We study whether autonomous schools, which are publicly funded but can operate more independently than government-run schools, affect student achievement and school segregation across 15 countries over 16 years. Our triple-differences regressions exploit between-grade variation in the share of students attending autonomous schools within a given…

This paper outlines current trends, progress, and possibilities for fostering more authentic ways to assess students' competencies and mastery of skills needed for college, work, and civic life in the 21st century. It provides an introduction to performance assessments and their value. The authors highlight efforts to develop such assessments in…

The Eurydice network has been collecting data on instruction time for more than two decades. These data have been published in many Eurydice publications, notably all editions of the 'Key data on Education'. Since 2010, annually updated data on instruction time has been available on the Eurydice website. Since 2013, the Eurydice network has been…

Intended to promote the innovative use of technology in education and promote educational advances all over the world, this volume brings together 16 best-practice cases on technology-enhanced educational innovations. Experts from Turkey, Tunisia, Cyprus, Italy, Malaysia, China, India and Finland have contributed to these cases, highlighting the…

What would be one of the most sensible ways for a country to invest to achieve maximal economic growth? A recent study (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2011) by economists at Harvard and Columbia Universities shows that better teacher quality results in significantly higher students' lifetime earnings. And investing in public school teachers…

This article presents the authors' critique of lessons proposed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The authors initiate a discussion about content that they hope will play out in schoolhouses and statehouses across the country. They take on a different task: they present a handful of lesson ideas from P21 that could enhance studies…

Discusses Finland's new National Strategy for Education, Training, and Research in the Information Society for 2000-2004. The new strategy's objectives and how to achieve them are examined in the areas of planning of educational facilities and libraries, establishing virtual schools and distance learning, and integrating information technology in…

Research results are collated and presented concerning the change in Finland from a binary system of education to a more unitary system, the "comprehensive school," involving a single primary school (grades one through nine) and a choice between vocational and senior secondary school (grades ten through twelve). The new system, being…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of a law passed by the Finnish Parliament forming the administrative and organizational basis of school reform. It states that as of 1 August 1970, Finland's school system will be developed in accordance with the main principles of comprehensive education. The core of the…

Bruce Jilk, conference chairman for the American Institute of Architects' Committee on Architecture for Education Fall Meeting (Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 7-10, 2000) provides his views on the future of schools, school/community integration, and shared spaces with surrounding businesses. Mr. Jilk comments on Finland's Heinavaara Elementary…