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This report reviews the use of loans for learning in 33 European countries and analyses the schemes in eight selected Member States: France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the UK. The analysis shows that loan schemes vary considerably across Europe in terms of types and levels of learning covered, conditions of access, repayment and governance. Some loans aim to increase participation in learning in general, while others are designed to promote equity. The report attempts to assess the selected loans and discusses their strengths and weaknesses and determinants of performance, while considering if a given scheme operates on a large scale or targets niche groups. The evaluation results provide a basis for identifying good practice principles for designing and implementing loans. Policy recommendations are formulated based on these findings. Annexed are: (1) Methodology; (2) Key terms and definitions; (3) Information on countries/schemes selected for in-depth analysis; (4) Proposed typologies of VET loan schemes; (5) Tables and figures; (6) Tosmana truth tables; (7) Questionnaires; (8) Basic characteristics of non-European loan schemes. (Contains 37 tables, 5 figures, 20 boxes and 33 footnotes.)

In 2015, for the first time in its history, PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) asked teachers to describe the various aspects of their working environment and teaching practices. This paper examines how teacher, student, and school characteristics are related to science teachers' satisfaction in 19 PISA-participating countries and economies. The findings show that the most satisfied science teachers tend to be those who are initially motivated to become teachers. The results also highlight the positive relationship between science teachers' satisfaction and teacher collaboration, good disciplinary climate in science classes, availability of school resources, and the opportunity to participate in professional-development activities.

The combination of work and study has been hailed as crucial to ensure that youth develop the skills required on the labour market so that transitions from school to work are shorter and smoother. This paper fills an important gap in availability of internationally-comparable data. Using the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), it draws a comprehensive picture of work and study in 23 countries/regions. Crucially, it decomposes the total share of working students by the context in which they work (VET [vocational education and training], apprenticeships or private arrangements) and assesses the link between field of study and students' work. The paper also assesses how the skills of students are used in the workplace compared to other workers and identifies the socio-demographic factors and the labour market institutions that increase the likelihood of work and study. Finally, while it is not possible to examine the relationship between work and study and future labour market outcomes at the individual level, some aggregate correlations are unveiled.

This paper presents the first results of a project initiated in 2004 by the OECD in collaboration with Eurostat and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and aimed at developing a regular and internationally comparable production system of indicators on the careers and mobility of doctorate holders. A first data collection was launched in September 2005, from which the results for seven countries are presented here. These data shed light on the main demographic, educational, labour market and mobility patterns of doctoral graduates. They also mark some progress in the understanding of both the measurement issues and patterns of international mobility, notably by the use of qualitative indicators such as the intentions or reasons for mobility. The results show in particular that the share of doctorate holders in the population or labour force is two or three times larger in Germany and Switzerland than in Australia, Canada and the United States. In these five countries, women represent only one-quarter to one-third of doctorate holders. The United States has an older population of doctorate holders than the other countries analysed in the paper and this population is still aging, as is also the case in Canada. Unemployment rates of doctorate holders remain low, but are relatively higher in natural sciences and in engineering. There are important salary differences between men and women and across sectors, especially in the United States. In the United States, as well as in Portugal and Argentina, salary is one of the main reasons why doctoral graduates are dissatisfied with their employment situation. There is a high share of foreign doctorate holders in Switzerland and also a higher share of foreign-born doctorate holders in Canada and Australia than in the United States. Many foreigners, however, come to work to the United States having been trained for research abroad and this trend has grown stronger in recent years. On the other hand, very few doctorate holders from the United States are internationally mobile. Among mobile young Canadian citizens, three-quarters choose the United States as their next destination. (Data tables are annexed. Contains 4 footnotes, 13 figures, 1 chart and 35 tables.)

The "Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education" were developed and adopted to support and encourage international cooperation and enhance the understanding of the importance of quality provision in cross-border higher education. The purposes of the "Guidelines" are to protect students and other stakeholders from low-quality provision and disreputable providers (that is, degree and accreditation mills) as well as to encourage the development of quality cross-border higher education that meets human, social, economic and cultural needs. The "Guidelines" are not legally binding and member countries are expected to implement them as appropriate in their national context. Based on a survey about the main recommendations of the "Guidelines", this report monitors the extent to which Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and a few non-member countries comply with its recommendations. The Survey was sent out in June 2010 to all OECD countries. The main conclusion of the survey is that (responding) countries report a high level of compliance with the Guidelines recommendations. On average, responding OECD countries conform to 72% of the main recommendations made to governments, tertiary education institutions, and quality assurance and accreditation agencies. The level of compliance decreases to 67% when recommendations to student bodies are included, but the level of missing information, and thus uncertainty about actual compliance, increases significantly. Appended are: (1) Country Overview of Compliance Levels with the Guidelines for Different Stakeholders; (2) Country Overview of Compliance Levels with Six Key Objectives of the Guidelines; (3) Methodology; (4) Country Answers to the Survey; (5) Overview of National Contact Points; and (6) Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education. (Contains 2 tables, 12 figures and 1 footnote.)

