Testing to destruction? Inclusion is a central principle in modern education, yet this does not seem to be compatible with the extensive testing of students to identify those with the most talent and motivation. Dr Christian Ydesen and his research team aim to analyse this dilemma, research which holds important implications for the education sector in general and the individual student in particular. As children progress through education they typically go through several stages of tests and assessments, the results of which will then guide their future direction in life. On the surface, this testing agenda seems to be incompatible with the ideal of inclusion in education, a paradox that Dr Christian Ydesen is exploring in his research. “Testing is essentially about identifying who is performing well and who can go in which directions in education, whereas inclusion is tantamount to saying everyone is good enough, everyone can contribute,” he explains. Based at Aalborg University in Denmark, Dr Ydesen is the Principal Investigator of a project looking at how different countries balance social inclusion in education with the need to test and assess pupils, focusing mainly on compulsory education. “This is an international comparative project, looking at education systems in Argentina, England, Israel, Denmark and China,” he says. These countries all subscribe to ideals around inclusion in education, while also running testing programmes which assess students’ ability. The idea in the project is to investigate Education Access under the Reign of Testing and Inclusion Principal Investigator, Professor Christian Ydesen (MSO), PhD Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University Kroghstraede 3 9220 Aalborg Ø T: +45 29 72 44 81 E: cyd@hum.aau.dk W: www.en.aau.dk W: https://www.learning. aau.dk/forskning/centreprojekter/testinginclusion/ Christian Ydesen, Professor (MSO) at Aalborg University, Denmark. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Edinburgh (2008-2009, 2016), the University of Birmingham (2013), and the University of Oxford (2019) and published several articles on topics such as educational testing, international organisations, accountability, educational psychology and diversity in education from historical and international perspectives.
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how different countries balance these two concerns, using a very open definition of what a test actually is. “We want to ensure that we don’t exclude practices which could later prove to be important. A test could be multiple choice, an oral examination or a penand-paper based assessment for example,” points out Dr Ydesen. Researchers are working with a similarly open definition of inclusion, based around looking at how these different countries deal with diversity. “What practices
servants at the municipal and national levels, to assess their priorities and ideas. “How do teachers actually work in the classroom? Do they work alone, or do they have support?” he says. The hope is that this research will generate useful insights for policy-makers and decision makers at different levels, helping to inform the development of teaching practice, although Dr Ydesen says this is not an easy area to change. “Teaching practice changes to some extent with each new generation. But generally speaking, education has historically been a very conservative endeavour,” he says. “There have been many educational experiments over time. The normal pattern is that as soon as these experiments end, business as usual resumes.” This work touches on fundamental questions about the purpose of education, whether it’s primarily to help students develop skills they will need in their working lives, or if it is more about instilling certain values. While these two goals are not
Testing is essentially about identifying who is performing well and who can go in which direction in education, whereas inclusion is tantamount to saying everyone is good enough, everyone can contribute. have been enacted in these different national contexts? What works well, what doesn’t work so well?” asks Dr Ydesen. “By looking at this diverse range of countries, we hope to identify patterns and look at different practices with respect to testing and inclusion.” The nature of the teaching methodology is an important consideration in research. Dr Ydesen and his colleagues in the project will analyse policy documents and hold interviews with stakeholders in the education system, including teachers, school leaders and civil
mutually exclusive, teachers may place differing levels of emphasis on them. “A testing regime is really about measuring the outcomes of education, whereas inclusion is more formative, about citizenship,” says Dr Ydesen. The hope is that the project will make an important contribution to the ongoing debate around the balance between inclusion and testing within education systems. “We hope to provide valuable new insights for stakeholders at different levels of education systems,” concludes Dr Ydesen.
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