Search results

1 – 8 of 8
Book part
Publication date: 5 May 2017

Oren Pizmony-Levy

Over the past two decades, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has become an influential actor in the education sector. This has been accomplished…

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has become an influential actor in the education sector. This has been accomplished, partly, by the administration of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) since 2000. Overall, PISA is intended to inform the public, parents, teachers, and those who run education systems of the status of education in their country. Research shows that policymakers draw on PISA results when they launch and design education reforms. To date, however, we know very little about whether PISA is successfully informing the general public, which is the main sponsor and benefactor of PISA. Using public opinion surveys from the United States and Israel, this chapter examines knowledge and perception of PISA. Recent reports suggest that both countries are in the middle ranks of all countries participating in PISA, with the United States being in the middle ranks of OECD countries and Israel being in the lower ranks of this group. Findings from public opinion surveys reveal three interesting patterns. First, in both countries, the public tend to underestimate how well 15-year olds perform on international standardized tests. Second, college graduates are more likely than those with less education to underestimate the performance of teens on international standardized tests. Third, although the public seems to be misinformed about PISA results, we find considerable public support for PISA and international standardized tests more generally. Implications of the findings for policy and future research in the field of international and comparative education are discussed.

Details

The Impact of the OECD on Education Worldwide
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-539-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2012

Oren Pizmony-Levy, Idit Livneh, Rinat Arviv-Elysahiv and Abraham Yogev

Similar to community colleges in the United States, the Israeli tertiary system includes two-year technological colleges, which provide students with a labor-market relevant…

Abstract

Similar to community colleges in the United States, the Israeli tertiary system includes two-year technological colleges, which provide students with a labor-market relevant qualification. Nonetheless, unlike the community colleges, the technological colleges are not considered to be part of the higher education system and their transfer function is irregular and confined. In order to understand these differences, the chapter has two complementary objectives: (a) to describe the emergence and development of technological colleges and (b) to evaluate the implications for social inequality in access to higher education in Israel. We use a mixed-methods research design, including analyzing primary and secondary sources describing the official policy and public discourse around these colleges (qualitative/historical research) and comparing students attending academic institutions to students attending technological colleges and students across different fields of study offered by these colleges (quantitative research). Drawing on Phillip's (2004) model for policy attraction in education, we find that technological colleges in Israel were based on the Dutch HTS model, while the founding of these colleges was initiated by local impulse. The implementation of the technological colleges in the Israeli context was shaped by a cultural logic for higher education that emphasizes research and knowledge production, creating a binary tertiary system. Drawing on sociological literature on diversification and stratification in tertiary education, we find that technological colleges attract more students from disadvantaged groups and more students with relatively low academic ability than academic institutions. In addition, within technological colleges, students from advantaged background and higher academic ability are more likely to study in more prestigious fields of study. These findings suggest that if policy makers in Israel aspire to increase access to higher education, they should rethink policy instruments and cultivate the transfer function of technological colleges. This is among the first studies to examine technological colleges in Israel and we conclude with different directions for further research.

Details

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-230-1

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 5 May 2017

Abstract

Details

The Impact of the OECD on Education Worldwide
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-539-3

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2012

Abstract

Details

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-230-1

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 29 July 2019

Katerina Bodovski

Abstract

Details

Childhood and Education in the United States and Russia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-779-9

Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2012

S. Xavier Alphonse is a PhD in English literature. He is the Founder Director of the Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education (ICRDCE), Chennai, India and…

Abstract

S. Xavier Alphonse is a PhD in English literature. He is the Founder Director of the Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education (ICRDCE), Chennai, India and former Principal of Loyola College, Chennai and former Vice Principal of St. Joseph's College, Trichy. He was a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi for two terms (2006-2012). Dr. Alphonse was also a member of the Distance Education Council (DEC), New Delhi. He is the chairman of National committee on Community Colleges appointed by the UGC to discuss the concept and methodology for establishment and functioning of the Community Colleges. Dr. Alphonse is a consultant to the state government of Tamilnadu for the Community College Project. He was also the consultant to the Honourable Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea for the creation of 13 community colleges in 2008. He is an authority on college autonomy in India, and pioneered the formation of community colleges as an alternative system of education for the poor and the downtrodden. He has written 73 articles and authored and edited 37 books on the Community College system and its implementation.

Details

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-230-1

Book part
Publication date: 5 May 2017

Abstract

Details

The Impact of the OECD on Education Worldwide
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-539-3

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 24 July 2020

Abstract

Details

University–Community Partnerships for Promoting Social Responsibility in Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-439-2

Access

Year

Content type

Book part (8)
1 – 8 of 8