POLS 373 Foundations of Comparative Politics professor timothy c. lim

1. POLS 373 Foundations of Comparative Politicsprofessor timothy c. lim stupid in america learning how--and how not--to apply the principles of comparative analysis

2. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice viewing questions • what is stossel’s main argument? What are hissubsidiary arguments? • what specific variables does he identify? • what is the dependent variable? Theindependent variable(s)? • what comparative strategy does he use?does he use comparisons in a logicallyvalid and systematic way? • what type of evidence does he use?

3. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice evaluating stossel’s argument: comparisons • u.s. school system versus non-u.s. school systems with higher scores on international math and literacy tests • a new jersey high school (representing a “top scoring” american school) versus a typical high school in belgium • charter schools in various cities and states versus regular public schools in various cities and states were these useful and well-executed comparisons? discuss.

4. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice the comparison: international math and literacy tests stossel’s argument suggests that countries with high math (and literacy scores) must have competition-based school systems let’s consider some of the countrieson the chart …

5. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice the comparison: schools in the u.s. and belgium • was the comparison between the u.s. and belgium compelling and logically sound? did it make sense and support the argument? two issues to consider • are the u.s. and belgium two most similar systems? • are the u.s. and belgium “similar enough” to rule out other potential explanatory variables? (what other variables might we consider?)

6. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice the comparison: schools in the u.s. and belgium consider the following information • belgium is an overwhelmingly catholic country with two major ethnic groups, the flemish (58 percent) and the french-speaking walloon (31 percent) • there is a big educational gap between the two ethnic groups: the flemish population does much better than the french population • the flemish have the highest scores in the world, while french-speaking children in belgium are only “average”

7. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice reprise: another look at theinternational rankings from the table, which countriescry out for more analyticalattention? that is, what cases do we want tolearn more about? why?

8. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice what makesfinnishkids so smart? • most analyses of finland’s educational system conclude that the keys to finland’s educational success are well-trained teachers and responsible children (teachers receive free graduate-level preparation with a stipend) • but finland is also homogenous interms of ethnic composition and socio-economic status; it is also a government-funded system, with few funding gaps among schools more …

9. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice what makesfinnishkids so smart? • college is free and students do not start school until the age of seven; school years are short; there are no “gifted programs”: and students are assigned to the same school from age seven to 16 so, what does the finnish case tell us? does it support or undermine stossel’s argument? why do you think stossel did not include finland in his report?

10. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice summing up • stossel is not necessarily wrong: competition-based schools may improve educational quality; however, it is clear that his comparative research design is fundamentally flawed • To “know” whether Stossel is right, wrong, or something else, we need better, more systematic and logically sound comparisons more …

11. stupid in americathe comparative method: some practice summing up • a good comparative framework will show that the issue is far more complex than stossel suggests: we know, for example, that “monopolistic” school systems are not automatically bad: • to make a case for or against stossel’s argument, we need more, better, and deeper analysis and research • most importantly, perhaps, we need intellectual integrity and honesty