Pietro Sancassani Teachers are arguably one of the most important ingredient of education systems. If countries want to improve their students’ education and skills, it is therefore natural to analyse what characteristics make teachers more effective, as this can provide valuable information for policymakers. Does teacher experience matter? An aspect that has been widely investigated […]
In international comparisons for mathematics in PISA and TIMSS, Asia outperforms England considerably at the secondary level. For geometry this difference is particularly large. In a recent study, I have investigated if these differences in geometry achievement might be attributed to differences in ‘Opportunity to Learn’ within a country’s curriculum.
Christian Bokhove In recent decades more and more educational data have become available, including those from International Largescale Assessments (ILSAs), with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) playing key roles in disseminating results from such ILSA and their international databases. This proliferation […]
Eemer Eivers For many, December means Christmas, but for those interested in International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs), it is a Christmas of another sort. December is traditionally when ILSA results are released and we get to play with our new toys (the huge datasets!). Like Christmas, ILSA releases have certain traditions. Expect a few psychometricians […]
Herman G. van de Werfhorst, Emma Kessenich, and Sara Geven The crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has disordered the educational process of millions of children. Distance education through online communication channels has become the practice in many societies since March 2020 (UNESCO 2020[1]). While schools slowly reopen in many societies, and despite the great […]
Nani Teig A growing body of research has investigated the effectiveness of inquiry-based teaching, such as by engaging students in conducting scientific experiments. Yet, this research abounds in conflicting findings: While some studies showed that this teaching approach is positively related to higher science achievement, others found negative or insignificant relations. What may cause the […]
Despite the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), not enough students are interested in pursuing a STEM career. Moreover, among the few students who do show an interest – and do pursue a STEM career – the proportion of women is small.
Jelena Veletić Evidence shows that some of the key aspects of educational policies, like school leadership, are very sensitive and shaped by the culture and context where they are executed. Nevertheless, we frequently want to compare and contrast such concepts across different cultures and contexts. To do so, our instrument (e.g. test, questionnaire) must operate […]
PISA measures 15-year-olds achievement scores in mathematics, reading and science and has evolved into a powerful tool in politics, as the scores can be compared across countries and over time. Apart from the scores themselves, there is also significant interest in the achievement differences between boys and girls.
Evi E. Konstantinidou The Rise of Distance Learning During recent months, mitigating COVID-19 has meant the severe curtailment of normal life, including global closures of schools. This approach to control the spread of the virus has produced an unprecedented wave of disruption in the education of more than 80 per cent of students worldwide, as […]
