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This paper looks at how countries have mobilized additional resources for education and assesses their impact on access and learning outcomes, using the World Bank's new Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling measure. The paper shows that global spending on education has risen significantly over the past two decades, although spending as a share of gross domestic product has remained relatively unchanged, at about 4.5 percent. However, global trends mask large differences across regions and country income groups. For example, low-income countries recorded the largest increases in terms of the share of GDP spent on education, but the absolute amount they devoted to education remained low compared to other countries. Economic growth has been the main driver of increases in public education spending. Yet, countries that achieved the largest and most rapid spending increases did this through a combination of increases in overall government revenues, a greater prioritization of education in the government budget as well as healthy economic growth. Increases in public education spending did not generally result in major improvements in average education outcomes. Using the available data, the paper shows that a doubling of government spending per child led to an increase in learning-adjusted years of schooling of only half a year. Preliminary findings also show that countries with lower efficiency and spending are expected to get the most from increases in spending in improved education outcomes. The paper concludes by outlining an approach that allows countries to assess their potential for increasing education funding and the expected effects on their education outcomes, based on benchmarks drawing from the data of comparable countries. It also underscores the urgent need to improve data on public education spending and education outcomes, to extend this analysis to cover a wider set of countries and increase the robustness of country-level benchmarks. [This paper is a product of the Education Global Practice.]

International students are critical to the competitiveness of American higher education in terms of financial, intercultural, and educational contributions. However, recent data indicates that the U.S institutions enrolled 31,520 fewer international students in Fall 2017 as compared to Fall 2016. At average tuition and fees of US$ 25,000, higher education institutions are likely to lose potential revenue of US$ 788 million for the first year of studies alone. This paper examines the shifting landscape of international enrollment from the lens of three overlapping Waves spread over seven years and takes a deeper dive into implications for American universities. Wave I was shaped by the terrorist attacks in September 2001 and resulted in slower overall growth in international student enrollment of 11% between 1999 and 2006. Wave II has its origins in the global financial crisis which prompted universities to search for self-funded students and experienced overall robust growth of 44 percent in international student enrollment between 2006 and 2013. Finally, Wave III is shaped by the new political order and intensified competition from English-taught programs in Europe and Asia which will slow down the pace of projected growth in international enrollment to 18 percent between 2013 and 2020. In this current Wave of intensified global competition, overall international student enrollment is likely to flatten or decline for most universities. While the reputation and quality of American higher education is admired and emulated around the world, resting on its past laurels will not be sufficient for attracting international students in the Third Wave. This means that universities must get proactive and strategic in reaching, engaging and supporting international students throughout their educational lifecycle. Demand for studying abroad among international students remains robust, however, increasing competition and expectations for value for money will requires proactive and concerted efforts to maintain the global competitiveness of American higher education.

The number of countries that regularly participate in international large-scale assessments has increased sharply over the past 15 years, with the share of countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment growing from one-fifth of countries in 2000 to over one-third of countries in 2015. What accounts for this increase? This paper explores the evidence for three broad explanations: globalization of assessments, increasing technical capacity for conducting assessments, and increased demand for the microeconomic and macroeconomic data from these assessments. Data were compiled from more than 200 countries for this analysis, for six time periods between 2000 and 2015, yielding more than 1,200 observations. The data cover each country's participation in each of six cycles of PISA as it relates to the country's level of economic development, region, prior experience with assessment, and OECD membership. The results indicate that the odds of participation in PISA are markedly higher for OECD member countries, countries in the Europe and Central Asia region, high- and upper-middle-income countries, and countries with previous national and international assessment experience; the paper also finds that regional assessment experience is unrelated to PISA participation.

As the world seeks to build back better into a new era of green and equitable economic growth, tertiary education systems are at the heart of the big transformations required throughout economies and societies. Tertiary education is vital for the development of human capital and innovation. Strategic and effective investments in tertiary education can serve every country - from the poorest to the richest - by developing its talent and leadership pool, generating, and applying knowledge to local and global challenges, and participating in the global knowledge economy. Effective tertiary education sectors ensure that countries have well-trained doctors, nurses, teachers, managers, engineers, and technicians who are the main actors of effective education and health service delivery and public and private sector development. Decades of insufficient and ineffective investment in postsecondary education and the advanced skills developed through higher learning opportunities have only exacerbated global equity gaps. This paper describes the approach of the World Bank to support the development of effective, equitable, efficient, and resilient tertiary education systems and institutions. It discusses and illustrates five principles that guide the Bank's financial and policy advisory support to STEER tertiary education systems toward optimizing their contribution to equitable and green growth: (i) building diversified Systems, (ii) investing smartly in new Technologies, (iii) ensuring Equity in access and financing, (iv) achieving Efficiency in resource utilization, and (v) acquiring Resilience in service delivery so that learning continues.

