Do skills protect against exclusion in adult ages, and how important are the skills acquired before the age of 16 years versus those acquired later on? We match the scores on numeracy and literacy skills from the 2011 PIAAC for young adults backwards to grade point average (GPA) data from compulsory school education, measured at the age of 16…

In 2000, the government of the Philippines launched its National Service Training Program (NSTP), a compulsory 2-semester course component for all the country's Bachelor and technical vocational students. There is a choice of three subject areas, one of which is the Literacy Training Service (LTS) module. This is designed to train students in…

This paper uses a natural experiment from Egypt to examine the effect of extending compulsory schooling on long-term educational and labor market outcomes. Beginning in school year 2004-05, the Egyptian government extended primary education from five to six years, moving from an eight-year compulsory schooling system to a nine-year system. Using a…

Views about what writing is and how it should be taught have varied over the years as well as across contexts. Studies of curricula, teaching materials, and teaching practices have shown a strong focus on skills, genres, and processes, but few have asked teachers about their perspectives on writing. In this article we explore what views, or…

In the wake of a White Paper on Education Reform, published in 2014 by the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the minister launched a national initiative to improve literacy education in Icelandic compulsory schools. The White Paper and the national initiative came as a reaction to the disappointing performance of 15-year-olds…

The role of pre-vocational education in general compulsory education has become increasingly relevant over recent years, with the international debate focussing particularly on its importance in school-to-work transitions. This study considers curriculum design and the implementation of pre-vocational education in four countries with radically…

The aim is to describe the development of achievement in compulsory school in the Nordic countries from the 1960s. The study relies on published results concerning literacy and numeracy from the international large-scale assessments between 1964 and 2012. Among others, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) for most countries, a small but…

This article focuses on the educational life histories of nine prisoner learners aged between 18 and 21 years which were collated as part of doctoral work which sought to access the life histories of adult male prisoners who were attending a prison school while incarcerated in prison. The nine life histories of the young men were collated not only…

Using an equity perspective, this article compares the education systems of the United States and the Netherlands. Existing data examining student demographics, the organizational structures, curricula, funding, and student outcomes are examined. The Netherlands appears to be getting a "bigger bang for their buck." We make the case that…

Introduction: Today, basic education which is 12 years in many of the developed countries in the world was extended from five to eight years in Turkey in 1997 and "Primary Education" was redefined as an "eight-year continuous education". Total of primary schools is 35,581 in the country-wide. The number of students in per…

Purpose: Achieving behavioral independence is a key task of adolescent development. This 1 article of a companion set of 2 (the 2nd addressing the topic of parental perspectives) presents an investigation of the impact of language ability on independence. Method: Longitudinal and follow-up data from 120 adolescents with a history of specific…

Background: This investigation reports the results of national educational examinations in secondary schooling for young people who have been participating in the Manchester Language Study. Aims: The emphasis of the study is on furthering understanding of educational outcomes at the end of compulsory education. Methods & Procedures: A total of…

The answer to the question "How well do young people and adults read?" is central to modern societies. Despite new forms of oral and visual communication, the written word is more important than ever in economic and social interaction. As the world becomes more complex, all citizens need to use reading and writing effectively to thrive…

Following the initial report presenting the first results of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 covering results in three domains and looking at the relationship between student performance in reading literacy (the major domain) and selected characteristics of…

In recent years there has been a marked increase in the output of literature linking economics with education. In the past, most of the professional literature in this area dealt either with educational finance (the economics of education) or, in a general way, with the role of education in economic development. Current literature continues to…