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Teachers at breaking point: Why working in South Australian schools is getting tougher
Abstract
This report examines the shifting nature of teachers’ working in South Australian schools, pointing to growing complexity and increasing professional demands. Data were collected using an online survey of 1594 teachers and interviews with a smaller sample. The research design builds on the existing research literature and on recent investigations in other jurisdictions.
Teachers are at breaking point. This is the message sent loudly and clearly over the course of the research with South Australian teachers. The intensification and growing complexity of their work has been accompanied by the loss of professional autonomy and satisfaction. Yet political and media discourses largely ignore teacher wellbeing, reducing teachers to economic inputs.
... It is for everyone and is an opportunity to value the oldest living -and dynamic -cultures on earth in ways that are mutually enriching. • Research says that South Australian educators are under immense pressure with many reporting that they are 'at breaking point' (Windle et al, 2022). The paradoxical need to 'satisfy standardised accountability frameworks' (such as the NAPLAN) while 'catering equitably for cultural diversity' adds to this pressure. ...
... The fact that the AC remains tethered to national performativity and accountability mechanisms that prioritise White knowledge, while Indigenous knowledges remain, in principle, optional (Salter & Maxwell, 2016), is a matter of overarching concern. As Burgess and colleagues (2022) explain, if Indigenous knowledges are not officially prioritised, for example in the way that the NAPLAN or PISA testing is, then they are less likely to be viewed as important by teachers and principals who are increasingly at 'breaking point' (Windle et al., 2022). Furthermore, whilst demonstrating concern for First Nations perspectives, the current version of the AC builds on and reproduces Anglo-Centric traditions (Hradsky, 2022;Maher, 2022). ...
... It must be noted that Australian educational leaders and teachers are outstanding -they work tirelessly, and many have recently reported feeling 'at breaking point' (Windle et al., 2022). Embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education should not be conceived as adding more work to already full plates. ...
This literature review was produced for Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), as part of a research-consultancy entitled Re-imagining Catholic Education for First Nations Sovereignty.
CESA commissioned the authors (Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics and educators with extensive experience in First Nations Education) to help develop their Draft Aboriginal Education Strategy, with input from Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders and stakeholders connected to Catholic South Australian schools and centres.
The research-consultancy was carried out during 2022 using methods that are intellectually rigorous and culturally appropriate. It involved several main phases, starting with a robust literature review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Australia. The literature review serves as a framework for contextualising subsequent phases of the study.
Recommended citation:
Schulz, S., Morrison, A., Blanch, F., Buckskin, J. & Corrie, S. (2023). Improving schooling and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners in South Australian Catholic Schools and Centres: A narrative review of the literature. Adelaide, SA: The University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Available https://apo.org.au/node/322565
... Furthermore, the exceptionally high demands of managing students in diverse classrooms, and the 'need' to be flexible for every child, as well as the expectations that educators should be managing all kinds of problematic behaviours, appear to be causing high levels of stress for educators. Some of these challenges have been discussed in the literature (Hascher & Waber, 2021;Heffernan et al., 2022;Kamarunzaman et al., 2020;UNESCO, 2024), contributing to a growing number of teachers reported to be "at breaking point" (Windle et al., 2022). Research has shown that many education systems are lacking in the level of support they need to create an enabling environment for student mental health (Breuer et al., 2016). ...
... Research has shown that many education systems are lacking in the level of support they need to create an enabling environment for student mental health (Breuer et al., 2016). As Windle et al. (2022) have noted, educators continue to be tasked with managing a "proliferation of top-down initiatives" (p. 1) without sufficient time, resources, training, or support from school leadership (Hascher & Waber, 2021;Heffernan et al., 2022). As a result, teachers increasingly bear the responsibility for supporting student mental health, when mental health intervention should be supported by specialist services, as well as parents alike. ...
This project used a mixed-method approach to understand educator readiness to support student mental health across early childhood, school based, and tertiary settings. The study features educators and relevant support staff working with children, adolescents, and adults in formal learning settings. Relevant experts such as mental health care workers, youth wellbeing support staff, counsellors, psychologists, and other professionals involved in education settings were also invited to take part in the study. Three research questions guided the focus of the study: How does educator anxiety and worry impact on their ability to support student mental health? To what extent are educators ready (and willing) to support student mental health in education settings? and What are the enabling conditions that support educator readiness? The report commences with a literature review exploring the importance of mental health in the education sector, followed by results of an online survey of educators and relevant school staff and qualitative interviews with educators and psychology experts. Key findings of this research show that the extent of educator worry and anxiety, coupled with disparate support structures and the growing complexity of student needs, impact on educators' ability to support student mental health in a range of education settings.
