Comparative Education Policy

Alina Wandelt SDG4 calls for free, equitable and quality education for all boys and girls by 2030.  So what about the rise of private schooling across the developing world? A growing number of students is enrolled in educational institutions that are not administered by local, state or national governments. In 2014, around 13,5 %  of all primary education students attended a private school. This means an upsurge of almost 60 % , compared to 1980 when only 8,5 % of all students were taught privately. In secondary education, the numbers are even higher: almost 25 %  have chosen private over public in 2014, compared to 19 % in 2000. Assessing these numbers against the SDGs, which ambitiously call for the realization of free, equitable and quality education for all boys and girls by 2030, the rise of private schools’ warrants discussion: Is private schooling consistent with the human right for education? Can education be equitable if it’s not free? ...

K. Thiam, U. Kummer, C. Coutelle-Rebut, M. Sels & J. Steves Greece's public education system faces serious challenges but an emerging national dialogue is raising awareness and pushing for reform When it comes to public education, Greece is facing serious challenges. With underachievement and early leaving levels higher than the European Union average, it is no surprise that Greek students rank lower in performance than their OECD peers. Greek students are not receiving the education they deserve. On the one hand, there is a need for serious reform, while on the other, the country remains constrained by its difficult financial situation. There is, however, a national dialogue on education emerging in Greece that is beginning to shed light on and raise awareness of some of these education challenges. This presentation gives an overview of the Greek education situation, examines some key improvement areas, and gives recommendations for policy improvements. Gr...

Lara Gruben Myth 1 : A large proportion of immigrant students affects student performance Data from the 2012 PISA study show that in the majority of cases a larger proportion of immigrant students is not related to lower student performance. The average increase in foreign-born students is much lower than popular debate suggests. According to PISA evidence, the share of 15-year-old students who are first-generation immigrants only grew by 0.4 percentage points on average across the OECD countries between 2003 and 2012. Socio-economic background has a stronger influence on school performance than immigration. However, this is often overlooked, because if socio-economic background is not controlled for, PISA data show that 15-year-olds, who attend schools where the concentration of immigrants is high, tend to do worse in school than students who attend schools without immigrant students. What might lead to believe that the share of immigrant students has an effect on schoo...

Teachers and school leaders: the core of an education system Clémence Coutelle-Rebut Our recent class on Comparative Education Policy by Professor Pont focused on the characteristics and evolution of the education professions. Teaching policies represented 13.9 percent of education policies adopted across OECD countries between 2008 and 2014 [i] , which makes it the main lever of school improvement. These measures have always been a key feature of educational reform as they get to the very core of the learning process and have a huge potential impact on student performance. Attracting and retaining high skilled professionals, fostering continuous professional development, encouraging cooperation and pedagogical innovation within the education community … This broad set of goals seems even more significant as education systems move from increasing basic access to school towards improving educational standards and outcomes. A call for long-term vision and integrated policies ...