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In 2011, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education issued a policy on the internationalisation of schooling. The policy assumes that being 'international' has become necessary in order to maintain economic competitiveness in a globalising world. It was published in two languages: Mandarin, the official language in Taiwan, and English, presupposed as a lingua franca. Treating 'policy as discourse', the article analyses internationalism and its performativity through the publication and specific textual construction of this policy. The analysis considers the layout, target readerships, conceptual translation, and spatial representation and construction of 'Chineseness' in the two policy texts. This attempt at internationalisation is related to the very specific historical and geopolitical conditions of Taiwan and its liminal position in the globe. The significance of the article rests in expanding ideas of 'translation' in education policy studies and in the analysis of the specific geopolitics of East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a forum which discusses growth of international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) since the mid-1990s. Topics discussed include association between literacy, education and prosperity; impact of ILSAs over education system; and development of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).