... • Research says that South Australian educators are under immense pressure with many reporting that they are 'at breaking point' (Windle et al, 2022). The paradoxical need to 'satisfy standardised accountability frameworks' (i.e. ...
... Comments such as these are both reflected across the literature 12 as well as understandable in light of the fact that, as noted, South Australian educators are under immense pressure with many reporting that they are 'at breaking point' (Windle et al, 2022). With respect to the final comment listed above, which provides a clear illustration of the strong emotion often associated with this terrain, it is common for pre-service educators involved in Critical Indigenous Pedagogies courses to experience sticking points, such as guilt, resistance, or anger, prior to transformation (Motta, 2013). ...
This report has been produced for Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), as part of a research-consultancy entitled Re-imagining Catholic Education for First Nations Sovereignty. It provides findings and recommendations for developing a 10-year Aboriginal Education Strategy.
CESA commissioned the authors (Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics and educators with extensive experience in First Nations Education) to help develop their Draft Aboriginal Education Strategy, with input from Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge holders and stakeholders connected to Catholic South Australian schools and centres.
The research-consultancy was carried out during 2022 using methods that are intellectually rigorous and culturally appropriate. It involved several main phases, starting with a robust literature review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in Australia. The literature review serves as a framework for contextualising subsequent phases of the study: Roundtable discussions with members of CESA’s institutional leadership; Yarning Circles with First Nations peoples connected to Catholic South Australian schools and centres; Surveys with staff from across CESA sites; and Surveys with parents/caregivers of First Nations young people in Catholic South Australian schools and centres.
The report centres Aboriginal voices that have been silenced for too long in the broader context of Australia. It floodlights that which CESA is achieving which warrants recognition and expansion. And it highlights clear steps for growth, which are achievable within a system where a groundswell of goodwill and ethical commitments are already established.
Recommended citation:
Schulz, S., Blanch, F., Buckskin, J., Corrie, S. & Morrison, A. (2023). Re-imagining Catholic Education for First Nations Sovereignty (Report to Catholic Education South Australia). Adelaide, SA: The University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Available https://apo.org.au/node/322608
... The nation-wide teaching crisis in Australia is real and is equally impacting Australian Islamic schools. Fewer university students are choosing teaching as a profession [1], attrition rates in the first year of teaching are on the rise [2], teacher burn-out and increasing attention to the area of educator wellbeing are growing areas of concern [3], and there is an urgent teacher shortage across the country [4] that is affecting all schools. Among the primary reasons proffered for attrition are unreasonable expectations placed on teachers and a loss of agency to be dynamic, spontaneous, and responsive in teaching. ...
There has been a rise in Islamic schools in Australia, a trend similarly seen in other Western countries, and yet limited opportunities for teacher preparation on what it means to impart an Islamically grounded education. This study utilizes qualitative research methods, specifically portraiture to shed light on the experiences of in-service Islamic school educators, with varied backgrounds and religious affiliations in a cohort of the Graduate Certificate in Education (Islamic Education) program in Australia. This faith-based teacher education program aims to foster “faithful praxis”, and recenter the Divine in teaching and learning. The research focused on analysing transformative affective shifts as reflected in the program’s final portfolios. Portraits of four participants reflect a reconceptualization of education as a holistic process that aims to nurture the whole student: mind, body, and soul. The portraits also highlight awakening experiences that signify the role of reflexivity and self-reflection of the educator so that educational renewal is of the whole collective in the school community. Implications of this study signify the role of spirituality in teaching and learning and the importance of moving beyond conventional and secular models of teacher education programs.
... We were initially drawn to analyse these responses because the anonymously posted article stimulated members to share their experiences of the official discourses of wellbeing and positivity in schools, which they heavily criticised. The highlighted responses were selected as they represent concerns from existing research correlated with the primary issues Australian teachers are identifying in relation to their work; namely, that workload and wellbeing are of significant concern and causing teacher stress, demoralisation and contributing to attrition (Heffernan et al. 2022;Windle et al. 2022). The literature drawn upon in our research allowed for the identification of central themes, such as workload concerns and toxic positivity, which guided the selection of comments examined in this article. ...
