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<p>This study reveals the characteristic of “different while being similar” in school examination arrangements and the dual roles of schools in responding to macro-level institutional logic. Based on school samples from 6 East Asian countries/regions in PISA 2022, this study identified four types of school examination arrangements and finds that assessment pressure intensifies schools’ adoption of “Screening and Selection” examinations, reinforcing their role as “accomplices” to exam-oriented education. However, under the influence of peer and social pressure, schools can still adhere to the principle of “Teaching for Individual Differences” to act as “buffers”, filtering external pressures to meet the developmental needs of students. More importantly, school autonomy and agency not only functions as a buffering mechanism to mitigate the negative reinforcing effect of assessment pressure, but also provides institutional space for the localized sensemaking of “Monitoring and Improvement” examinations. This study uncovers the differentiation mechanism under institutional isomorphism, and offers practical implications for schools to overcome the dilemma of “exam-oriented education”.</p>

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Schools’ Agency Matters: How Agentic Differentiation Occurs Under Institutional Isomorphism?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月29日

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  • Qingqing Li,
  • Qian Zhao

摘要

This study reveals the characteristic of “different while being similar” in school examination arrangements and the dual roles of schools in responding to macro-level institutional logic. Based on school samples from 6 East Asian countries/regions in PISA 2022, this study identified four types of school examination arrangements and finds that assessment pressure intensifies schools’ adoption of “Screening and Selection” examinations, reinforcing their role as “accomplices” to exam-oriented education. However, under the influence of peer and social pressure, schools can still adhere to the principle of “Teaching for Individual Differences” to act as “buffers”, filtering external pressures to meet the developmental needs of students. More importantly, school autonomy and agency not only functions as a buffering mechanism to mitigate the negative reinforcing effect of assessment pressure, but also provides institutional space for the localized sensemaking of “Monitoring and Improvement” examinations. This study uncovers the differentiation mechanism under institutional isomorphism, and offers practical implications for schools to overcome the dilemma of “exam-oriented education”.