Abstract
ABSTRACTNational and regional variations in school systems, have often been explained in comparative school governance research in the Nordic countries with variations in long-standing traditions in curriculum development, characterised by a dichotomy between an Anglo-American curriculum tradition and a German/European continental tradition of Didaktik. These categories have been employed to explain the characteristics of nation-specific teaching professions, such as the Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, or German, US and English. This article suggests that the dichotomies in question complicate understandings of teachers and how they are governed in different national contexts. We investigate these relations by an analysis of quantitative data from the OECD TALIS study on how teachers receive formal feedback and appraisal in six countries, and an analysis of qualitative data in feedback technologies in Germany and Norway. Drawing on the empirical material, we suggest that the Didaktik-curriculum dichotomy might overemphasise the role of state governance in relations between different actors in school systems. Instead, the article imply that we need to discuss the role of parents and peers in educational governance more thoroughly. To further theory, it is suggested investigating teachers in the field of tension between state and civil society, and the role of teachers as civil servants and/or administrators.
Highlights
Several countries have implemented a relatively new set of governing approaches that emphasise performance measurement
Following earlier classifications (Tahirsilaj 2019; Wermke & Höstfält, 2014), we developed a continuum between country groups that represents a more systems-oriented teaching method using a so-called Didaktik understanding, at the one end, and countries building on a so-called curriculum rationale in public education, at the other
A qualitative glance – new government technologies and teacher practise in Germany and Norway. After this quantitative perspective, which challenges the assumed existing relations of a Didaktik-curriculum dichotomy and the nature of different national teaching professions, we argue that it might be interesting to gain a deeper insight into feedback and data practices in two of the national contexts
Summary
Several countries have implemented a relatively new set of governing approaches that emphasise performance measurement. National and local authorities, school leaders, and teachers across much of the western world are expected to initiate concrete actions to improve student achievement (Altrichter & Maag Merki, 2016; Bondorf, 2012). This development can be considered part of a contemporary global policy message, evident in education reforms within the Nordic context, which is communicated through similar concepts (e.g. accountability, evidence and decentralisation) that tend to lead to developments in education directed towards achieving universal goals (Prøitz, Mausethagen, & Skedsmo, 2017; Simola, Rinne, Varjo, & Kauko, 2013).
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