The 20 years long OECD membership of Hungary was the topic of the third afternoon tea of the year.
Participants were Dr Gábor Halász (member of the OECD management, Professor at ELTE and scientific advisor of our Institute), Zoltán Loboda (member of the Educational Committee of the OECD between 2004-2010), László Limbacher, (current Hungarian Representative in the Educational Committee of the OECD) and István Vilmos Kovács (Hungary’s former OECD representative and current Professor at ELTE).
In his presentation 20 years in the OECD, Zoltán Loboda listed the activities of the OECD which influence the education policy of countries, based on the relevance, authenticity and professional-scientific authority of the organisation. These include thematic networks, international measurements (PISA, ISSUS, TALIS, PIAAC), dissemination of knowledge (in Hungary, workshops have been organised in the following topics: higher education, formative evaluation, ICT, school leadership), country reports and studies, developing education statistics and indicators (and publishing Education at a Glance), collecting best practices and innovations, analysing trends etc. Hungary has participated in a number of thematic programs in the last 20 years, including adult learning, vocational education, informal and non-formal learning, transition, lifelong learning and its financing, school leadership, equity, teacher policy, frameworks for measurements and evaluation and early childhood education. We have also participated in various thematic networks, including INES (statistics and indicators), measurement of competences, school environment, higher education management, special needs education (ENSI) and environmental education (which was coordinated by our colleague Attila Varga). OECD aims to support global strategic thinking in member countries. Hungary’s activity in the OECD had its peak at the beginning of the 2000s. The use of OECD knowledge was strongest in the areas of strategic planning, analysis, and thematising the agenda of development and education policy, (and it is also much used by education researchers) however OECD knowledge at the level of implementation did not prevail.
Dr Gábor Halász explained about the global impact of the OECD on the development of education. This was undoubtedly enormous, but besides the positive effects, it had negative ones as well, for example the impact PISA had on the spread of multiple choice tests and teaching to the test. According to the professor, the impact of OECD is generally stronger in other member countries than it is in Hungary. The organisation could be characterised as a very innovative cognitive and conceptual knowledge-centre, which has a significant ideological effect. The ideology of the OECD is committed to economic growth, to the liberal market economy and plural democracy, social partnership and dialogue, inclusion, equity, sustainability, political transparency and data-based political communication. Decision-making based on consensus is more characteristic than voting. Other positive aspects of the organisation include equity between bigger and smaller countries and honesty of country representatives in their attitude towards tackling their challenges. The widespread authority of the organisation was slightly shaken in 2008 (because of the economic crisis), however it quickly recovered its reputation by revising its economic and social theory framework and methodology. EU institutions also rely on the knowledge of the OECD and work closely together. Horizontal strategies of the OECD have a significant global impact, by the notions they use (for example user driven innovation or the use of skills that students already have), as they enter national strategies. The media is also a tool by which the OECD influences the world. Very important OECD fora are Teachers’ Summits, and Education Industry Summits.
A discussion followed about the role and significance of the OECD with our colleague Krisztián Széll as moderator. István Vilmos Kovács mentioned the effect of OECD on the thinking of members – for example their focus on the future rather than daily political fights and the wide range of topics it deals with, such as brain research. He also highlighted the creative and intelligent communication of the organisation. Gábor Halász explained the process of the creation of the agenda in the OECD. László Limbacher emphasised that the OECD promotes evidence-based operation, it does not only set objectives but it is also involved in the realisation (reform, implementation)) and it has a very integrated agenda.
Krisztián Széll asked about criticism surrounding the OECD (for example that by PISA, it interferes with the public education of member states, and that it has a very one-sided – economic – view on the role of education). Zoltán Loboda emphasised that the data and knowledge of the OECD cannot be bypassed. István Vilmos Kovács added that the OECD has a real political effect, which can be positive: based on PISA data, political decisions can be made which had been debated or delayed. Even if one thinks that the OECD puts too much emphasis on the economic outcomes of education, it has a very important message about the education systems which cannot be overlooked. Gábor Halász added that as an IGO, the OECD’s mandate is renewed every 5 years, which means that every 5 year, countries have the potential possibility to put an end to the work of the organisation. Also, its claims are under the scrutiny of member states, so they must be very well-grounded. According to Dr Halász, the humanist commitment of the OECD is stronger than its neoliberal economic views. László Limbacher added that the OECD is indeed a very rich source of data, however the real question is their use and drawing the right conclusions from them.
About Krisztián Széll’s last question on the Hungarian use of PISA data, István Vilmos Kovács warned that the media mostly deals with it very superfluously. Also, PISA is only a small part of the professional knowledge of the OECD, summarised in various publications. It would be very important to have good (shortened, annotated) Hungarian translations of these. Also, Hungary should participate in reviews – in order to profit from it, it must be taken seriously. Gábor Halász agreed that the right answer to PISA is an intelligent and sophisticated knowledge-management. A good example of this is TALIS, on which other Hungarian research are based. László Limbacher mentioned as a positive aspect that Hungary participates in almost all major measurements, such s PISA, TALIS and now also PIAAC.
