This presentation was given by Tracey Burns of the OECD at the GCES Conference on Trust and Education in The Hague on 7 December during the morning session. It looks at work on trust and and provides a detailed overview of the GCES project, explaining its main research questions, analytical model, main findings and outputs.

1. GOVERNING COMPLEX
EDUCATION SYSTEMS
Trust and Education
The Hague, 7 December 2015

2. GCES Main Research Questions
What models of governance are
effective in complex education systems?
What knowledge system is necessary to
support the effective governance of
complex education systems?

3. SteeringPriority setting Accountability
ImplementationPolicy Design
Knowledge use
Knowledge production
GCES Analytical Model

4. GCES Main Findings
• There is no one right system of governance.
Rather than focussing on structures it is more fruitful to focus on
processes.
• Effective governance works through
building capacity, open dialogue, and stakeholder involvement.
• Governance is a balancing act
between accountability and trust, innovation and
risk-avoidance, consensus building and making difficult choices.

5. GCES Main Findings
• The central level remains very important
(even in decentralised systems) in triggering and steering
education reform through strategic vision, clear guidelines
and feedback.
• There are systemic weaknesses in capacity throughout most
educational systems which contribute to today’s governance
challenges.
• Importance of key principles for system governance (not just
agreement on where to go, but how to get there).

6. Thematic conferences
• 2013: Multilevel governance (Paris)
• 2014: Complexity (Oslo)
• 2015: Use of data (Tallinn)
Working papers
• Governance and Knowledge
• Horizontal Accountability
• Complexity
• Modes of Governance
• Trust
GCES Outputs

7. • The Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Poland
• Germany
• Upcoming: Belgium (Flanders)
GCES Case Studies

8. GCES Core Themes
Accountability systems
Capacity building
Strategic thinking

9. Accountability
Systems
Capacity
Building
Strategic
Thinking
Trust
GCES Biennium 2015-16: themes
How does accountability
affect trust, and vice
versa?

10. Accountability
Systems
Capacity
Building
Strategic
Thinking
Trust
GCES Biennium 2015-16: themes
How to design governance
structures that encourage
high levels of trust among
stakeholders in education?

11. Accountability
Systems
Capacity
Building
Strategic
Thinking
Trust
GCES Biennium 2015-16: themes
How does trust break down,
how can it be restored and
sustained over time?

12. Trust in educational
governance
Trust in schools and
teachers
Trust in the pedagogical
relationship
Trust as an learnable
skill and attitude
12
Interpersonal Trust
Social Capital
Stakeholders
Families
Community
Learners
EDUCATION
Trust

13. Trust and Education
The Hague, 7 December 2015
1. What are the main challenges for today’s
education systems arising from trust issues?
2. Which strategies have decision makers applied to
tackle breakdowns in trust?
3. How can education contribute to trust
development among individuals and institutions?

14. • World Café
• Workshops
• Closing composition
Afternoon Planning

15. United States
JapanKorea
Mexico
Israel
Slovak Rep.
Belgium (Fl.)
Finland
Norway
Portugal
Netherlands
Poland
New Zealand
Chile
When trust breaks down
Austria

16. Exploring the link between trust building through
and in education systems
• How can education help develop trust?
• What are some ways schools can build trust?
• What are the policy implications?
Building trust through education

17. Policy paradigm aimed at supporting teachers
and giving them a more central role in education
governance
• Developing teacher agency
• Possible challenges/limits
Flipping the system

18. Workshop Planning
When trust breaks down:
country examples
Building trust through
education
Flipping the system
Chair: Lucie Cerna
Lead inputs:
• Miekatrien Sterck (Flanders,
Belgium)
• Annemarie Bechmann
Hansen and Frode Nyhamn
(Norway)
• Rien Rouw (The
Netherlands)
Chair: Tracey Burns
Lead input:
• Tracey Burns (OECD)
• Megan Tschannen-Moran
(USA)
Chair, lead input:
• René Kneyber and Jelmer
Evers (The Netherlands)