Knowledge, Expertise and Policy in the Exams crisis in England
Please join us on the day of the event using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86784669290?pwd=RHVxYUkreVNiSFh3SUFydk5qbUhrUT09
Education has been heavily impacted globally by the pandemic, yet educational knowledge and expertise do not seem to be strongly referenced in policy discussions and decisions about, for example, closing and reopening schools, the effectiveness of distance learning, or the most appropriate forms of assessment. Examinations policy in ‘normal’ times contains a number of tensions, for example, concerns to maintain standards while recognising improvement, along with questions of fairness, parental pressures, and issues around public understanding of assessment practices. These are heightened in crisis, generating intense public interest, raising questions regarding governance and regulation and increasing pressure on political leadership. This seminar presents findings from current research to offer some possibilities for understanding the sources of knowledge and the forms of expertise that were mobilised or not in relation to examinations policy in England in 2020, where the cancellation of national examinations, and outcry about the impact of the algorithm that replaced them, led to a very public policy reversal.
Date: 29 November 2021, 17:00 (Monday, 8th week, Michaelmas 2021)
Venue: Venue to be announced
Speakers: Prof Margaret Arnott (University of West Scotland), Professor Jo-Anne Baird (University of Oxford), Prof Emeritus Jenny Ozga (University of Oxford)
Organising department: Department of Education
Organiser: Professor Sibel Erduran (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: communications@education.ox.ac.uk
Host: Professor Sibel Erduran (University of Oxford)
Part of: Department of Education Public Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Cost: FREE
Audience: Public
Editor: Lani Fukada