experiences secondary education. The studies were essentially practical, or applied in nature. They were designed either to evaluate and improve existing programmes, or to propose where new policies might best be pursued. In part, this was because most of the studies were conducted either by education ministries, or

research institutes closely linked to ministries. The focus on improving secondary education distinguishes this research from other types of research which are undertaken without any direct or immediate application in mind. The

latter type of research, which may be termed pure, basic or fundamental research, is vital for the development of new theoretical understandings, con- ceptual frameworks, and research techniques. As far as possible, every

nation's educational research effort should have an appropriate balance of pure and applied research. However, educational research as a whole is (or should be) oriented to the production of knowledge that leads directly to educational improvement.

Because education is a complex individual and social activity, com- prehensive knowledge about education draws on a number of different disciplines. The studies described in the country reports illustrate very well

the multidisciplinary and inter-disciplinary nature of educational research.

The studies included contributions from the perspectives of psychology, sociology, economics, philosophy, history, political science and anthropology, among others. The need for multidisciplinary educational research has impor-

tant implications for the training of researchers and the design of research studies. It is asking too much for any one individual to be proficient in all of the disciplines that are needed for the study of educational problems. The appropriate strategy, therefore, is to build up teams of researchers in which

the appropriate mix of disciplines and perspectives is well represented.

The scope of educational planning

The country reports took a broad view of the scope of educational planning. It was clear that planning involves far more than the implementation of policies. Policy development and formulation are also integral parts of the planning process. Therefore, at the very least, planning for secondary education includes the following activities:

1. monitoring and anticipating social, demographic, technological, economic and political developments that may either affect secondary education,

or require a response from it;

2. identifying the long-term developmental needs of both the nation and the participants in secondary education (students, parents and

teachers), and the contribution that secondary education can make to

meeting those needs;

3. analysing and clarifying the relationship between secondary education and other levels of education and training;

4. developing policies to improve secondary education within the available resource constraints;

5. translating broad policy objectives into cost-effective programmes and strategies;

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6. ensuring that teachers and other resources needed to implement new

programmes are prepared for the programmes and that adequate

resources are available;

7. planning and monitoring the implementation of policies and programmes;

8. evaluating the effects of policies and programmes, and making adjust- ments where necessary; and

9. feeding the results of evaluations back into the policy-making process.

In most countries, the responsibility for these planning activities rests with a central Ministry of Education. However, a number of countries have decentralized decision-making responsibilities to regions, districts or even

to individual schools. In these circumstances, the relationship between research and educational planning can become more complex, and may require new strategies to ensure that those with planning roles in regional offices and schools have access to the research information that they need. It also

requires that school administrators and teachers are equipped to take an active role in research designed to meet local needs.

The current role of research in planning secondary education

The countries in the Asia and Pacific region see education as playing a vital role in national development. It is also generally accepted that research is a necessary and important ingredient in the planning of secondary education. However, as noted at the beginning of the chapter, the resources allocated to research are very limited in a number of countries. There is a particular lack of research that is oriented to policy questions. Most of the

research is confined to the university and teacher education sectors, and is often undertaken by teachers and other education professionals for the purpose of improving their qualifications. Such research is often confined to very small-scale and limited studies, and is directed mainly towards meeting

academic requirements. Even in countries where the resources allocated to

research are more substantial and more policy-oriented in nature, there is a concern that too little regard is paid to the findings from educational research.

However, a number of country experiences provide grounds for more op-

timism about the current role of educational research in the planning of

secondary education. The country reports provide examples of research

studies that have made a significant contribution to one or more of the aspects of educational planning that were outlined in the previous section.

The features of studies that have had the most impact include the following:

1. close liaison and coordination between researchers, policy makers,

planners, and education practitioners in the design and conduct of the

study;

2. a study design that includes full consideration of the policy context and the issues involved with policy implementation;

3. a variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and

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Chapter 2: Synthesis of Country Experiences

analytical techniques;

4. a research team with a mix of backgrounds and perspectives; and

5. a strong commitment to the dissemination of the research findings to

policy makers and other relevant groups during the course of the

study and after its conclusion.

The one area of educational planning in which research appears to have had little impact is in the formulation of policies that propose sweeping

changes to the secondary education system. Such policy changes often

precede research in the sense that they are drawn from social and political beliefs that are formed outside of the education system. For example, several

countries have moved recently to devolve greater decision-making respon-

sibilities to regional authorities and schools. In part, such policies derive from beliefs about the benefits of democracy and giving people more direct control over their lives and circumstances. The direct contribution of re-

search to the formation of such beliefs is limited, although it needs to be recognized that the steady accumulation of research findings and the power- ful ideas that they often contain can change, in subtle and unconscious ways, people's views of the world and education's place within it.

A need acknowledged by many of the countries is for research that is

more directly oriented to improvements in secondary schooling. Sometimes

termed "action research", this type of research seeks to directly involve

teachers and other practitioners in evaluating their own institutions and

programmes so as to generate meaningful improvements at the school level. As yet, there is relatively little experience with this type of research in the Asia and Pacific region, although it does have considerable potential for all countries, and not just those where the resources for more formal types of educational research are limited. The more widespread and successful application of action research requires that appropriate research strategies be included in teachers' pre-service and in-service education programmes, and that a commitment to research be recognized as an important part of a teacher's professional life.

Linking research to educational goals

The countries agreed that the starting point for the identification of research strategies should be the major problem areas that are currently facing secondary education. The countries in the Asia and Pacific region differ markedly in their social and economic circumstances, and in their educational development strategies. Accordingly, there was great variation between the countries in the priority problem areas that they identified. However, there was common agreement that problem areas need to be viewed in terms of the goals and objectives that are held for the secondary education system.

Problems exist when circumstances prevent the goals from being fully

achieved.

The 1991 Regional Seminar report entitled "Towards Formulating Goals, Aims and Objectives of Secondary Education for the Twenty-First Century"

identified a number of broad goals that are common to the countries in Asia and the Pacific. These may be summarized as follows:

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Goals for education in general

1. Development of the human person

2. Development of productive and responsible citizens

3. Development of national unity and sense of nationhood

4. Upholding values, traditions and cultures of society 5. Modernization through science and technology

6. Quality, equity and access.

Goals for secondary education

7. Preparation for the world of work 8. Preparation for further education

9. Development of the capacity to contribute to the well-being of the nation

10. Promotion of international understanding, co-operation and peace.

The country reports and subsequent discussions indicated that substantial difficulties remain in the way of attaining these goals for education in general and secondary education in particular. The key issues identified by

the participants are discussed in the next Chapter.

There was general agreement that the reform of secondary education too often proceeds on a piecemeal basis. There is a need to focus on the desired outcomes of secondary education in terms of the competencies that

young people achieve. Once these are determined, appropriate curriculum

materials, assessment techniques and teacher development strategies can be

developed. This suggests that there are two types of research agenda: im-

mediate problems to be tackled; and the longer-term reorientation of secondary education to make it pro-active rather than re-active. Priority areas

for the longer-term type of research agenda are discussed in Chapter 3.