Implications of International Studies in Mathematics Achievement (such as TIMSS) in the east-west context
What international studies provide?
An international study such as TIMSS provides the opportunity for participating countries to make comparisons at the international level. This is of particular interest to policy makers and educators, as the quality, efficiency and accountability of education systems and teaching have become important issues in the modern world. To be able to assess procedures in place and make improvements to current practice, it is essential to have a reference point, and an international one if available, as the basis of evaluation.
What information are policy makers and educators seeking? First, they are interested to know where their students stand in mathematics achievement, as compared to students from other countries. Secondly, information on student background, school resources, teaching practice and education policies are all useful for forming a whole picture about mathematics education in a country.
However, what is of more importance is knowing about the causal relationship between the above two, that is, what are the factors that lead to good mathematics achievement. The immediate publications from an international study do not usually provide such in-depth analyses. However, the database from an international study does provide a wealth of information that will enable further studies to be done to find the important factors behind higher mathematics achievement.
Since results from studies such as TIMSS showed that there is a marked difference between Eastern and Western countries in terms of mathematics achievement, these studies provide excellent opportunities for identifying key factors in mathematics teaching and learning. This opportunity to “learning from each other” is probably one of the most important outcomes of international studies.
Areas of comparison using results from international studies
Identifying the causal relationships between achievement and other factors is more easily said then done. In general, the relationships are complex, interlinked, and sometimes culturally specific. Very often, one can only look at a small number of issues at a time. We list a number of broad areas for which data are typically available from international studies so comparative studies could be carried out.
Curriculum
The differences between curricula in various countries would appear to be important in explaining variation in students’ performance in mathematics. After all, one would conjecture that students’ mathematics knowledge and skills would depend greatly on what they were taught. Are there significant differences between Eastern and Western countries’ mathematics curricula?
To begin with, how does one define “curriculum” in a country? TIMSS, for example, divides curriculum into three sub-areas: the intended curriculum, the implemented curriculum and the attained curriculum (Robitaille and Maxwell, 1996).
The intended curriculum is the curriculum as set down by the education systems. This is what the students are expected to learn.
The implemented curriculum is what is actually taught in schools. This includes teaching practices and opportunities for students to learn mathematics in the classrooms.
The attained curriculum is about the attained achievement levels of students, as measured by some benchmarks, such as through an international study.
Comparisons between Eastern and Western countries in the above three areas will be of great interest. In particular, curriculum comparisons should be made at both the primary level and secondary level, as the difference is not necessarily the same across grades. Do the two groups of countries start at the same level, with one group falling behind later, or does one group lag behind from the start?
Studies of differences between Eastern and Western countries could also focus at the subgroup level, such as gender differences. Is there a greater parity between girls and boys in Eastern countries than Western countries, or vice versa, in the attained curriculum?
Comparisons can also be made at the topic level of mathematics. For example, is the Eastern group of countries better at computational skills than Western countries? Which group has better analytical reasoning skills? Which mathematics skills are emphasised in classroom teaching in Eastern countries and Western countries.
Structure of education systems
Comparisons of government funding, teacher support, school facilities, class structure, students’ socio-economic background, and many other variables will be most important in identifying key factors of success in mathematics achievement. Through the use of school, teacher, and student background questionnaires, valuable information have been collected through international studies such as TIMSS. This enables a myriad of possible studies, such as assessing school effectiveness, identifying characteristics of low/high achievers, or measuring educational output.
Cultural differences
In comparing Eastern and Western countries, cultural issues should not be ignored. In this regard, large-scale international studies do not always serve as the best vehicle for studying cultural differences. Since large-scale international studies need to cater for many countries with many different cultures, specific cultural issues between Eastern and Western countries may not be addressed adequately.
For example, parental and social expectations in the behaviour of children are quite different in Eastern and Western countries. Language differences can also play an important role in mathematics learning. To this end, smaller international studies may provide more focussed goals and make comparisons only between Eastern and Western cultures. The TIMSS video study is one such study with a focus on classroom teaching. Other studies could include the design of parental questionnaires for gathering information on culturally oriented issues.
Impact of international studies in Eastern and Western countries, politically and educationally
The usefulness of international studies depends not only on the results of academic research, but also on the follow-up actions from education systems.
Undoubtedly, results from large-scale international studies will raise the awareness and concerns of students’ mathematics achievement within governments and the education communities. A comparison of the varying degree of the impact of international studies may be interesting. Did the results kindle a flurry of actions within the government to improve mathematics learning? Were there any countries that were indifferent to the results? What did Eastern countries gain from such studies, given that they often performed well in such studies? What was the media’s reaction? Did such studies lead to educational reform?
The combination of research studies and actions from the relevant sectors will allow international studies to have the greatest impact on mathematics education, whether it is a Eastern or Western country.
Reference
Robitaille, D.F. & Maxwell, B. (1996) The conceptual framework and research questions for TIMSS, Chapter 2 in D.F. Robitaille & R.A. Garden, 1996.
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