Presentation made at OECD Conference on Making Reform Happen, 25-27 November. Conference details at http://bit.ly/gwU0mA

1. Making Reform Happen
Lessons from Education
Deborah Roseveare
Head of Division
Education and Training Policy
Directorate for Education
OECD
25 November 2010
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2. Outline
• Key lessons from Education Ministries
• Case study 1: Teacher evaluation in Portugal
• Case study 2: Improving schools in Mexico
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3. Key lessons from education ministries
OECD Education Policy Committee meeting at CEO level
Seoul, Korea, 2008
Key messages
Making reform happen needs to:
•Actively engage stakeholders in formulating and implementing
policy responses
•Make effective use of evidence to shape policies
•Explain clearly underlying principles and aims of reforms
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4. Key lessons from education ministries
Improving school outcomes
In building a common understanding among stakeholders, also
shift towards building a self-adjusting system, with:
• rich feedback at all levels
• incentives to react
• tools that strengthen capacities to deliver better educational
outcomes
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5. Key lessons from education ministries
Improving school outcomes
• Improvements in outcomes take longer than election cycle
• Getting evidence of improved outcomes takes more time
• There are no simple action plans to reform complex
educational systems
All political players and stakeholders need to develop more
realistic expectations about the pace and nature of reforms
to improve outcomes
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6. Key lessons from education ministries
Improving school outcomes
• Teachers need reassurance during the reform process that:
– they will be given the tools they need to change
– they will be treated as professionals, motivated to improve
student outcomes
• Countries need to invest in change management skills in
school leadership and the education system more broadly
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7. Key lessons from education ministries
Improving school outcomes
• Evidence could more effectively guide policy-making
• Policy diagnosis can draw on and combine evidence from
– international benchmarks
– national surveys
– quality assurance agencies (e.g. inspectorates)
• Evidence most helpful when fed back to schools with tools
for using information to improve outcomes.
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8. Key lessons from education ministries
Improving school outcomes
• Shift towards an evidence-rich policy environment, with
intensive, open discussion about different types of evidence
• But evidence also has limits
– Educational goals and objectives should not be driven by
what can be easily measured.
– Collecting data without using it effectively generates
resistance and frustration
• Evidence serves to inform policy dialogue, but often cannot
give very concrete and specific answers to policy questions
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9. Case study 1: Teacher evaluation in Portugal
Context
• New teacher evaluation system put in place, constrained by:
– alignment with civil service conditions
– need to end automatic progression to top of salary scale
– traditionally weak school autonomy and management
– lack of evaluation culture
• High levels of resistance and widespread teacher protests
• Reform turned into a political issue
Minister asked OECD to advise on development and
implementation of new system of teacher evaluation
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10. Case study 1: Teacher evaluation in Portugal
OECD approach
• Brought together independent, external review team
(OECD staff plus experts from UK, Netherlands, Chile)
• Visited Portugal, met and listened to wide range of
stakeholders, including in 10 schools chosen by OECD
• Prepared a report with set of recommendations
Widespread acceptance in Portugal that OECD review
recommendations provided the basis for moving towards
successful implementation of teacher evaluation
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11. Case study 1: Teacher evaluation in Portugal
Key elements relevant to Making Reform Happen
• Listened to teachers’ concerns as professionals
• Identified where teacher evaluation implementation needed
more support
– Capacity building in evaluation
– Safeguards on fairness
• Clarified where more policy coherence was needed, linking
teacher evaluation and other policies
– School leadership
– School evaluation
– Salary and career progression
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12. Case study 1: Teacher evaluation in Portugal
Key elements relevant to Making Reform Happen
• Clarified there was broad agreement on goals and objectives
• Acknowledged points of contention
• Emphasised importance of building on gains already made,
avoid going backwards
• Sought to depoliticise issue and facilitate national dialogue
on how to move forward
• Laid out broad policy directions without being prescriptive
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13. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
Context
• Mobilisation of concerns over low performance in PISA and
government ambition to improve school performance
• Government negotiated accord with SNTE (teachers’ union)
Alianza para la Calidad de la Educación – Alliance for the
Quality of Education
• Federal government and states share responsibilities for
education, after decentralisation in early 1990s.
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14. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
OECD approach
• Mexico asked OECD for assistance in implementing aspects
of accord, concerning school management and teachers
• OECD deliverables included:
– Analysis of Mexican and relevant international practices
– Advice and feedback on areas within the accord
– Communication with stakeholders to promote reform
• OECD developed new methodology to support education
policy implementation
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15. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
OECD methodology to support policy implementation
• Established a steering group to:
– combine Mexican and international expertise
– provide independent advice and support on
• adapting international experience to Mexico
• design and successful implementation in Mexico
– liaise with relevant stakeholders
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16. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
OECD methodology to support policy implementation
• Emphasised communications and workshops to:
– Develop knowledge needed for recommendations
– Consult and engage with stakeholders
– Disseminate key messages and international practices
– Encourage reflection and build support for change
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17. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
OECD methodology to support policy implementation
• Developed OECD-Harvard Seminar for Leaders in
Educational Reform involving:
– Cross-section of high-level policy makers
– Active study visits to look at other countries
– Developing an implementable action plan for Mexico
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18. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
Outputs
• Final report and recommendations
• Dissemination events involving wide
range of stakeholders
• YouTube video
• Final recommendation:
– to create an implementation working
committee to develop work plans with
timelines and budget in each area
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19. Case study 2: Improving Schools in Mexico
Key elements relevant to Making Reform Happen
• greater understanding among stakeholders of each others’
roles and perspectives
• greater commitment to work together on lifting performance
• stronger capacity for undertaking education policy reform
• strong Mexican ownership of recommendations
• obstacles to reform identified and recommendations realistic
• long-term vision as well as immediate steps to take
• OECD in facilitating role, bringing international expertise to
support Mexico’s reforms
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20. Thank you
www.oecd.org/edu
www.oecd.org/edu/teacherevaluationportugal
www.oecd.org/edu/calidadeducativa
deborah.roseveare@oecd.org
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