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,…

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…

With the strengthening of the global economy, contemporary societies have come to view the educational achievements of their young people as a major component of national competiveness. But there are substantial variations in the strategies employed by different nations. To maximize educational achievements, some nations believe that the provision…

This paper examines the relative importance of upper secondary subject choice and attainment in explaining social inequalities in access to higher education (HE) in Scotland and Ireland. These two countries differ in the extent of curriculum differentiation, in the degree of standardisation in school examination and in HE entry criteria. In…

Drawing on comparative analyses from nine Western countries, we ask whether local-born children from a wide range of immigrant groups show patterns of female advantage in education that are similar to those prevalent in their host Western societies. We consider five outcomes throughout the educational career: test scores or grades at age 15,…

This article examines cross-country variations in adult skills inequality and asks why skills in Anglophone countries are so unequal. Drawing on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recent Survey of Adult Skills and other surveys, it investigates the differences across countries and country groups in inequality in both…

Why does the United States lag behind so many other countries on international education assessments? The traditional view targets school-based explanations--U.S. schools attract poorer teachers and lack the proper incentives. But the U.S. educational system may also serve children with comparatively greater academic challenges as a result of…

An annual student referendum on desired ninth grade assignment in Boston is analyzed, and shows that students who express a first choice are quite likely to have that choice satisfied. The main distinction drawn by the analysis is not between district and citywide schools, but between schools which many students aspire to and schools which few do.…

Discusses the limitations of crossnational comparisons of secondary student performance in the U.S. and selected European and Pacific industrial countries, using mathematics and science data from the International Assessment for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Suggests the most serious problem is the rise of a new educational…

Discusses results of a national survey of Canadian secondary school students that investigated their conceptions of the role of computer technology within the educational system. Topics discussed include equal access; gender differences; patterns in access and usage of home computers; and implications for further research, including international…

This unit explores the roles of women today and the possible effects of social, political, and economic equality for women on students' personal lives, the nation, and the world. Thirteen activities are designed to help secondary students develop an understanding of the status of women in U.S. society as compared with other cultures. These…

Discusses 10 areas associated with the social context and operations of secondary education, as well as issues and responses being addressed by educational systems across the world. Common patterns are identified and provide a framework for a discussion of changes in international secondary education. (CLB)

The 304 citations listed in this bibliography address 10 topics: societal context; educational equality; educational quality; goals and curriculum reform; science, mathematics, and technological development; teaching service and reform; increasing school effectiveness; new technology and nonformal education; schooling and problems of transition;…