“As researchers, we must take action: consider new evidence, analyse studies, apply different approaches, and then gather the best available data using the largest international datasets,” says Dr. Rolf Strietholt, a world-class specialist who heads the Research and Analysis Team at the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
During a guest seminar at the Educational Research Institute – National Research Institute (IBE PIB), he presented the latest trends in causal analysis using data from international student assessments. Poland is a member of the IEA, and its representative in the organisation is IBE PIB.
The ideal educational system – can it be designed?
“Having worked with data for many years, I have heard countless discussions about policies that rely solely on correlation rather than on a specific model. It happens that someone simply looks at the survey results and says, “Oh, this country is great. Let’s do it like they do.” However, other factors are ignored in such cases,” emphasized Dr. Strietholt during the seminar.
“Ideally, we would have experiments, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses—anything that provides a basis for saying, ‘We know what works in education.’ On the other hand,” he added, “these studies are often based on small samples of students from selected countries. If I asked you to design the ideal education system in your country based on this, would you be convinced that the reform would succeed?” he asked.
“I believe that as researchers, we must take action: consider new evidence, analyse studies, apply various approaches, and then gather the best available data, including utilising the largest international datasets,” stated Dr. Strietholt.
Research-Based Education Policy
“The entire research world is moving toward cause-and-effect analyses, and this trend will continue to grow. As a result, we can, for example, find out whether it is actually true that if students have more algebra in school, they perform better in algebra compared to other countries,” said Dr. Maciej Jakubowski, director of IBE PIB, during the meeting.
“Does a change in the core curriculum automatically translate into results?” asked IBE PIB’s director. In his view, the analysis methods presented by Dr. Rolf Strietholt allow for a more accurate assessment of the effects of educational policy. “They are also consistent with the Institute’s strategy, in which we focus on experimental and quasi-experimental research, bringing us closer to understanding what really works in education. This is just the beginning of thinking about higher standards in educational analysis, but we are glad to be part of it,” noted Dr. Jakubowski.
The meeting also featured presentations of methods that potentially lead to a better understanding of how educational practices translate into students’ academic achievement.