This paper looks at the state of education in knowledge management (KM). It reports findings from a study of knowledge management courses included in the curriculum of academic disciplines of business, computing, and information that was conducted at the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Based on a review of course descriptions selected from Web sites of universities in Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the paper describes levels of courses, curriculum areas and topics, and differences in emphasis in teaching KM courses in different departments and schools. A table presents data on the details of KM courses for each university, including the school/department, course title, level, and academic program. A second table lists topics in KM courses for several curriculum areas, including foundations, technology, process (codification), applications, and strategies. (MES)

This paper provides statistics on women and graduate management education for 2012. This paper contains two parts: (1) Women in the Business School Talent Pipeline; and (2) Women in Business. "Women in the Business School Talent Pipeline" discusses: (1) GMAT[R] Examinees; (2) B-School Demand from Younger Women; (3) MBA, Masters & Other Intended Degrees; and (4) Female Quants (Interest in Quantitative and Specialized Degrees). "Women in Business" discusses: (1) Jobs; (2) Value of Graduate Management Education; (3) Industry Preferences; (4) Study-Work-Life Balance; and (5) Geographic Focus and Regional Comments. (Contains 7 resources.)

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a system of international assessments that allows countries to compare outcomes of learning as students near the end of compulsory schooling. PISA core assessments measure the performance of 15-year-old students in mathematics, science, and reading literacy every 3 years. Coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA was first implemented in 2000 in 32 countries. It has since grown to 65 education systems in 2012. PISA's goal is to assess students' preparation for the challenges of life as young adults. PISA assesses the application of knowledge in mathematics, science, and reading literacy to problems within a real-life context (OECD 1999). Mathematics was the major subject area in 2012, as it was in 2003, since each subject is a major subject area once every three cycles. In 2012, mathematics, science, and reading literacy were assessed primarily through a paper-and-pencil assessment, and problem solving was administered via a computer-based assessment. In addition to these core assessments, education systems could participate in optional paper-based financial literacy and computer-based mathematics and reading assessments. The United States participated in these optional assessments. This report presents performance on PISA 2012 in mathematics, science, and reading literacy from a U.S. perspective. Results are presented for the 65 education systems, including the United States, that participated in PISA 2012 and for the three U.S. states--Connecticut, Florida, and Massachusetts--that participated as separate education systems. These three states opted to have separate samples of public-schools and students included in PISA in order to obtain state-level results. In this report, results are presented in terms of average scale scores and the percentage of 15-year-old students reaching selected proficiency levels, comparing the United States with other participating education systems. For proficiency levels, results are reported in terms of the percentage reaching level 5 or above and the percentage below level 2. Higher proficiency levels represent the knowledge, skills, and capabilities needed to perform tasks of greater complexity. At levels 5 and 6, students demonstrate higher level skills and may be referred to as "top performers" in the subject. Conversely, students performing below level 2 are below what the OECD calls "a baseline level of proficiency, at which students begin to demonstrate the literacy competencies that will enable them to participate effectively and productively in life" (OECD 2010, p. 154). This report also presents U.S. trends over time in mathematics, science, and reading literacy, and overall results for the computer-based mathematics and reading assessments. Results for the problem-solving and financial literacy assessments will be released in 2014. Appended are: (1) Methodology and Technical Notes; and (2) International and U.S. Data Collection Results. (Contains 9 tables, 3 figures, 9 footnotes, and 3 exhibits.) [This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Statistics under Contract No. ED-IES-10-C-0047 with Westat.]

