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2. A Half Century of Progress in U.S. Student Achievement: Ethnic and SES Differences; Agency and Flynn Effects. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 21-01
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Harvard University, Program on Education Policy and Governance, Shakeel, M. Danish, and Peterson, Paul E.
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Principals (policy makers) have debated the progress in U.S. student performance for a half century or more. Informing these conversations, survey agents have administered seven million psychometrically linked tests in math and reading in 160 waves to national probability samples of selected cohorts born between 1954 and 2007. This study is the first to assess consistency of results by agency. We find results vary by agent, but consistent with Flynn effects, gains are larger in math than reading, except for the most recent period. Non-whites progress at a faster pace. Socio-economically disadvantaged white, black, and Hispanic students make greater progress when tested in elementary school, but that advantage attenuates and reverses itself as students age. We discuss potential moderators.
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- 2021
3. The Changing Nature and Role of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 5: Education and Labour Market Outcomes for Graduates from Different Types of VET System in Europe. Cedefop Research Paper. No 69
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Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Department for VET Systems and Institutions (DSI)
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This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational qualifications in early career would be offset by disadvantages later in life. The report explores the functioning of the safety net and the diversion effects across countries, demonstrating how these vary considerably with the specific institutional structure of schooling and work-based training. The results indicate that VET graduates are potentially sacrificing the longer-term gains associated with further education in favour of short-term benefits. [This research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH and including the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]
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- 2018
4. Globalisation Opportunities for VET: How European and International Initiatives Help in Renewing Vocational Education and Training in European Countries. Cedefop Research Paper. No 71
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Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Department for VET Systems and Institutions (DSI)
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In a highly competitive global landscape, occupations are transformed, new jobs are created and the skills needed for the labour market are constantly changing. European countries are looking at redefining VET [vocational education and training] to respond promptly to such challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead. They are reforming to modernise their VET systems and strengthen the relevance of their national qualifications in an international context. This publication explores national responses to globalisation in 15 countries and five economic sectors. It aims to understand how European and international initiatives help VET renewal across Europe. It shows how countries' reactions are embedded in their national traditions but also depend on their interactions with European, sectoral and multinational players that provide training and award qualifications. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by IBE Educational research institute and 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH.]
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- 2018
5. Refugee Education: Integration Models and Practices in OECD Countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 203
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France) and Cerna, Lucie
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The recent refugee crisis has put many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries under considerable pressure to accommodate and integrate large numbers of refugees. Refugee students are a particularly vulnerable group due to their forced displacement, but their needs are not always met by education systems, which can hinder the integration potential of these students. This poses considerable challenges as the integration of refugee students in education systems is important for their academic outcomes as well as their social and emotional well-being. The success (or lack of) integration in schools can also affect the future labour market and social integration potential of these children and youth. While there is a growing body of research on the integration of immigrants, policy-relevant research on refugee children and youth from an educational perspective is rather limited, fragmented and case specific. Detailed surveys and research projects focusing on the current wave of refugees that allow for cross-country comparisons are not yet available. Drawing on research from previous refugee waves, the paper examines key needs of refugee students and factors that promote their integration. It proposes a holistic model of integration in education that responds to the learning, social and emotional needs of refugee students. Furthermore, the paper examines what type of policies and practices are in place in OECD countries that support the integration of refugee students. Nonetheless, evaluations of practices and policies are often missing, which makes it difficult to assess whether they are successful. The paper finishes with some policy pointers on how to promote the integration of refugee students.
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- 2019
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6. Interviewers, Test-Taking Conditions and the Quality of the PIAAC Assessment. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 191
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France) and Keslair, François
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This paper explores the impact of test-taking conditions on the quality of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) assessment. Interviewers record information about the room of assessment and interruptions that occurred during each interview. These observations, along with information on interviewer assignment size and a careful look at interviewer effects, provide insights into the quality of the assessment. This working paper first describes the variations in test-taking conditions among participating countries. Second, it examines interviewer assignment sizes and the frequency of interruptions, finding that both vary markedly among countries (contrary to the room of assessment). The paper then looks at the relationship between these variations and response rates and engagement measures. While neither the room of assessment nor the recorded interruptions impact quality differences among countries, interviewer assignment size and interviewer effects may have a mild impact on results.
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- 2018
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7. Making Skills Transparent: Recognising Vocational Skills Acquired through Workbased Learning. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 180
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Kis, Viktoria, and Windisch, Hendrickje Catriona
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This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest potential to bring benefits. The focus is on three tools that are commonly used to shorten the path to a formal qualification: admission into a programme, reduced programme duration and qualification without a mandatory programme. For each of these tools, this paper sets out country approaches, discusses common challenges that arise in their implementation and advances policy messages to support policy design and implementation.