This chapter frames the central themes of the book. It outlines the research and evidence in terms of the material issues facing the teaching profession. It explains how the discourse of teacher emotions and their wellbeing are presently spoken about by both policy makers and the media. The chapter then outlines the global problem of teacher turnover and the related causes that are driving educators from the profession. It explains the books’ theoretical and conceptual orientation to emotions as multifaceted performative discourses, paving the way for the book’s contributing authors to relate their analysis of the authentic teacher voices which lie at the emotional ‘heart’ of this volume.
In the fast-paced landscape of 21st-century education, global attention turns to understanding teacher well-being. This research utilizes a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Method design to explore the factor structure of well-being across randomly selected Asian public-school teachers. Initial qualitative interviews with 10 participants and 5 focus group members inform the development of a 78-item quantitative construct. An open sampling technique yields 1,987 online scale respondents, with subsequent Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses involving 800 participants each. Six latent factors emerge: Occupational Well-being, Organizational Struggles, Work Resources, Supportive School Climate, Enabling Leadership, and Teacher Support Initiatives. The model demonstrates a good fit, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of teacher well-being. Acknowledging limitations, future research should diversify samples and explore the impact on student outcomes, with implementation of the well-being scale empowering institutions for a supportive teaching environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on teachers around the world, raising significant concerns about their workload and wellbeing. Our comparison of 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2020 (first year of the pandemic) survey data ( n = 362) from teachers in New South Wales, Australia, demonstrates that their morale and efficacy declined significantly during COVID-19, even with the relatively short period of school closure (8 weeks) during 2020. Interviews with teachers and school leaders ( n = 18) reinforced these findings and highlighted the depth to which teachers felt dispensable and unappreciated, despite working incredibly hard for their students. The pressure to adapt to online teaching and learning, in trying circumstances, also challenged their confidence in their teaching. We argue that practical and emotional support for teachers both during periods of remote learning and upon students’ return to the classroom is essential to support teacher’s wellbeing and a robust teaching workforce into the future.
This paper explores perceptions of work intensification around the world. Underpinning this analysis is C. Wright Mills’ (1959) argument that many personal troubles are public issues, and the notion that a significant dimension of the privatisation of public education, a concern of public education advocates worldwide, is the ways in which school work has become a private issue. One hundred and thirty interviews were conducted with education stakeholders across Australia, England, New Zealand and Canada exploring the issues of work intensification, school autonomy and accountability policies. The paper argues that the work done in public schools is increasingly becoming a private problem as a result of policy interventions. It suggests that we need to widen the scope of defining publicness in education beyond that of governance and funding to include consideration of how work is organised and experienced.
Australia’s education system reflects its history of federalism. State and territory governments are responsible for administering education within their jurisdiction and across the sector comprising government (public), Catholic systemic and other independent schooling systems. They collaborate on education policy with the federal government. Over the past two decades the federal government has taken a greater role in funding across the education sector, and as a result of this involvement and the priorities of federal governments of the day, Australia now has one of the highest rates of non-government schooling in the OECD. Funding equity across the sectors has become a prominent issue. Concerns have been compounded by evidence of declining student performance since Australia’s initial participation in PISA in 2000, and the increasing gap between our high achievers and low achievers. This chapter explores Australia’s PISA 2018 results and what they reveal about the impact of socioeconomic level on student achievement. It also considers the role of school funding and the need to direct support to those schools that are attempting to educate the greater proportion of an increasingly diverse student population including students facing multiple layers of disadvantage.
Teacher stress remains a consistently reported issue nationally and internationally in both the mainstream media and academic fora. Understanding the source/s of stress, however, remains complex given the interplay of external and internal factors that have the potential to shape teachers’ stress and resilience responses. This exploratory qualitative study sought to understand 74 teachers’ perceptions of the main contributors to stress in the workplace, and to investigate their beliefs about strategies to help ameliorate these stressors. Applied Thematic Analysis revealed a range of systemic, organisational, relational, and intrapersonal stressors as the driving forces behind the experiences of teacher stress in the workplace. In light of these findings, teacher’s beliefs around how to best alleviate these stressors are discussed. Conclusions highlight the need for better systems and support in building and sustaining teacher resilience to help protect against teacher burnout.
This report, commissioned by the NSW Teachers' Federation, examines the work of teachers in primary and secondary schools and reports on work hours, work demands, work activities and how work is valued. It show intensification of teachers' work, with new and increasingly burdensome administrative and data-related work.
