Hamilton, M. (2018) Contributing to the common good? : Media coverage of the international largescale assessment of adult skills (PIAAC) in four national contexts. Studies in the Education of Adults, 50 (2). pp. 167-184. ISSN 0266-0830
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Abstract
This paper focuses on the rapidly expanding field of largescale international assessment surveys and their impact on the field of adult education and learning. I take the case of OECD’s survey assessing adult skills (PIAAC) and situate it within the wider context of the datification of educational policy and practice. The claims made for the policy effects of surveys like PIAAC are far-reaching and include the promotion of economic growth and more inclusive and equitable societies. I examine how these claims are translated into national contexts by examining documentary data collected from the OECDs publicity materials and media coverage of the second round PIAAC survey findings in 2016 in four of the nine countries that took part: Singapore, Greece, New Zealand and Slovenia. Using a socio-material approach, I discuss how these discourses were managed by the OECD and national actors and show how the survey findings are framed and interpreted through existing public debates. The paper concludes that international assessments do not serve the goals of growth and equity in any straightforward way, since many interests and contextual factors may intervene to create a mismatch between the testers’ intentions, media discourse and policy outcomes. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.