Politics of Quality in Education A Comparative Study of Brazil, China, and Russia

The question of quality has become one of the most important framing factors in education and has been of growing interest to international organisations and national policymakers for decades. Politics of Quality in Education focuses on Brazil, China, and Russia, part of the so-called emerging nations’ BRICS block, and draws on a four-year project to develop a new theoretical and methodological approach. The book builds a comparative, sociohistorical, and transnational understanding of political relations in education, with a particular focus on the policies and practices of Quality Assurance and Evaluation (QAE). Tracking QAE processes from international organisations to individual schools, contributors analyse how QAE changes the dynamics in the roles of state, expertise, and governance. The book demonstrates how national and sub-national actors play a central role in the adaptation, modification or rejection of transnational policies. Politics of Quality in Education will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students engaged in the study of comparative and international education, as well as educational policy and politics. It should also be essential reading for practitioners and policymakers. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351362528, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Foreword - António Nóvoa Acknowledgements 1 Comparing politics of quality in education - Jaakko Kauko, Tuomas Takala, and Risto Rinne 2 Layers of reflectivity in comparative research - Jaakko Kauko, Vera Gorodski Centeno, Nelli Piattoeva, Helena Candido, Galina Gurova, Anna Medvedeva, Iris Santos, Olli Suominen, and Zhou Xingguo 3 Historical paths to shared interest in quality assurance and evaluation - Olli Suominen, Vera Gorodski Centeno, Galina Gurova, Johanna Kallo, and Zhou Xingguo 4 Established and emerging actors in the national political arenas - Jaakko Kauko, Olli Suominen, Vera Gorodski Centeno, Nelli Piattoeva, and Tuomas Takala 5 Changing expertise and the state - Risto Rinne, Zhou Xingguo, Jaakko Kauko, Romuald Normand, Anna Medvedeva, and Iris Santos 6 Governance by data circulation? The production, availability, and use of national large-scale assessment data - Nelli Piattoeva, Vera Gorodski Centeno, Olli Suominen, and Risto Rinne 7 Effects of quality assurance and evaluation on schools’ room for action - Galina Gurova, Helena Candido, and Zhou Xingguo 8 Alternative views of the future of quality assurance and evaluation - Johanna Kallo, Tuomas Takala, Vera Gorodski Centeno, and Olli Suominen 9 Conclusion - Jaakko Kauko, Risto Rinne, and Tuomas Takala Appendix 1: Interview data and codes Appendix 2: Coding of interviews Appendix 3: Interview guidelines

Jaakko Kauko is Associate Professor of Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research focuses on the fields of education policy and comparative education. Risto Rinne is Professor of Education, Vice-Dean and Head of the Department of Education and Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education(CELE) at the University of Turku, Finland. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and has published more than 500 scientific works. Tuomas Takala is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Tampere. His research has focused on the formation and implementation of education policies in developing countries.