This paper explores the ‘media mentalities’ about teachers and their work in the Australian print media. The notion of media mentalities draws on the theoretical concepts of discourse, mentalities, and mediatisation. This refers to the constructed realities and forms of thought in media coverage that circulate particular accounts. These are linked to institutional and journalistic practices in media that are governed by media logics. Drawing on newspaper text and interviews with journalists, the following practices are addressed: agendisation and accountabilisation which are both institutional practices; and the journalistic practices of factualisation, emphasisation, and sensationalisation – all of which operate globally, to some degree, across and within media institutions and media practitioners, and produce the news about teacher's work within the framework of these practices.
This paper provides a case study of the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) in Australia with a focus on its education policy work, specifically the report, School funding on a budget (SFoB). CIS is a conservative right wing advocacy think tank, established in 1976 in the aftermath of the Whitlam government’s policy activism, framed by classical liberalism or neoliberalism with a provenance in the political economy of Hayek and Friedman. As such, it is committed to smaller government, individual responsibility and more market driven solutions to social problems. CIS gives more emphasis to academic research than other think tanks of its kind. This paper theorises think tanks as hybrid, boundary spanning organisations that work across academic, media, political and economic fields. An argument is proffered that it is the restructured state, with its loss of research capacity and fast policy making, which has strengthened opportunities for think tank influence across the policy cycle in education. With SFoB, CIS used a political moment, the first Abbott federal government budget focused on ‘budget repair’, to argue a case for reducing government educational expenditure as a percentage of GDP in the long term. That policy moment was used for recommending the abolition of the federal department of education and further dismantling of public schooling. SFoB is shown to be exemplary of the conservative advocacy think tank report genre in its usage of ‘mediatized’ language, surface accoutrements of academic research, and user focus. SFoB is a manifestation of what can be seen as the ideas for policy work of CIS, dressed up as research.
Concerns are mounting about the attraction and retention of teachers in Australian schools. This study draws upon a questionnaire of 2444 Australian primary and secondary school teachers, which revealed that only 41% of respondents intended to remain in the profession. Through a thematic analysis of the qualitative data within the questionnaire, we use employee turnover theory to enable an understanding of the reasons 1446 of the respondents described as influencing their intentions to leave the profession. These reasons included heavy workloads, health and wellbeing concerns for teachers and the status of the profession. We also use turnover theory to analyse responses from all 2444 respondents and explore possible mitigating strategies or practices that might reduce turnover intention, including meaningful reductions in workload and raising the status of the teaching profession. In doing so, we contribute nuanced qualitative empirical insights which can inform policy and practice.
The practice of out-of-field teaching, that is, teaching a subject without a background in the discipline or preparation for teaching it, is an ongoing practice in secondary schools in many countries, including Australia. We used a critical approach to problematise the policies and practices concerning out-of-field teaching in Australia. Documents from the Australian and selected state governments, and interviews with representatives from principal and teacher subject associations and teacher unions, were analysed using Bacchi’s “What’s the problem represented to be?” approach. Stakeholders’ representations of out-of-field teaching and the assumptions underlying these representations are reported along with their perspectives on the effects on teachers, students and schools. A number of silences concerning the politics of out-of-field teaching arose. Challenging the assumptions and addressing the silences requires recognition that specialist teacher supply is a long-term problem. A need to attend to teacher attrition and professional development are key actions needing further consideration.KeywordsEducation policyEquityOut-of-field teachingProblematisationTeaching quality
Mass media provides a public space for its readers to enter the discussion on education, as they consume and interpret key messages, which are often shaped by key educational policies. With a suite of recent teacher education reform measures in Australia aimed at solving the “problem” with teacher quality, a conceptual map for conducting a media framing analysis is prop osed and utilised to examine how teacher quality is portrayed in the media. This study found that the media portrays education, and teacher quality more specifically, in Australia through a lens of crisis and decline, with national policies being positioned as the solution. National policies which focus on more rigorous entry and exit requirements for teacher candidates, or a discourse of inputs, are offered as the solution to the education crisis in Australia. With the inherent power that media holds in proffering particular policies and/or viewpoints, this paper argues for the need to employ five analytic devices – event, format, voice, problem and solution – to understand how teacher quality is portrayed in the media.
