| Abstract [eng] |
This master's thesis analyzes the impact of the TIMSS and PIRLS studies conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) on the education policy of post-Soviet countries. The relevance of the study is based on the fact that international student achievement studies are becoming an increasingly important instrument for education policy formation, but their real impact on political decisions, especially in post-Soviet countries, remains insufficiently studied. The aim of the work is to reveal how the results of the TIMSS and PIRLS studies affect the educational policy of countries. To achieve the aim, the following tasks are set: to analyze the activities of the IEA organization and the specifics of the studies, to define the concepts of comparative education, to study changes in student achievement in post-Soviet countries in the period 1995–2026, and to determine the influence of international studies on political decisions. The theoretical part of the work analyzes the activities of the IEA organization, the structure of the TIMSS and PIRLS studies, and their significance for the analysis of education systems. The development of comparative education and the context of transitology, which allows us to understand the transformation of the education systems of post-Soviet countries, are also discussed. It is emphasized that international studies act not only as a means of assessing student achievement, but also as an important element of global education policy. The empirical part of the work uses qualitative document analysis, which includes statistical data from TIMSS and PIRLS studies and national education policy documents. Six post-Soviet countries are analyzed: Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The study assesses the dynamics of student achievement and the directions of educational reforms in order to identify links between international research results and political decisions. The results of the study revealed that TIMSS and PIRLS studies in post-Soviet countries are most often used as an indicative instrument in the formation of educational policy. It was found that the reaction of countries to the results of international studies is not the same - it depends on the political, economic and cultural context and the chosen direction of educational reforms, they more often perform a symbolic function. |
