Education Policy Exchanges

U.S. - Thailand Higher Education Roundtable
U.S. - New Zealand Education Roundtable
U.S. - France Education Roundtable
U.S. - China Student Loan Project

U.S. - Thailand Higher Education Roundtable

Under the leadership of Her Royal Highness, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the first Roundtable took place in Bangkok in January 2001, with the second being held in Philadelphia in April 2004 and the third in Bangkok in November 2005. This high-level discussion involves national-level education policymakers, university presidents, and directors of national research centers from both countries. By encouraging dialogue between the U.S. and Thailand, the roundtable aims to:

• Promote understanding
• Enhance information sharing, including updating each other on the status of national education reform efforts and plans for the future

The third U.S.-Thailand Education Roundtable was held in Bangkok on November 7-11, 2005. The dual themes of the Roundtable were higher education, with a particular emphasis on higher education management and finance, and math and science education, with a particular emphasis on gifted students. Following two days of lively exchange and discussion in Bangkok, graciously overseen by Her Royal Highness, many of the participants traveled to the northern province of Chiang Rai for school visits and cultural activities. Planning for the fourth Roundtable and the publication of a volume in honor of Her Royal Highness is currently ongoing.

The Roundtable has led to two additional related collaborations. The U.S.-Thai Higher Education Summit brought 22 presidents from the top universities in Thailand to Philadelphia on April 11-15, 2005 to engage in dialogue with their American counterparts, and to learn about current practices in U.S. higher education, in the areas of finance, faculty recruitment and retention, and fundraising and development. The U.S.-Thai Deans Summit, which took place on May 1-4, 2005, brought twenty-three deans from Thailand to Penn to familiarize them with science education and technology practices in the United States, including science education methods and technology use in practice.

The generous sponsorship of the Starr Foundation has sustained this project from its inception, supporting international travel by the American and Thai participants and underwriting the costs of the conferences and discussions hosted in the United States by PennGSE, including facilities, materials, publications, and participants' expenses.

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U.S. - New Zealand Education Roundtable

The first New Zealand-US Roundtable took place at Penn in 2004. The topics that were discussed were the following:

1. Designing customized solutions for low-performing.
2. Development of teachers' capability to use effective assessments, both summative and formative.
3. Closing the achievement gap in literacy.
4. Creating funding support networks for elementary and secondary schooling, and the role universities may play in this.
5. Teacher recruitment, retention, and quality issues: measuring and monitoring classroom practice.

On October 18th, 2004, the New Zealand delegates came to UPenn to participate in the US - New Zealand Education Policy Roundtable and made a presentation to the GSE community on the state of education reform in their country.

The second New Zealand roundtable took place in Auckland in December 2006.

• Second United States - New Zealand Education Policy Roundtable Summary
• Agenda and Introduction
• United States Presentations
• New Zealand Presentations

GSE International is also working with colleagues in Australia to develop a roundtable as well.

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U.S. - France Education Roundtable

GSE welcomed top researchers and policy makers from France in January 2004 for the second annual US-France Education Roundtable. The event is a collaborative effort between the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) based at Penn, and the National Institute of Pedagogical Research (INRP) based in Lyon, France. Chaired jointly by CPRE founder Susan Fuhrman and INRP Director Immanuel Fraisse, the Roundtable aims to improve elementary and secondary education through research on policy, finance, school reform and school governance.

CPRE researchers from Penn, Stanford, Harvard, Michigan, and Wisconsin-Madison sat with their French colleagues to discuss this year's topic: "A Culture of Evaluation." Following presentations about the current state of evaluation and assessment in their respective countries' educational systems, the group agreed upon a topic for joint research. They will focus their efforts on the effect ‘instructional coaches' or ‘pedagogical counselors' have both on instruction in schools, and consequently, student achievement.

The Roundtable of November 4-8, 2002, was the first education roundtable resulting from the joint effort of the two institutions. As both organizations focus on public policy in education, the first theme of the first Roundtable held in Paris, France was called "Governance and Education."

During the roundtable of 2005, U.S. and French delegates agreed to collaborate by conducting parallel research studies, and the next roundtable will take place within the next year.

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U.S. - China Student Loan Project

With support from Sallie Mae Corporation, Penn GSE is working collaboratively with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China on research focused on the U.S. student loan system, for possible adaptation or replication in China.

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