This research shows that the out-of-field teaching phenomenon tilts teachers’ dispositions toward a pattern of observable challenges for their wellbeing, confidence, feelings of belonging and self-efficacy. This paper unveils how the out-of-field phenomenon influences not only teachers’ wellbeing but also students’ wellbeing and school leaders’ effectiveness. This cross-national phenomenological research involves a developed and a developing country. The results capture lived experiences of leaders, teachers, and stakeholders linked to the out-of-field teaching phenomenon across metropolitan and rural schools at primary and secondary levels. Findings indicate the interwoven complexities of the phenomenon, and leadership’s understanding, awareness and engagement improves leadership for wellbeing in the out-of-field context. The paper concludes with an emphasis on the need for noticing teachers’ wellbeing with a context-conscious enactment of micro-education policies to address specific wellbeing needs.
The work of teachers is often understood primarily in relation to student learning rather than as a form of labour for the worker in question. While such a focus is understandable, it can fail to recognize the relationship between conditions of work and the character or nature of that work. In this article, we engage with the issue of teachers’ work and workload, presenting interview data from 31 teachers across the state of NSW, Australia. Locating these data within a devolved public education policy context, we argue that increased accountability primarily through paperwork and reporting requirements are operating to re-shape and re-define what it means to be a teacher, and what teachers “do”. Such demands are reported to have created a substantial workload increase across the board in our sample, leading to a perceived need for teachers to undertake “triage” in their work, leaving some – if not all – activities ultimately incomplete. We explore these tensions in the data and raise questions about the forms of labour teachers currently undertake in schools; why they do so; and whether such work is either desirable or sustainable.
The international literature is clear: for early career teachers to develop and be retained as effective professionals, they should begin their careers in stable and predictable roles in schools with supportive administrative arrangements, effective induction and mentoring programs, and a professional school culture. In this chapter I draw on labour market and social network perspectives to investigate and analyse the circumstances of the work of early career teachers in contemporary Australia and elsewhere. The large majority are initially employed in insecure replacement work that is inimical to their effective development and retention. Replacement teaching tends to have poor pay and conditions and to be accorded little professional respect. It is often stressful and unsatisfying, especially for early career teachers without the experience and skills necessary for such challenging and variable work. Replacement teaching often adds little to student learning and is disruptive to the educational and administrative work of schools. In this chapter I suggest a number of interrelated strategies, centred on the professionalisation of replacement teaching, that have the fourfold objectives of ensuring that sufficient numbers of replacement teachers are available to meet requirements, that replacement teaching is of high quality, that the annual cohort of recent graduates has an administratively smooth entry into teaching or other activities, and, most importantly, that all early career teachers receive an effective induction into the teaching profession and the opportunity to set out on a successful career.
Australian public school teachers work some of the longest weekly hours among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, particularly in the state of New South Wales where average hours are officially in, or near, the statistical category of ‘very long working hours’. These reports of a high workload have occurred alongside recent policy moves that seek to devolve responsibility for schooling, augmenting teacher and school-level accountability. This article explores changes in work demands experienced by New South Wales teachers. As part of a larger project on schools as workplaces, we examine teaching professionals’ views through interviews with teacher union representatives. Consistent with a model of work intensification, workload increases were almost universally reported, primarily in relation to ‘paperwork’ requirements. However, differences in the nature of intensification were evident when data were disaggregated according to socio-educational advantage, level of schooling (primary or secondary) and location. The distinct patterns of work intensification that emerge reflect each school’s relative advantage or disadvantage within the school marketplace, influenced by broader neoliberal reforms occurring within the state and nation. © 2018, Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA), SAGE Publications Ltd, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC.
This cross-sectional study sought to investigate teachers’ experiences of work intensification and wellbeing. Using the Job Demands-Resources model as a framework, this study investigated the relationship between work intensification, satisfaction with workload, perceived organisational support, and burnout. An Australian sample of 215 high school teachers completed a confidential and anonymous online survey battery. Multiple regression analyses indicated that non-teaching-related workload was a stronger predictor of burnout than teaching-related-workload. In addition, the results indicated that perceived organisational support moderated the relationship between work intensification and the emotional exhaustion component of burnout. These findings have important implications for teacher wellbeing and highlight the importance of organisational support for staff.
