PISA and education reform in Shanghai

Abstract

This article examines how Chinese education officials interpret and utilise selective information from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to legitimate and consolidate contested reform messages and initiatives in Shanghai. A content analysis of data obtained from newspaper articles, official documents and education essays published in China yielded two key findings. First, Chinese officials turn to PISA data to highlight the existing problems of academic burden and ‘school choice fever’ that validate the need for reform. Second, they aim to garner support for on-going reform initiatives that seek to redefine the aims and nature of education in Shanghai. In both instances, the education officials do not just rely on the resources from PISA to advance local reforms. They also re-interpret the information in such a way that allows them to create new possibilities and realities. The example of Shanghai illustrates the symbiotic relationship between PISA/Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the domestic education system that is characterised by both dependence and independence.

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