International Education Surveys and the Challenges of Education Governance within the European Union


Louis Volante, Brock University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

The European Union (EU) - comprised of 28 member states with individual sovereignty in the formation and implementation of education policy- has developed research and communication strategies to facilitate the exchange of best practices, gathering and dissemination of education statistics, and perhaps most importantly, advice and support for national policy reform. Additionally, shared programmes have been implemented across this continent, which have essentially led to the formation of one of the largest transnational policy networks in the world. This presentation discusses the influence of prominent international education surveys on education governance within the EU – particularly those administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), outlining the key characteristics of the OECD surveys and the most salient EU findings. We discuss the contribution of the emerging EU governance for the quality of education while looking at the challenges ahead.

About the speaker
Louis Volante is Professor of Education at Brock University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His research is focused on the following interconnected themes: global governance of education; education policy analysis; international achievement studies; and education reform and innovation. Professor Volante’s publications have been widely referenced by scholars in more than 30 countries, and every continent. His research has been supported by Departments of Education and external funding agencies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Venue: UNU-MERIT, Boschstraat 24, room 0.16

Date: 16 November 2015

Time: 13:30 - 14:30  CET


UNU-MERIT