In 2003, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a "Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Health." In recognition of the critical role states play in the development of early childhood initiatives and of the unique contributions that state Title V programs can make to these initiatives, the Bureau operationalized their strategic plan through an all state grant program entitled State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (SECCS). Based on national reports and recommendations, MCHB has mapped out five critical components that support families and communities in the development of children that are healthy and ready to succeed in school. One of these is parenting education services. The purpose of this report is to (1) provide SECCS Initiative grantees and their partners with information about the current status of parenting education programs in the United States; (2) present some approaches to the provision of parenting education; (3) identify the role of the SECCS Initiative in relation to the development of affordable, high-quality parenting education programs and systems; and (4) present some promising practices and parenting education resources. The following are appended: (1) The Universe of Parent Education; and (2) Matrix of Stand-Alone Parent Education Programs for Parents of Children Birth to Five. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 71 endnotes.) [This publication was produced by the National Center for Infant and Early Childhood Health Policy, an active collaboration between the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the Women and Children's Health Policy Center at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This paper been adapted from "Supporting Parents through Parenting Education" by Marlene Zepeda and Alex Morales.]

This 22-country survey was conducted between 1994 and 1998. Representative samples of adults aged 16-65 were interviewed and tested at home using the same literacy tests. The main purpose of the survey was to find out how well adults use information to function in society. Another aim was to investigate the factors that influence literacy proficiency and to compare these between countries. Ten international indicators are presented that allow readers to compare the literary proficiency of Americans with that of other populations as measured on the prose literary scale; similar results are provided in quantitative scales. The findings confirm how low literacy is an important issue in all regions in all countries surveyed. On the whole, the findings show that Americans are at an average level of prose literacy performance, behind the Nordic countries and the Netherlands but on a par with adults in Australia, Canada, and Germany. Literacy proficiency is more unequally distributed in the United States and Canada than in Europe, with the most literate 25% of North Americans scoring far higher than average. "Life-long" learning programs, as well as early childhood education, more access to adult education and to information and communication technologies, and the promotion of literacy-rich environments at work, home, and in the community are proposed as solutions to improve adult literacy. The paper is divided into 3 chapters, 4 annexes, and 10 data-rich figures. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (KFT)

This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace B, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. Section 1 looks mostly at male-dominated trades work and at some historical modes of the flexing of political muscle in struggles over the definition of work and skill. It examines ideas about the male body as an integral part of skill, the way bodies are related to machine and work design and how 'difference' becomes 'male advantage' at work. Section 2 looks primarily at female-dominated work in the public service and also at contemporary bureaucratic modes of 'flexing political muscle' through highly rationalized methods of defining work and skill. It examines the lessons of a major pay equity project that failed, and shows how women's skills are systematically understated by the gendered nature of hierarchical work organization. The third section looks briefly at how training becomes the battleground for many of these conflicting interests in the design of working life. Contains 29 references at the end of these three sections. The following papers constitute approximately 70% of the document: "The Talents of Women, the Skills of Men: Flexible Specialisation and Women" (J. Jenson); "Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organisations" (J. Acker); "Technology and the Redesign of Work in the Insurance Industry" (E. Appelbaum); and "New Technology, Training and Union Strategies" (H. Rainbird). Concluding the document is a 10-item annotated bibliography. (MN)

This paper reports that between 2008 and 2009, unemployment rates across OECD countries increased among people at all educational levels, but rose to especially troubling heights among people without an upper secondary education. In 2009, the average employment rate across OECD countries was much higher for individuals with a tertiary (i.e. higher) education--indicating a better match between the skills these people have and the skills the labour market required. Between 2008 and 2009, the earnings advantage for people with a tertiary education remained strong in OECD countries. In some countries, earnings inequality between people with a tertiary education and those without an upper secondary education widened even further.

Youth unemployment is hardly new, but in the 1980s it poses unprecedented problems because economic growth no longer seems to provide the necessary jobs. Youth labor markets are being stripped of entry-level jobs by new technologies, changes in the global division of labor, and the upgrading of occupational structures. This paper describes government policies and practices on youth in selected countries that have a bearing on the transition from youth to adulthood. Data were gathered in extensive interviews with embassy officials and through analysis of documents provided by them, national education authorities, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The countries surveyed were: Australia; Britain; Canada; Finland; France; Federal Republic of Germany; Hungary; Ireland; Japan; Norway; and Sweden. Findings are presented in the following areas: (1) Demography of Youth; (2) National Policies; (3) Administrative Structures; (4) Education and Training; (5) Socioeconomic and Gender Inequalities; (6) Guidance, Counseling, and Placement; (7) Financial Support; (8) National Service; and (9) Youth Organizations. Data are presented on five tables and three appendices. (BJV)