PISA, policymaking and political pantomime: education policy referencing between England and Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Since the mid-1980s, a number of East Asian societies have consistently performed well in international tests, and their education systems have emerged as models of ‘best practice’, including Hong Kong, which has been extensively referenced by politicians and their advisers in England. In parallel, local dissatisfaction with the education system in Hong Kong has prompted major education reforms. This mismatch between the perceptions of the Hong Kong education system of the two policy communities is explored using documentary analysis and interviews with policymakers and other key stakeholders. We analyse the ways in which features of Hong Kong’s education system are reconstructed and projected in policymaking in England and argue that the referencing to Hong Kong in England is akin to a form of political theatre, reminiscent of a pantomime, with stereotyped villains, heroes and fairy godmothers, narratives of good conquering evil, and comical set-pieces. We argue that these elements provide the means for both constructing and validating simple causal claims and their associated policy actions.

KEYWORDS:

• Policy borrowing
• education reform
• international tests

Acknowledgements

We received valuable feedback on this paper from Euan Auld, Emma Buchtel, Benjamin Chang, Choi Taehee, and Elizabeth Jones, as well as anonymous reviewers. Views expressed are those of the authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Bob Adamson is Chair Professor of Curriculum Reform and UNESCO Chairholder in Technical and Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning at The Education University of Hong Kong.

Katherine Forestier is an education consultant, journalist and Adjunct Assistant Professor at The Education University of Hong Kong.

Paul Morris is Professor of Comparative Education at UCL Institute of Education, University College London.

Christine Han is Senior Lecturer in Education at UCL Institute of Education, University College London.

Additional information

Funding

We would like to acknowledge the funding received from the UK Economic and Social Research Council/Hong Kong Research Grants Council Joint Research Scheme [grant number ES/K010433/1].