The study draws on the theory of 'migrant optimism' and anticipated discrimination to examine whether a gap in educational expectations and achievement exists between immigrant and native students in Qatar and explores whether the impact of educational expectations on educational achievement is contingent upon the migratory status of students…

Past studies have supported the view that parent background and family socioeconomic status determine the post-secondary educational expectations of adolescents. They build on Pierre Bourdieu's social reproduction theory, but do not fully explain why some adolescents aspire to post-secondary education and some do not. The capability approach…

This study examines Spanish secondary school teachers' views of gender differences in academic achievement and study choices. Thirty-six secondary school teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Most teachers acknowledged that girls had better school performance, particularly in reading comprehension. Some were also acquainted with a…

This article juxtaposes the evolving scholarship investigating the influence of cultural capital on student learning and the developing trajectory of sociologists employing quantitative research methods. It critically reviews results from 34 studies analysing PISA or ASPIRES data to generate three key insights demonstrating complexities in…

Research has shown that foreign languages can be an important driver towards better job opportunities. This is more likely to be the case if young people take foreign languages into account when developing their career and educational expectations. These expectations depend greatly on the context and the opportunities students perceive to be…

Social mobility and improving the performance of disadvantaged pupils is a focus for policy in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The findings from PISA 2018 provide a unique opportunity to explore the impact of disadvantage on pupils aged 15, to contextualise achievement outcomes with information about home-life and school, as well as providing…

The demand for in-depth studies on educational data presupposes the application of technologies that allow data analysis of vast quantities, and subsequently, drawing relevant information and knowledge. The research objective herein is to employ data mining techniques on PISA databases to identify potential patterns that may explain the…

Previous research on the implications of early-tracking education systems has not specifically focused on how studying in academic and non-academic tracks shapes the features and characteristics of shadow education (private tutoring) that students are involved in. The study compares the scale and features of private tutoring and the underlying…

Adolescence is a period when young people start to prepare for adult life. Teenagers have to make important decisions relevant to their working lives later on, such as what field of study or type of education they will pursue. But young people often lack sufficient knowledge about the breadth of job opportunities and careers open to them; their…

International student achievement comparisons have aroused interest widely across the world. Finland dominated the comparisons for a long time but now Asian countries have fared better. Both countries studied have faced abundant immigration, which has changed the student groups. In this article, we compare two quite different top countries:…

Many factors influence students' experiences in upper secondary education and beyond, including upper secondary curricula, programme design and support for students. But a good transition from earlier levels of education is the first, essential step in a successful journey through upper secondary education and into further education and/or…

This report presents the conceptual foundations of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), now in its seventh cycle of comprehensive and rigorous international surveys of student knowledge, skills and well-being. Like previous cycles, the 2018 assessment covered reading, mathematics and science, with the major focus this…

Purpose: This study examines the career and educational search competencies (CESC), a capability which may be necessary for a successful transition from high school to work or postsecondary education, of students from Shanghai and Hong Kong. Design/Approach/Methods: The data for this study was taken from the Main Study of PISA 2012 in Shanghai and…

In this paper, we develop an information distortion model (IDM) of social class differences in self-beliefs and values. The IDM combines psychological biases on frame-of-reference effects with sociological foci on ability stratification. This combination is hypothesized to lead to working-class children having more positive math self-beliefs and…

Math proficiency is a strong predictor of postsecondary attainment, yet cross-national comparative assessments show that U.S. students consistently score below many of their peers, especially those in East Asia. Similar math achievement disparities exist across ethnic/racial groups within the U.S., where Asian American students routinely…