This case study introduces critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) as a systematic approach for reviewing and synthesizing a diverse body of research evidence to develop fresh insights on an issue of concern. Unlike aggregative forms of systematic review, which are more familiar in the field of education, CIS does not require commensurability…

This article characterizes and reflects on the possible uses of early warning systems (hereafter, EWS) in the region as effective tools to support educational pathways, whenever they identify risks of dropout, difficulties for the achievement of substantive learning, and the possibility of organizing specific actions. This article was developed in…

This systematic review presents the first synthesis of the scientific literature on estimating school and teacher/class effects on student academic performance using random-effects (RE) models with three or more levels. The review delves into the theoretical framework underpinning the estimation of educational effects, the associated statistical…

Data infrastructures are suffused with stories of their past, present, and future that govern their use. This article draws on research into 'OneSchool', the state schooling data infrastructure used to manage student data in Queensland, Australia. The political, social, and technical histories of OneSchool's development are shown to govern its…

Drawing on assemblage theory (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987; DeLanda, 2006), this conceptual chapter seeks to provide an analytical lens for examining the power and capacity of Big Data analytics to exercise territorializing and deterritorializing effects on compound polities and supranational organizations. More specifically, the modern massive…

Data infrastructures exist in a variety of formats. This article draws on the insights of senior personnel involved in developing a new data dashboard in one state jurisdiction in Australia. While literature on dashboards often focuses on the teachers and learners influenced by them, there is less attention to those involved in their development…

For any government, difficult choices must be made about how and where to prioritize any school construction. In the absence of data-driven decision-making, these choices typically will be made based on opinions; when that is the case, the most powerful people's opinions tend to dominate. On the other hand, data help us ensure all the children's…

Although international organisations (IOs) are recognised as important actors in education, their involvement in vocational education and training (VET) remains underexamined. This article reviews the current state of research on IOs in VET, focusing on the ILO, OECD, UNESCO, and the World Bank, through an integrative literature review of 174…

This systematic review examines the extent to which educational policy and practice in Turkey are informed by research evidence. Drawing on national and international literature, the review explores the theoretical foundations of evidence-based policymaking, the current status of research-informed policy in Turkey, and the challenges faced in…

Does empirical evidence or ideology most influence homeschooling policy? It depends. Where empirical research and social experience abound, regulations seem less restrictive but where there is less data or experience policies seem more restrictive and ideologically driven. By comparing Europe and the United States with a look at South Africa,…

This paper contributes to a growing body of research on the increasing datafication of schooling, which has become a salient topic in comparative education and education policy research. Specifically, we address the rising scholarly concern about the meaning of (comparing) contexts as bounded localities facing an increasingly fluid and generative…

This article explores the nexus among research methodology, classroom data and instructional policy enactment through content analysis of lesson transcripts. It is a multiple-case research of four Zimbabwean secondary school geography teachers' classroom practices. Coded lesson-transcripts and post-lesson teacher-interview transcripts subjected to…

The use of data for governance purposes has been widely recognised as a way for national authorities to coordinate their activities across administrative levels and improve educational quality. This places the mid-central authority--in many countries the municipal level--in the midst of modern education governing. This article reports a case study…

A socio-legal analysis of the UK governance regime for data collected from children at school for teaching and learning contrasts the government-mandated data collection by schools to inform educational policy and planning with data processed and shared with third parties by commercial EdTech providers. We find the former is effectively governed…

Although the number of countries conducting large-scale assessments has significantly increased over the past two decades, this has not necessarily led to the effective use of learning assessment data in policymaking and planning. To better understand the reasons for this, the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)…