Modeling strategies for enhancing educational quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-173
Author(s):  
William K Cummings ◽  
Olga Bain
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
System Level ◽  
Path Modeling ◽  
Educational Achievements ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
National Systems

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 of a stratified system of schooling is effective, at least for the minority who are able to gain entry to the elite academic stream. In contrast, other nations prefer a more egalitarian strategy to education where all students attend a common school devoid of ability streams until well into their secondary level studies. The egalitarian strategy is believed to be just and fair. But does it enhance educational achievement? Several other strategies are also being advanced, and the same questions can be asked about them. There are a number of studies that explore the academic consequences of different strategies within particular national systems, but there are relatively few studies that explore these questions across several national systems. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development-supported Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies enable a cross-national analysis; but the official reports from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development primarily provide bivariate analyses of these relations whereas a multivariate strategy taking into account several system level variables is preferred. In this paper we examine the historical origins of six contemporary strategies, and draw on the PISA studies to compare the relative efficacy of these strategies relying on path modeling.

Effects of Different Types of Educational Tracking on Achievement and Achievement Variance

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Anne Leicht
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Educational Backgrounds ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Educational Tracking

Despite their stated intention of providing equal educational opportunity for all, many democratic countries separate their students into different classes or even different schools based on their demonstrated academic ability and likely future career. This practice is often referred to as “tracking or “ability grouping.” This study aims to determine whether different types of educational tracking have different effects on students’ academic achievement. Specifically, this study investigates whether disparities in educational achievement between students of highly educated versus minimally educated parents are greater in countries that practice more explicit and complete forms of tracking. It also explores tracking’s effects on average achievement and overall achievement variance. Analysis of data from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicates that tracking generally does increase score disparities between children from different educational backgrounds. Tracking is also associated with higher overall variance of scores. At the same time, tracking may have a slight positive effect on average achievement. However, results are not consistent across all countries, and patterns are different in different subject areas and for different types of tracking. The results of this study neither condemn nor extol tracking. Rather, they indicate that tracking plays a relatively minor role in determining the quality and equity of an education system.

scholarly journals Educational Achievement Gaps between Immigrant and Native Students in Two “New” Immigration Countries

2012 ◽  
Vol 643 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Azzolini ◽  
Philipp Schnell ◽  
John R. B. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Achievement Gaps ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
School Type ◽  
Native Students ◽  
International Student Assessment

The authors use 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to determine how immigrant children in Italy and Spain compare with native students in reading and mathematics skills. Drawing on the vast empirical literature in countries with traditionally high rates of immigration, the authors test the extent to which the most well-established patterns and hypotheses of immigrant/native educational achievement gaps also apply to these comparatively “new” immigration countries. The authors find that both first- and second-generation immigrant students underperform natives in both countries. Although socioeconomic background and language skills contribute to the explanation of achievement gaps, significant differences remain within the countries even after controlling for those variables. While modeling socioeconomic background reduces the observed gaps to a very similar extent in both countries, language spoken at home is more strongly associated with achievement gaps in Italy. School-type differentiation, such as tracking in Italy and school ownership in Spain, do not reduce immigrant/native gaps, although in Italy tracking is strongly associated with immigrant students’ test scores.

Educational standards resist improvement in Peru

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Educational Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
University Courses ◽  
Low Wages

Subject Efforts to improve educational standards. Significance Of the 65 countries covered by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study in 2012, Peru came last for educational achievement. Although President Ollanta Humala's administration has received praise for the priority it has given to the educational sector, Peru will need to expend more effort in improving standards if it is ever to be admitted to the OECD. Impacts Teachers' low wages will continue to represent an obstacle to educational improvements. Fiscal constraints will make it more difficult for the next government, which takes office in July, to devote more money to education. There is still a mismatch between existing university courses and the need to boost technological expertise.

Modeling Educational Inequalities: Class, Academic Achievement, and Regional Differences in Turkey

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 659-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ela Ataç
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Educational Inequality ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Entrance Examination ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Regional Inequalities ◽  
Geographical Variations ◽  
National University

As it has been realized that education is a key to a long-term economic growth and to reducing social and economic disadvantages, educational inequality and its reflections in the geography have become some of the major issues in many countries. Turkey is in many ways a good example to analyze the relations between class, education, and regional inequalities where education is strongly a class-related issue and there has also been a strong dimension of “geography” as far as the educational provision and performance are considered. The purpose of the article is to contribute to two debates on the relation of education and inequality in Turkey. One is a specific and practical way of understanding about the effect of socioeconomic backgrounds of the students on their educational achievement. The other is an understanding on causal relations based on socioeconomic variables and geographical variations and how these lead to or indeed are partly caused by regional inequalities in Turkey. Using the datasets of PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) database, the datasets of National University Entrance Examination and Census, the article finds that for Turkish students where (the region and the place of residence) and with whom (socioeconomic qualifications of parents) they live are the powerful indicators of academic achievement.

scholarly journals Comparing Students’ Engagement in Classroom Education Between China and Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Deng
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
The Uk