Although education is a staple of news coverage, the reporting of school-based education rarely receives attention within journalism and media studies. Scholars in other areas, however, have argued that news coverage of education is highly influential and should be examined. The research consensus has been that education coverage is mostly negative and, further, that teachers are frequently portrayed as the ones to blame for perceived shortcomings in school systems. Such coverage is said to concern and affect schoolteachers. However, to date, very few studies have canvassed teachers’ attitudes towards the reporting of education. This article contributes to this under-researched area by providing the results of a series of interviews with 25 Australian schoolteachers and principals about their perceptions of news coverage of education. The vast majority of the teachers interviewed considered news about schooling and teachers to be predominantly, and unfairly, critical. They described news reporting of education as frequently inaccurate and generally superficial. Many expressed a distrust of journalists and were wary about being interviewed. The implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations for journalism practice and journalism education are outlined.
In many parts of the world, public schooling is challenged by alternative arrangements thought to improve educational performance. Competition, choice, prescribed curricula, standardized testing, and privatization have become common tactics to fix the shortcomings of ineffective education systems. This chapter suggests that one product of globalization in education is a belief system that guides education policy-making throughout the world called the Global Educational Reform Movement. This chapter explores the origin of this movement and then describes its most common features and how this global movement impacts teaching and learning in schools. This chapter suggests that the impacts of this movement on overall quality of education systems have been negative and argues that international student assessments prove that, instead, alternative education policies succeed in improving quality and equity of education systems. These include enhancing equity in schooling, building teacher professionalism, encouraging collaborative practices, promoting trust-based responsibility, and strengthening public education systems.
What does the take-up of new technology have in common with the adoption of inclusive pedagogies to support students with additional needs in regular classrooms? Both are profound changes in the way we do things. Both are in response to changes in society. Both are championed by true believers and villainised by those more resistant to change. In this paper I consider why inclusive education has been so difficult to sell within schools, despite empirical evidence that is highly supportive of this practice. I review meta-analyses on the academic outcomes of students with disability in inclusive and segregated environments and discuss why the apparent benefits of this approach are not universally appreciated by Australian classroom teachers. I then compare the adoption of inclusive education with the uptake of innovative technology to develop an appreciation of what may be required for teachers to gain an understanding and commitment towards inclusive education.
In this paper I look at the most recent policy attempt to address the intractable issue of inequality in Australian schools, the Review of Funding for Schooling Final Report (2011), colloquially known as the ‘Gonski Report’, or simply ‘Gonski’. I highlight its important insights and some of its analytical limitations. I show how a fixation on sector-by-sector (government, Catholic and independent) analysis and disputation distracts from layers of disadvantage and advantage across all sectors, while also acknowledging that there is a disproportionate concentration of disadvantage in the government sector which must thus be properly funded. I illustrate how socio-educational advantage (SEA) and disadvantage are compounded and how the social segregation between schools on the top and bottom rungs is manifest and with associated problems. As implied throughout, systemic relational analysis, which recognises that educational advantage and disadvantage are mutually constituted is a diagnostic necessity which is absent in the Gonski Report and which thus led it to focus on disadvantaged schools rather than on the systemic relationships that also contribute to disadvantage. It is thus rather timid in its recommendations. Even so, I argue, it deserves support because the problems it identifies and seeks to address are dire.
In large-scale assessments, such as state-wide testing programs, national sample-based assessments, and international comparative studies, there are many steps involved in the measurement and reporting of student achievement. There are always sources of inaccuracies in each of the steps. It is of interest to identify the source and magnitude of the errors in the measurement process that may threaten the validity of the final results. Assessment designers can then improve the assessment quality by focusing on areas that pose the highest threats to the results.This paper discusses the relative magnitudes of three main sources of error with reference to the objectives of assessment programs: measurement error, sampling error, and equating error. A number of examples from large-scale assessments are used to illustrate these errors and their impact on the results. The paper concludes by making a number of recommendations that could lead to an improvement of the accuracies of large-scale assessment results.
Globalization has increased mobility of people, resources, and ideas. It is also affecting how governments think about education
and what schools teach to their students. Attributes related to education for a knowledge society, sustainable development,
or 21st century skills are parts of current national educational policies and reforms. A powerful pretext for global educational
reform thinking is current international student assessments. As a consequence, particular educational reform orthodoxy has
emerged that relies on a set of basic assumptions in order to improve the quality of education and fix other educational deficiencies.
This article describes the beginning of the present global educational reform movement discussing some of its key characteristics
and implications in practice. Although overlooked by many policy analysts, Finland represents a striking and highly successful
alternative to this global educational reform movement. The scholarly work of Andy Hargreaves is seen as essential in understanding
the requirements and resources that are needed in securing good public education for all in the future.
KeywordsEducational change–Educational reform–Educational policy–Globalization
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