This paper focuses on the experience of the Policy Education Centre on Assistance to Transition in providing monitoring and evaluation services to "Support for Improvement in Governance and Management in Central and Eastern European Countries" (SIGMA), a joint project of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Poland and Hungary Assistance in Restructuring Economies program (PHARE). Part 1 of the paper describes the challenges of the experience in terms of context, program design, and performance monitoring. The SIGMA program was intentionally nonprescriptive, offering a menu of options about the types, speed, and sequencing of reforms, and the paths clients followed varied widely. Part 2 of the paper provides descriptions of how certain problems were addressed, such as the design and implementation of the monitoring and evaluation strategy, the process of establishing performance measurements, and the development of tools for data collection. The challenge to evaluators was to build suitable performance standards for reporting to stakeholders and users of assistance. Part 3 focuses on lessons learned and the outcome achievements of the monitoring and evaluation effort. Among the lessons learned were that an enabling environment for monitoring and evaluation requires senior management commitment and willingness to learn and that performance measures need to be defined for both service and program delivery. The need for the involvement of program customers from the beginning and the provision of adequate resources for monitoring and involvement are additional lessons that, like the other conclusions from this project, have implications for educational evaluation and the development and use of performance measures. Three appendixes describe SIGMA's development, methodological concerns, and sample methodology. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 14 references.) (SLD)

The vocational education and training (VET) reforms currently under way in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States are distinguished by the breadth, range, depth, and speed of the reforms proposed or already initiated. The European Union has assisted the reform process through its Phare and Tacis programs. The following have been among the areas affected by vocational reforms in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States: the VET model; legislation and distribution of students; funding; role of companies and human resources planning; VET qualifications and examination; and teaching staff. The reform processes in Central and Eastern European countries on the one hand and the New Independent States and Mongolia on the other hand have developed in very different directions. In all of these countries, however, it has become clear that training can no longer be reserved for the young. Among other things, VET policies must be designed to achieve the following goals: maintain macroeconomic stability; contain costs and mobilize additional financial resources; promote educational choices for young people and adults; regulate labor markets by maintaining qualification standards; ensure access to education and training for all; and strengthen institutional capacity to implement the reforms. (MN)

The digital transformation is, to varying degrees, taking place in European Training Foundation (ETF) partner countries also. The ETF aims at helping its partner countries reap the benefits of the opportunities offered by the digital transformation and address the related challenges. This paper presents the ETF's position on, and approach to, digital skills and competence, and digital and online learning in vocational education in partner countries.

Interest in a regional and local approach to vocational training and adult education is increasing throughout the member nations of the Council of Europe. This is largely a result of the changing European economic order and the new internationalization of industrial strategies. Particularly needed is a targeted local and regional policy for the creation of activities and jobs that emphasizes training in rural, urban, and industrial areas and that integrates the training of priority groups (youth, women, migrants, the disabled, and the elderly) with local development. Among the necessary conditions for a training policy that is integrated with local and regional development are the following: a close connection between development policy, objectives, and training programs; demarcation of homogeneous geographical areas corresponding to demography and industrial barriers; a strategy for balanced growth conductive to genuine development; coordination between officials engaged in educational work; local and regional programming of training activities based on participation, integration, and coordination; a specific local and regional organization; and local development officers. (Appended to the report are three articles on the role of adult education in relation to regional development and a bibliography of documents relating to regional development.) (MN)

Using data of an 18-country employer survey and facts of company case studies of the EMERGENCE project, a project illustrated diffusion of eWork in 3 these Central European countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland. Mainstream views of the transforming economies and various practices of generic business services were studied. Establishments surveyed in the post-socialist economies showed similarities and differences in their micro-institutional patterns compared to those in 15 European Union (EU) countries. Comparison of eWork diffusion indicated the following: (1) eWork was more widely used in the 3 newly associated states (NAS); (2) eWork diffusion was more balanced in the EU between medium and large firms than in the NAS; (3) eWork in the NAS was used more extensively in larger firms; (4) diffusion by sector showed its share in service sectors was higher than in primary and secondary industries, with differences greater in the NAS; ( 5) more business functions were kept in the organization in the NAS; and (6) outsourcing was more popular in the NAS. Company case studies gave insight into the complex processes of delocalization of eWork. Information and communication technology gave businesses of all sizes a tool to develop globally. NAS case studies illustrated the expansion type of eWork delocalization in company reorganizations and isolated company decisions. These two important dimensions of eWork delocalization were indicated in connection with NAS case studies: organizational changes and skill use. (Appendixes include 51 references and company data.) (YLB)

Part of the EMERGENCE project to measure and map employment relocation in a global economy in the new communications environment, this report on eWork in southern Europe (SE) combines results of a European employer survey, case studies, and data from other sources. Chapter 1 analyzes national and sector dimensions. Chapter 2 studies eWork practice in SE countries--Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. Comparative analysis of eWork variables is used to outline country profiles and identify similarities and differences in operative behavior. Chapters 3 and 5-7 focus on eWork and information and communication technology in individual countries. Chapter 4 concerns general dynamics of employment relocation in the Iberian Peninsula. General findings are the following: (1) SE context (except Portugal) demonstrates a diffusion of eWork higher than the European average, a result balanced both for sector and company size; (2) eWork is most prevalent in software and creative activities; (3) the most commonly found form of eWork is outsourced eServices; (4) the high propensity to outsource explains the relatively high diffusion of eWork; (5) eOutsourcing's objective is to exploit technical specialization to get a higher quality; (6) when operating mostly in an adjacent geographical area, contractor companies do not resort to eOutsourcing due to a radically different cost structure; and (7) when seeking suppliers for outsourced eServices, a minority of companies turn to foreign partners. (YLB)