OECD’s Ten Steps to Equity in Education as a Source of Policy Learning for the 2023 Education Vision: Problem-Driven Content Analyses

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the Ministry of National Education’s 2018 Education Vision document may have drawn upon the OECD report No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education in the context of policy learning, taking into account the OECD’s soft power influence on education policies and the development of equitable practices. The document was analyzed through problem-driven content analyses. In the course of the analysis, the problem areas and proposed solutions identified in the OECD report were compared with the objectives outlined in the 2023 Education Vision. The similarities between the two documents were then examined within the framework of instrumental and social learning as forms of policy learning. The findings reveal that in areas such as early school leaving, grade repetition, informed demand in academic selection, prioritization in the vertical distribution of resources, and quantitative equity targets for disadvantaged schools, no evidence of policy learning was observed. On the other hand, objectives related to early childhood education and the allocation of resources to regions with the greatest need appear to exemplify social learning. Instrumental learning, in contrast, was found to occur across a broader spectrum, including the examination system in transitions between education levels, flexible curriculum arrangements, strengthening vocational and technical education, and monitoring student achievement data. Overall, the study demonstrates that the 2023 Education Vision document embodies a rather weak conceptualization of equity in terms of policy learning. Furthermore, it contributes to a broader understanding of how policy learning approaches and different models of equity can influence the design of more equitable education systems.