Page 37 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 37
average, which is all the greater as a result of increasing competitiveness 37
in the globalised world.5
The next aspect of the mode of governance that also emphasises the sig-
nificance of data in influencing participants’ activities and behaviour is gov-
ernance by comparison. Comparisons (commonly shown as an international
spectacle of achievement or underachievement on comparative performance
scales) strengthen participants’ mutual responsibility for achieving common
goals, legitimise political actions and thus create a new mode of governance.
They mostly encompass a rationalistic approach to policy making, wherein the
(assessed) participants are implicitly under pressure to get as close as possible
to what is considered ‘the best’ in accordance with special criteria within a cer-
tain context of comparisons. In relation to this, the assumption is brought to
the forefront that the most efficient (rationalist approach) and the most suita-
ble (constructivist approach) decisions are taken on the basis of objective da-
ta (March and Olsen, 1998). This objectivity within the European educational
space is enabled by means of quantitative indicators that guarantee the com-
parability of educational systems and make it possible for member states to
identify and eliminate certain shortcomings of their own educational systems
on the basis of mutual comparisons. According to Schludi (2003), international
comparisons thus exert a positive pressure on national political actors. Šenber-
ga (2005: 15) believes this is a case of positive pressure that may result in poli-
cy improvements at a national level. Some other authors (e.g. Nòvoa and Yariv-
Mashal, 2003) point out that in this respect, governance by comparison, not
only creates convergence (of goals and outcomes), but may also lead to uni-
formity of activity and thinking. Others (Radaelli, 2003; Haverland, 2009; Lange
and Alexiadou, 2010) even point out that the circumstances as part of which
countries overly rely on the objectivity of international comparisons, provide
room for political influence of international institutions and (or) certain (influ-
ential) member states.
From the perspective of social constructivists, formulation of (mainly
transnational) policies represents the governance of problems. Transnational
policy makers originate from different countries and differ in terms of their ex-
periences, values, norms and beliefs. Common cooperation is only possible if
they succeed in achieving a common understanding of the necessity of joint
cooperation (Paster, 2005; Bernhard, 2011). The essential process in relation to
this is joint identification of the problem, which is a prerequisite for a joint re-
sponse and cooperation (Hoppe, 2011: 50). Governance, as far a transnation-
al problem resolution is concerned, is when a group of countries recognise a
common policy problem and unite their efforts in making plans for its resolu-
5 Recently, a worldwide belief has been noticeable that the results of countries participating in PISA
are an indicator of their future economic development (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2010), which
clearly shows the attachment of PISA results on the concept ‘a knowledge-based economy
academic (under)achievement of slovenian adolescents within a european context
in the globalised world.5
The next aspect of the mode of governance that also emphasises the sig-
nificance of data in influencing participants’ activities and behaviour is gov-
ernance by comparison. Comparisons (commonly shown as an international
spectacle of achievement or underachievement on comparative performance
scales) strengthen participants’ mutual responsibility for achieving common
goals, legitimise political actions and thus create a new mode of governance.
They mostly encompass a rationalistic approach to policy making, wherein the
(assessed) participants are implicitly under pressure to get as close as possible
to what is considered ‘the best’ in accordance with special criteria within a cer-
tain context of comparisons. In relation to this, the assumption is brought to
the forefront that the most efficient (rationalist approach) and the most suita-
ble (constructivist approach) decisions are taken on the basis of objective da-
ta (March and Olsen, 1998). This objectivity within the European educational
space is enabled by means of quantitative indicators that guarantee the com-
parability of educational systems and make it possible for member states to
identify and eliminate certain shortcomings of their own educational systems
on the basis of mutual comparisons. According to Schludi (2003), international
comparisons thus exert a positive pressure on national political actors. Šenber-
ga (2005: 15) believes this is a case of positive pressure that may result in poli-
cy improvements at a national level. Some other authors (e.g. Nòvoa and Yariv-
Mashal, 2003) point out that in this respect, governance by comparison, not
only creates convergence (of goals and outcomes), but may also lead to uni-
formity of activity and thinking. Others (Radaelli, 2003; Haverland, 2009; Lange
and Alexiadou, 2010) even point out that the circumstances as part of which
countries overly rely on the objectivity of international comparisons, provide
room for political influence of international institutions and (or) certain (influ-
ential) member states.
From the perspective of social constructivists, formulation of (mainly
transnational) policies represents the governance of problems. Transnational
policy makers originate from different countries and differ in terms of their ex-
periences, values, norms and beliefs. Common cooperation is only possible if
they succeed in achieving a common understanding of the necessity of joint
cooperation (Paster, 2005; Bernhard, 2011). The essential process in relation to
this is joint identification of the problem, which is a prerequisite for a joint re-
sponse and cooperation (Hoppe, 2011: 50). Governance, as far a transnation-
al problem resolution is concerned, is when a group of countries recognise a
common policy problem and unite their efforts in making plans for its resolu-
5 Recently, a worldwide belief has been noticeable that the results of countries participating in PISA
are an indicator of their future economic development (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2010), which
clearly shows the attachment of PISA results on the concept ‘a knowledge-based economy
academic (under)achievement of slovenian adolescents within a european context
