Yusuf Canbolat

Ph.D. Student

Where does your international research/engagement take place?
My research focuses on a wide range of countries/school systems such as the US, European and OECD countries including my country, Turkey.

Please briefly describe your research/activity
I study school choice and organizational reforms such as school autonomy, competition,and accountability.I have focused on the consequences of those reforms on educational equity and quality for the last three years. I share my research through articles in peer-reviewed journals, and presentations in conferences like AERA and CIES.I also serve as a graduate student reviewer in those conferences.In the coming months, I will study on an international research project as part of the OECD fellowship.

Why does your research/activity matter?
Across the globe, countries seek to improve their school systems by relying on similar reforms. The robust comparative analysis can inform policy formulations and discussions by enlightening the strength and limitations of those reforms, the role of contexts, and policy designs to ensure equity and quality. My motivation to contribute to advance policy learning and elevate the neediest population such as students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

What led you to this research/activity?
School systems across the world face difficulties in providing equal education opportunities. At the same time, we observe that states embrace new generations of reforms for the last decades. Those reforms rely on competitive incentives or reducing government responsibility in funding and/or governance of education. My motivation to focus on the above topics is to explore the implications of those reforms for equal education opportunities.

What problem do you hope this research/activity will solve/what are your hopes for this work?
I believe research evidence can contribute to policy discussions. The contribution may not occur in the short term and directly. However, research can help to structure and frame policy problems as well as seeking for alternative policies. I hope my studies can contribute to the discussions about the reforms benefiting from experiences and implications across countries and school systems. During my studies at OECD in the summer, I am hoping to contribute the cumulative knowledge on equity.

How will your work create change for the better?
I think knowledge generation matters to illuminate global problems such as the achievement gap by socioeconomic status; and various types of segregation across schools embedded in the social and institutional context. I hope my work can contribute to understanding those problems and the underlying dynamics better as well as developing more effective policies.