Estimates show that, in 2019, only 41 per cent of students completed lower secondary and 28 per cent upper secondary education in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region (UNESCO, 2021). One of the reasons for the low completion rates is the poor transition across secondary education due to the significant impact of factors at individual, household,…

This comparative analysis aims to capture the complex roles and positionings of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in conjunction with local education systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Our analysis focused on how the IB's institutional legitimacy is presented in the three societies. We conducted a documentary analysis of texts on…

This article contributes to the comparative literature on the growing role of "validation of prior learning," by analyzing the emergence and implementation of VPL in North Macedonia. Based on documents and qualitative interviews, the article provides an historical- institutionalist perspective on these processes. The article argues that…

Through the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, governments committed to achieving universal secondary school completion, including eliminating gender disparities, by 2030. Yet, by 2013, only 14 percent of children in low-income countries had completed secondary school. And in many countries, even those who attend school fail to gain basic…

Many nation-states have realized the importance of tertiary education and the world has seen a corollary increase in tertiary education enrollments. Using Berry and Berry's event history model as a framework, this study tests both the internal features of each country and the influence that nation-states have on each other with regard to setting…

Easing access to higher education (HE) for those engaging in lifelong learning has been a common policy objective across the European Union since the late 1990s. To reach this goal, the transition between vocational and academic routes must be simplified, but European countries are at different developmental stages. This article maps the…

Students in Finland are obliged to apply for upper secondary education during their 9th year. The main divisions occur between general (academically oriented) and vocational upper secondary education, and within vocational education between female and male dominated sectors. In this article we discuss the tension between these options and explore…

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a study of comparisons. Subjects, 15-year-old students from 32 participating countries, were compared in their abilities to "use literacy knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges," as assessed on a two-hour, paper-and-pencil test. Students also responded to a…

Reports survey findings on job satisfaction and other work attitudes among 686 secondary teachers in northern England. Compares results to those from four other countries. Provides background on the British teacher's changing role in light of radical educational reforms and teacher labor disputes in the 1980s. Contains 27 references. (SV)

Despite the ready admission of historians of the subject that "education" encompasses far more than schools, families, churches, apprenticeships, and other institutions there is no reliable, general account of why schools, especially "academically" oriented ones, have become so cardinal to the U.S. way of life. This paper…

The issue of differences in U.S. and Japanese academic achievement clearly cannot be resolved through reference to data from the Second International Mathematics Study alone. Points of difference between Baker's analysis and that of the author define key policy questions surrounding middle school mathematics. (SLD)

As Westbury acknowledges, both intended and implemented (delivered) curricula are at the heart of educational effectiveness. U.S. and Japanese achievement patterns are discussed in light of the Second International Mathematics Study. Many things that Americans like about their school systems may come at a price evident in international…

This book identifies how consensus on vocational education and training (VET) policy is sought in a number of countries where interesting models have emerged. The focus of the book is on the principles of stakeholding and consensus applied to policy formulation and implementation in vocational education and training. The international case studies…

The effects of the recently expanded educational services in Grenada have not yet been determined. In 1984 a questionnaire was administered to 729 Grenadian secondary school students to compare their educational and vocational aspirations; attitudes toward family, school, work, and military experience; family backgrounds; subject preferences;…

Dutch-speaking Belgian students scored higher than students from eight other non-English speaking countries on a reading comprehension test. There was a two-thirds overlap between the test and English curriculum. Teachers' expectations corresponded well with obtained scores. (CP)