Since the mid-1980s, there has been an academic shift toward students’ involvement in the learning process. A great number of studies have focused on the relationship between student engagement and educational achievement. They have highlighted that appropriate educational input and a supportive classroom environment are necessary, but optimum learning should occur when students are engaged with the curriculum as well as the institution, particularly in higher education institutions. Many scholars claimed that higher levels of engagement will help students deal with academic anxiety and develop a sense of belonging, which may lead to higher academic success. Educational experts and policymakers have begun to propose nationwide and international strategies and programs to promote student engagement in the classroom, which has led to the proposal of well-known programs such as the National Survey of Student Engagement, the UK Engagement Survey, and Program for International Student Assessment. Such engagement-centered international measures have been used across the globe (e.g., Germany) and translated into different languages (e.g., Chinese). Although the findings of relevant studies confirm the effectiveness of engagement on learning achievement, there is still the need to conduct further (cross-sectional) studies considering the implementation of such programs in a different context. The present study is an attempt to review the related literature regarding student engagement among Chinese and German students across a variety of disciplines. The findings suggest that researchers should devote more time and budget to investigate the significance of learner engagement, especially in Germany and China.

scholarly journals A Cross-National Analysis of Parent Involvement in Decision-Making: Germany, France and Turkey

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11a) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murat Gürkan Gülcan ◽  
Ali Duran
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Student ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Parents Involvement ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
Cross National

Being a cross-national analysis, the aim of this study, which draws on data from school principals, is to evaluate parents’ involvement in decision-making processes comparatively in Turkey, Germany and France, which are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and were included in the study in terms of some variables, such as data in Human Development Index (HDI) report 2016 and results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 reading skills, math and science literacy results’ based on demographic, socio-economic, socio-cultural variables as well as achievements in education, population trends and parents’ involvement in education. Phenomonology research design from qualitative research methods was used in this study. Data analyses relied on content analysis technique. School administrators from Turkey, Germany and France were included through criteria sampling method from purposeful sampling methods. Interview technique was employed in order to collect data through a semi-structured interview form. The findings of the study highlighted that all participants agree on the positive impact of parents’ involvement in decision-making but there are some ambiguity how and what level parents must involve in decision-making processes. Some recommendations are made on how to improve involvement in decision-making process.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL FOR THEMATIC ISSUE ON “EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES IN EAST ASIA”

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (6A) ◽  
pp. 1062-1064
Author(s):  
Kuo-Hung Huang ◽  
Ching-Ching Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
International Student ◽  
English Language ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Systems Quality

Globalization and education reform is becoming an important topic across the international arena. In response to global pressures for reform, national educational systems' quality is increasingly being compared internationally, and education changes are introduced. For example, uniformity of global curricula, instruction, and testing might result from worldwide trends such as the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). Also, the growth of English language usage and immigrants might contribute to a growing uniformity of global educational practices for the global economy (Springer, 2008). Nevertheless, there is considerable criticism of the ever-increasing global uniformity in education because ignoring differences in contextual capacity and culture at the national and local levels will result in unintended and unexpected consequences for educational practice (Carnoy & Rhoten, 2002).

scholarly journals Finnish Education System and its Triumph in Pisa: Lessons to Learn for Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol V (I) ◽  
pp. 479-487
Author(s):  
Sobia Altaf ◽  
Abid Shehzad ◽  
Aneela Sana Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Education System ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
The Other ◽  
Educational Policies ◽  
Educational Structure ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Long Run ◽  
System 2

Finland has emerged as world leader in terms of educational achievement and become a symbol for school development and reforms since the first exam of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a test structured for the fifteen-year-old students, in science and language literacy, on which it ranked highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations. The major aim of the study was 1) to review the factors behind the phenomenal success of Finnish education system, 2) what lessons possibly Pakistan could learn while considering the differences. The findings were that there were no isolated factors that have a contribution in the success of Finnish Education system rather there were numerous interrelated factors that had added strength to Finland�s successful educational structure. Moreover, the educational policies in the long run, the culture of trust and the passion of Finnish citizens for reading are the other reasons for this triumph.

scholarly journals Migrant Youths’ Educational Achievement

2012 ◽  
Vol 643 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Cobb-Clark ◽  
Mathias Sinning ◽  
Steven Stillman
Keyword(s):  
Private School ◽  
International Student ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Achievement Gaps ◽  
Migrant Students ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Science Test ◽  
Pisa Data

The authors use 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to link institutional arrangements in OECD countries’ to disparities in reading, math, and science test scores for migrant and native-born students. The authors find that achievement gaps are larger for migrant youths who arrive at older ages and for those who do not speak the language of the PISA test at home. Institutional arrangements often serve to mitigate the achievement gaps of some migrant students while leaving unaffected or exacerbating those of others. For example, earlier school starting ages help migrant youths in some cases but by no means in all. Limited tracking of students by ability appears to be beneficial for migrants’ relative achievement, while complete tracking and the presence of a large private school sector appear to be detrimental. Migrant students’ achievement, relative to their native-born peers, suffers as educational spending and teachers’ salaries increase, but it improves when teacher evaluation includes an examination component.

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