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Regional Studies in Non-Western Countries, and the Case of SACMEQ

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International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

Large comparative studies within regions are rather new phenomena that are particularly visible in non-Western countries coinciding with a call for Educational for All. While individual countries in non-western regions have participated in some cases for decades in international large-scale studies, the presence of regional studies dates back only to the 1990s. These include studies found in Latin America, Francophone Africa, and Southern and East Africa as well as a recent international study focusing on the “developing countries.” In particular, the regional studies in Southern and Eastern Africa started in the latter half of the 1990s when concerted efforts of both the World Bank and former IEA researchers under the auspices of UNESCO initiated the Southern and Eastern Consortium for Educational Quality (SACMEQ) studies driven by policymakers.

This chapter outlines the main aims, designs, and frameworks of these studies, with a specific focus on SACMEQ. SACMEQ is of particular interest given that only policymakers within national ministries of education were appointed to lead the national efforts within each participating country and therefore had to be trained in research and assessment methods. The policy-specific lens and initial omission of a research imperative set SACMEQ apart at its initiation. These and other differences between the non-Western studies and the larger global IEA and OECD studies are discussed, including the specific relevance of the studies for participating countries. Finally, the chapter concludes with a brief reflection and outlook on upcoming changes related to the regional studies and their future orientation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Africa Centre for Scholarship, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Sarah J. Howie

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  1. Sarah J. Howie
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Howie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education and School Research, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Trude Nilsen

  2. IEA Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Agnes Stancel-Piątak

  3. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jan-Eric Gustafsson

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  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Sigrid Blömeke

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Howie, S.J. (2022). Regional Studies in Non-Western Countries, and the Case of SACMEQ. In: Nilsen, T., Stancel-Piątak, A., Gustafsson, JE. (eds) International Handbook of Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88178-8_18

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