Abstract
This paper addressed in what ways national curriculum policy in Norway and Brazil adopted the global accountability logic of which OECD and other international organizations are proponents. It borrowed from an institutional logics perspective to explain the complexity found within the accountability logic across these two nation-states. The method used was thematic analysis of the national curriculum policy. The findings revealed that national curriculum policy is informed by the international context, but translated within national contexts. Norway elaborated the accountability logic to encompass multiple aspects of this logic that reinforced each other to create a cohesive policy. In Brazil, tensions between different social groups resulted in a curriculum policy with contradictory aspects of the accountability logic. The translations of the global accountability logic reflected the context-specific features of each country and illustrated both homogeneity and heterogeneity that still exists in different educational contexts.
Highlights
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), facilitated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has been a driver for national educational reforms with increasing accountability (Grek, 2009; SteinerKhamsi, 2003)
Accountability and education for all Norway aligns with the global accountability logic that connects accountability measures with the right to education, as disseminated by international organizations (e.g. UNESCO, 2017; OECD, 2016; Schleicher, 2019)
The Norwegian documents highlight that the school’s role in today's’ society is to give all students opportunities to learn and develop their abilities, regardless of their backgrounds, as the example below: A good school educates and forms, evens out social disparities, providing equal opportunities regardless of whether you grow up in Alta, in Alna, or in Arendal (MER, 2017, p.6, authors’ translation). Both Reports to the Parliament (MER, 2016; 2017) use the disparities in the results of national tests to argue for a good school for all
Summary
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), facilitated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has been a driver for national educational reforms with increasing accountability (Grek, 2009; SteinerKhamsi, 2003). To address national specificities in the study of policy adoption this paper borrows from an institutional logics perspective, a branch of institutional theory that focuses on how belief systems shape and are shaped by individuals and organizations (Thornton, Ocasio & Lounsbury, 2012; Thornton & Ocasio, 2013; Powell & Bromley, 2013; Parish, 2019). It focuses on the following cases, one developed country (Norway) and one developing country (Brazil)
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