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The OECD, American Power and the Rise of the “Economics of Education” in the 1960s

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Book cover The OECD’s Historical Rise in Education

Part of the book series: Global Histories of Education ((GHE))

Abstract

This chapter, drawing on a review of primary sources, secondary literature and interviews, traces the OECD’s historical role in shaping and diffusing the “economics of education” and in building a new world order dominated by the United States after World War II. This chapter focuses on the 1960s, when a rationalistic approach to social engineering and planning gained momentum in government circles, universities and international organizations. The first of this chapter’s three sections examines how the OECD and its precursor, the OEEC, served as platforms to spread the influence of the US government, as well as the US scientific community and philanthropic foundations, to European countries. The second section addresses the controversy surrounding the economization of education among educators suspicious of economists’ intentions regarding education. The concluding section discusses what became of the “economics of education” approach at the OECD and reflects on the relevance of this approach within the contemporary landscape. This chapter aims to contribute to understanding the hegemonic influence the OECD has gained on the education agenda worldwide.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Klaus Hüfner, Professor Emeritus, Freie Universität Berlin, worked at the OECD/CERI in the early 1970s, has served on many UNESCO committees and boards and has written several books about UNESCO and the United Nations system. Ron Gass joined the OEEC in 1958 and worked for the OECD until his retirement in 1989. He was the first director of the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). Louis Emmerij was hired by Ron Gass to work on the Mediterranean Regional Project in the early 1960s. In 1986, he was appointed president of the OECD’s Development Centre. Between 1971 and 1976, he headed the World Employment Programme at the ILO.

  2. 2.

    Philip H. Coombs held the position of Director of Research of the Fund for the Advancement of Education and Program Director of the Education Division at the Ford Foundation from 1952 to 1961, when he was appointed to the newly created position of Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs in the administration of President John F. Kennedy, from which he resigned in 1962. In 1963, he became the first director of the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris.

  3. 3.

    Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara used an output-oriented management tool designed by the RAND Corporation in the Vietnam War. Later, McNamara brought the RAND-based approach to decision-making based on quantification and output to the World Bank, where it still remains in place to this day (Natsios 2010: 15–16).

  4. 4.

    For a discussion of the challenge that PISA constitutes to democracy, see Chap. 7 in this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Communication and Society, King’s College London, London, UK

    Maren Elfert

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  1. Department of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Christian Ydesen

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Elfert, M. (2019). The OECD, American Power and the Rise of the “Economics of Education” in the 1960s. In: Ydesen, C. (eds) The OECD’s Historical Rise in Education. Global Histories of Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33799-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33799-5_3

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