Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / International ranking systems provide are an opportunity to higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish a global reputation. However, seeking that recognition comes at a significant cost. By focusing on particular indicators in the ranking systems, HEIs and governments may neglect other aspects of higher education. When choosing certain indicators over others, policymakers are confronted with an opportunity cost when allocating resources to improve rank. The nature of this cost and the relative importance of the indicators remain unclear. This study seeks to (1) contrast the policy pressures from international rankings against regional dialogues on higher education policy , (2) determine interaction between the ranking indicators of HEIs in Continental Europe, East Asia, and the Anglo-Saxon world, (3) reveal the relative importance of indicators as predictors for the overall rank of HEIs in these regions , (4) provide suggestions as to how HEIs could implement strategies to improve their standings in the rankings, and (5) consider how these findings from the ranking systems compare with regional trends in higher education policy dialogue. / 2031-01-02

A avaliação é um tema recorrente em todas as áreas do conhecimento, tendo esta um papel impactante em toda a sociedade devido ao seu uso cotidiano. No contexto educacional, a avaliação contribui para que as universidades obtenham conhecimento de suas fragilidades e potencialidades. Além disto, a definição de quais indicadores medem a qualidade, nacional e internacionalmente, é importante para as Instituições de Ensino Superior. Com o intuito de identificar estes pontos e definir quais são as melhores universidades, uma variedade de rankings foram publicados. Esta pesquisa objetiva identificar pontos fortes e fracos da UFRGS no cenário nacional e internacional, a fim de permitir um melhor planejamento de suas ações, tornando-as mais efetivas. Para isto, um modelo de análise e controle de indicadores de rankings é proposto para o cenário nacional e outro para o cenário internacional, onde os indicadores de cada ranking são definidos, padronizados e agrupados, a fim de se obter um Índice Global que representa o desempenho da UFRGS. A análise dos dados, gerados através do modelo, permitiu a identificação dos indicadores críticos para a melhoria da qualidade, dando subsídios para a atuação nestes aspectos. / Evaluation is a recurring theme in all areas of knowledge, having an impactful role in whole society due to its daily use. In the educational context, the evaluation contributes to universities achieve awareness of its weaknesses and strengths. Moreover, the definition of which indicators measure the quality, nationally and internationally, is important for higher education institutions. In order to identify these aspects and define which the best universities are, a variety of rankings was published. This research aims to identify UFRGS’ strengths and weaknesses in the national and international scenario, in order to enable better planning of its actions, making them more effective. In this direction, a model of analysis and control of rankings’ indexes is proposed for the national and for the international scene, where the indexes of each ranking are defined, standardized and assembled in order to obtain a Global Index representing UFRGS’ performance. The data analysis, generated by the model, allowed the critical indexes for quality improvement identification, providing subsides for acting in these aspects.

A avaliação é um tema recorrente em todas as áreas do conhecimento, tendo esta um papel impactante em toda a sociedade devido ao seu uso cotidiano. No contexto educacional, a avaliação contribui para que as universidades obtenham conhecimento de suas fragilidades e potencialidades. Além disto, a definição de quais indicadores medem a qualidade, nacional e internacionalmente, é importante para as Instituições de Ensino Superior. Com o intuito de identificar estes pontos e definir quais são as melhores universidades, uma variedade de rankings foram publicados. Esta pesquisa objetiva identificar pontos fortes e fracos da UFRGS no cenário nacional e internacional, a fim de permitir um melhor planejamento de suas ações, tornando-as mais efetivas. Para isto, um modelo de análise e controle de indicadores de rankings é proposto para o cenário nacional e outro para o cenário internacional, onde os indicadores de cada ranking são definidos, padronizados e agrupados, a fim de se obter um Índice Global que representa o desempenho da UFRGS. A análise dos dados, gerados através do modelo, permitiu a identificação dos indicadores críticos para a melhoria da qualidade, dando subsídios para a atuação nestes aspectos. / Evaluation is a recurring theme in all areas of knowledge, having an impactful role in whole society due to its daily use. In the educational context, the evaluation contributes to universities achieve awareness of its weaknesses and strengths. Moreover, the definition of which indicators measure the quality, nationally and internationally, is important for higher education institutions. In order to identify these aspects and define which the best universities are, a variety of rankings was published. This research aims to identify UFRGS’ strengths and weaknesses in the national and international scenario, in order to enable better planning of its actions, making them more effective. In this direction, a model of analysis and control of rankings’ indexes is proposed for the national and for the international scene, where the indexes of each ranking are defined, standardized and assembled in order to obtain a Global Index representing UFRGS’ performance. The data analysis, generated by the model, allowed the critical indexes for quality improvement identification, providing subsides for acting in these aspects.

A avaliação é um tema recorrente em todas as áreas do conhecimento, tendo esta um papel impactante em toda a sociedade devido ao seu uso cotidiano. No contexto educacional, a avaliação contribui para que as universidades obtenham conhecimento de suas fragilidades e potencialidades. Além disto, a definição de quais indicadores medem a qualidade, nacional e internacionalmente, é importante para as Instituições de Ensino Superior. Com o intuito de identificar estes pontos e definir quais são as melhores universidades, uma variedade de rankings foram publicados. Esta pesquisa objetiva identificar pontos fortes e fracos da UFRGS no cenário nacional e internacional, a fim de permitir um melhor planejamento de suas ações, tornando-as mais efetivas. Para isto, um modelo de análise e controle de indicadores de rankings é proposto para o cenário nacional e outro para o cenário internacional, onde os indicadores de cada ranking são definidos, padronizados e agrupados, a fim de se obter um Índice Global que representa o desempenho da UFRGS. A análise dos dados, gerados através do modelo, permitiu a identificação dos indicadores críticos para a melhoria da qualidade, dando subsídios para a atuação nestes aspectos. / Evaluation is a recurring theme in all areas of knowledge, having an impactful role in whole society due to its daily use. In the educational context, the evaluation contributes to universities achieve awareness of its weaknesses and strengths. Moreover, the definition of which indicators measure the quality, nationally and internationally, is important for higher education institutions. In order to identify these aspects and define which the best universities are, a variety of rankings was published. This research aims to identify UFRGS’ strengths and weaknesses in the national and international scenario, in order to enable better planning of its actions, making them more effective. In this direction, a model of analysis and control of rankings’ indexes is proposed for the national and for the international scene, where the indexes of each ranking are defined, standardized and assembled in order to obtain a Global Index representing UFRGS’ performance. The data analysis, generated by the model, allowed the critical indexes for quality improvement identification, providing subsides for acting in these aspects.

Every third year a PISA study is conducted, through international measurements for member states of the OECD-organization. This aims to measure each country´s pupils by the ages of 15 years old. Its purpose is to examine how each member´s pupils perform in mathematics, reading comprehensions, sciences and problem solving. In this essay we intend to examine how the PISA studies were received as a creation of opinion and self-image.  This research follows up on selected actors in the media debate surrounding PISA as a tool of argument and means of discussion. The natural demarcation is made by actors; mostly from professional teachers, but also journalists, lectures, writers and school experts in the fields. Its purpose is to give a well-balanced and comprehensive picture of the PISA-debates. From a political standpoint the actors represent different positions of the spectrum. The study consists of a total of 10 actors. Between the years of 2004-2005 and 2016-2017 of the PISA 2003 and 2015. This paper will focus on the PISA studies that were done by the years of 2003 and 2015. By working with different PISA studies with a long span of time between them. This is done as a conscious strategy in favor of the comparative study. In this essay the conceptual changes between these two PISA studies will be examined and studied with a conceptual analysis.