D. How the School Resources Review was conducted
Governance of the review
The School Resources Review is overseen by a Group of National Experts (GNE) on School Resources, a subsidiary body of the OECD Education Policy Committee. The GNE on School Resources guides the review and facilitates the exchange of information and experiences concerning school resources among countries. The GNE on School Resources has been chaired by Mr Jørn Skovsgaard, Senior Advisor, Danish Ministry of Education, and vice-chairs Ms Marie-Anne Persoons, Policy advisor, Flemish Ministry of Education and Training and Mr Matej Šiškovič, Director, Education Policy Institute, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.
Between May 2014 and May 2017, the GNE on School Resources held four official meetings at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris. These were open to all OECD member countries and observers to the Education Policy Committee as well as to the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC). The project is conducted in co-operation with a range of international organisations to reduce duplication and develop synergies. In particular, within a broader framework of collaboration, a partnership with the European Commission (EC) is established for this project (see below). The review of Kazakhstan was undertaken in co-operation with the World Bank. Other international agencies collaborating with the project include Eurydice, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
National co-ordinators
Each participating country appointed a national co-ordinator, who was responsible for: communications with the OECD Secretariat and within the country about the review; ensuring that the country background report was completed on schedule; liaising with the OECD Secretariat about the organisation of the review team visit, for those countries which opted for a country review; attending meetings of the Group of National Experts on School Resources; co-ordinating country responses to the review’s qualitative survey on school funding; co-ordinating country feedback on draft materials; and assisting with dissemination activities. National co-ordinators are listed in Table D1.
Collaboration with the European Commission
Within a broader framework of collaboration, a partnership with the European Commission (EC) was established for this project. The support of the EC covers part of the participation costs of countries which are part of the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme and contributes significantly to the preparation of the series of thematic comparative reports. Within the EC’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture, the collaboration was organised by Unit A.2: Education and Training in Europe 2020 under the leadership of Michael Teutsch (until December 2016) and Denis Crowley (since January 2017) and deputy leadership of Mónika Képe-Holmberg, and Unit B.2: Schools and Multilingualism under the leadership of Sophie Beernaerts (until December 2016) and Michael Teutsch (since January 2017) and deputy leadership of Diana Jablonska. Through its country analysis work the EC contributed to planning individual country reviews in the countries listed in Table D2, and provided feedback on draft country reviews and the drafts of this thematic comparative report.
Country background reports
Information on countries’ policies and practices was gathered through country background reports (CBRs). The CBRs were prepared in response to a common set of issues and questions, and used a common framework to facilitate comparative analysis and maximise the opportunities for countries to learn from each other. The CBRs were a key source of information for the review’s thematic comparative reports. The guidelines for the preparation of CBRs are set out in a dedicated document [EDU/EDPC(2013)11/REV1], also available on the review website (www.oecd.org/education/schoolresourcesreview.htm). The CBRs were structured around the following main chapters:
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The national context
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The school system
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Governance of resource use in schools
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Resource distribution
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Resource utilisation
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Resource management
The CBRs were intended for four main audiences: The Secretariat and OECD member and observer countries as an aid to sharing experiences and identifying common problems and policy options; the team of external reviewers who visited the countries which opted for a country review; those interested in the use of school resources in the country concerned; and those interested in the use of school resources at international level and in other countries. All CBRs are available on the review website (www.oecd.org/education/schoolresourcesreview.htm).
Qualitative data collection
In addition to the country background reports, the School Resources Review collected information on countries’ national approaches to school funding through a qualitative questionnaire prepared by the OECD Secretariat. Seventeen systems participated in this qualitative data collection. The questionnaire focused on formal requirements for funding in terms of laws and regulations for early childhood and school education that were in place in 2016. It did not cover observed practices which can vary considerably. The questionnaire covered the following issues: raising resources for education; the public funding of private providers; budgeting and planning procedures; the distribution of current and capital expenditure; targeted funding; VET funding; the use of funding at the school level; and monitoring and reporting procedures.
The qualitative survey provided crucial information to complement the information available through CBRs and to support the review’s analysis. Most of the information gathered through the survey is published in a set of comparative tables included in this report. The review team made every effort to ensure in collaboration with countries that the information available in this report is as valid and robust as possible and reflects specific country contexts while being comparable across countries. However, given the complex nature of school funding and the qualitative nature of this survey, information should be interpreted with care. Country contacts for the qualitative data collection are listed in Table D3.
Country review reports
Another major source of material for this report was the set of country review reports prepared by the external review teams that visited participating countries engaging in a full country review. By providing an external perspective on the use of school resources in the countries concerned, the country review reports were also intended to contribute to national discussions, as well as inform other countries about policy innovations underway. The country review reports were also published as a publication series, OECD Reviews of School Resources, in order to enhance the visibility of these country-specific outputs as part of the review.
For each country visited, a team of up to five reviewers (including at least two OECD Secretariat members) analysed the country background report and associated materials and subsequently undertook an intensive case study visit over the course of about seven days. The reviewers were selected in consultation with the country authorities to ensure that they had experience relevant to the main policy issues in the country concerned. The study visit aimed to provide the review team with a variety of perspectives on the governance, distribution, management and utilisation of school resources and included meetings with education and finance authorities at national and sub-national levels; relevant agencies (e.g. audit offices); teacher professional organisations and unions; parents’ organisations; representatives of schools and school leaders; students’ organisations; teacher educators; researchers; as well as students, teachers and school leaders at the schools visited. The objective was to accumulate sufficient information and understanding on which to base the analysis and policy recommendations.
At the time of publication, 10 review visits were conducted, involving 21 external reviewers with a range of research and policy backgrounds. The reviews involved a planning visit and a main review visit. Details on the composition of the review teams for the main visits can be found in Table D4. The country review reports are published on the project website (www.oecd.org/education/schoolresourcesreview.htm).
Analytical background papers
The School Resources Review was also informed by the following analytical background papers and literature reviews prepared in the context of the project:
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Ares Abalde, M. (2014), “School Size Policies: A Literature Review”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 106, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jxt472ddkjl-en.
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Masdeu Navarro, F. (2015), “Learning support staff: A literature review”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 125, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jrnzm39w45l-en.
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Gromada, A. and C. Shewbridge (2016), “Student Learning Time: A Literature Review”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 127, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jm409kqqkjh-en.
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Fakharzadeh, T. (2016), “Budgeting and Accounting in OECD Education Systems: A Literature Review”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 128, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jm3xgsz03kh-en.
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Boeskens, L. (2016), “Regulating Publicly Funded Private Schools: A Literature Review on Equity and Effectiveness”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 147, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jln6jcg80r4-en.
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“Targeted School Funding: A Literature Review” by Kerstin Schopohl (under review).
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“Funding Education for Students with Special Educational Needs: A Literature Review” by Oliver Sieweke (under review).
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“The Funding of Vocational Education and Training: A Literature Review” by Antoine Papalia (under review).
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“Conceptualising and Measuring Efficiency and Equity in the Use of School Resources” by Gonçalo Lima (under review).
Dissemination
To facilitate dissemination and encourage feedback, all project documents and outputs were published on the review’s website (www.oecd.org/education/schoolresourcesreview.htm). Throughout the review, the OECD Secretariat presented the project and its findings at a wide range of internal and external meetings and a significant number of countries organised national events to discuss both the international results from the review and the conclusions of specific country reviews.