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- 2018
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8. Academic Resilience: What Schools and Countries Do to Help Disadvantaged Students Succeed in PISA. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 167
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Agasisti, Tommaso, Avvisati, Francesco, Borgonovi, Francesca, and Longobardi, Sergio
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Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that enables them to play an active role in their communities and prepares them to make the most of lifelong-learning opportunities. Using data from the most recent PISA cycles, this paper explores changes in the share of resilient students over time (2006-2015); highlights the importance of school environments and resources in mitigating the risk of low achievement for disadvantaged students; and identifies school-level factors that are associated with the likelihood of academic resilience among socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses reveal that several countries were able to increase the share of resilient students over time, reflecting improvements in the average performance of students, or a weaker relationship between socio-economic status and performance. In the vast majority of education systems examined, the likelihood of academic resilience among disadvantaged students is lower in schools where students report a negative classroom climate. The paper concludes by exploring school policies and practices that are associated with a positive classroom climate. [This work was supported by a contribution to the PISA programme of work from Vodafone Germany Foundation.]
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- 2018
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9. Birthplace Diversity, Income Inequality and Education Gradients in Generalised Trust: The Relevance of Cognitive Skills in 29 Countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 164
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Borgonovi, Francesca, and Pokropek, Artur
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The paper examines between-country differences in the mechanisms through which education could promote generalised trust using data from 29 countries participating in the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). Results indicate that education is strongly associated with generalised trust and that a large part of this association is mediated by individuals' literacy skills, income and occupational prestige. However, education gradients in levels of generalised trust and in the extent to which they are due to social stratification mechanisms or cognitive skills mechanisms vary across countries. Differences across countries in birthplace diversity and income inequality are correlated with how strongly education is associated with trust in different countries, as well as in the relative magnitude of direct and indirect associations. In particular, the relationship between literacy skills and generalised trust is stronger in the presence of greater birthplace diversity but is weaker in the presence of greater income inequality.
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- 2017
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10. The Evolution of Gender Gaps in Numeracy and Literacy between Childhood and Adulthood. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 184
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Borgonovi, Francesca, Choi, Álvaro, and Paccagnella, Marco
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Numeracy and literacy skills have become increasingly important in modern labour markets. The large gender differences that several studies have identified have therefore sparked considerable attention among researchers and policy makers. Little is known about the moment in which such gaps emerge, how they evolve and if their evolution differs across countries. We use data from large-scale international assessments to follow representative samples of birth-cohorts over time, and analyse how gender gaps in numeracy and literacy evolve from age 10 to age 27. Our results suggest that, across the countries examined, males' advantage in numeracy is smallest at age 10 and largest at age 27. The growth in magnitude of the gender gap is particularly pronounced between the age of 15 and 27. Such evolution stands in sharp contrast with the evolution of the gender gap in literacy, which is small at age 10, large and in favour of females at age 15, and negligible by age 27.
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- 2018
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11. Education Systems, Education Reforms, and Adult Skills in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). OECD Education Working Papers, No. 182
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France) and Liu, Huacong
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This study uses the PIAAC data to examine the relationships between education system characteristics (e.g. early tracking and vocational education orientation) and distributions of adult numeracy skills. It also investigates the effects of postponing the tracking age and easing university access for students on a vocational track on the average skills and different percentiles of the skills distribution. Correlational analysis suggests that education systems with more students enrolled in vocational tracks have on average higher levels of numeracy skills and more compressed skills distributions between the 50th and 90th percentiles. Further analysis suggests that postponing the tracking age among 14 European countries does not have a significant effect on the average skills of the population. However, it increases skills for individuals at the 10th, 20th, and 30th percentiles of the skill distribution. Expanding university access is associated with an increase in numeracy skills, particularly for individuals at the bottom three deciles of the distribution.
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- 2018
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12. Association between Literacy and Self-Rated Poor Health in 33 High- and Upper-Middle-Income Countries. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 165
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Kakarmath, Sujay, Denis, Vanessa, Encinas-Martin, Marta, Borgonovi, Francesca, and Subramanian, S. V.
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We assess the relationship between general literacy skills and health status by analysing data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an international survey of about 250,000 adults aged 16-65 years conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2011-15 in 33 countries/national sub-regions. Across countries, there seems to be a strong and consistent association between general literacy proficiency and self-rated poor health, independent of prior socio-economic status and income. General literacy proficiency also appears to be a mediator of the association between self-education and self-rated poor health. While the literacy-health association is robust over time, it varies in magnitude across countries. It is strongest for those with a tertiary or higher degree and does not appear to exist among young adults (ages 25 to 34 years). Future studies are required to understand the contextual factors that modify the general literacy proficiency-health association.
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- 2018
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13. Age, Ageing and Skills: Results from the Survey of Adult Skills. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 132
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France) and Paccagnella, Marco
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This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the link between age and proficiency in information-processing skills, based on information drawn from the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The data reveal significant age-related differences in proficiencies, strongly suggesting that proficiency tends to "naturally" decline with age. Age differences in proficiency are, at first sight, substantial. On average across the OECD countries participating in PIAAC, adults aged 55 to 65 score some 30 points less than adults aged 25 to 34 on the PIAAC literacy scale, which is only slightly smaller than the score point difference between tertiary educated and less-than-upper-secondary educated individuals. However, despite their lower levels of proficiency, older individuals do not seem to suffer in terms of labour market outcomes. In particular, they generally earn higher wages, and much of the available empirical evidence suggests that they are not less productive than younger workers. Older and more experienced individuals seem therefore able to compensate the decline in information processing skills with the development of other skills, generally much more difficult to measure. On the other hand, proficiency in information-processing skills remain a strong determinant of important outcomes at all ages: this makes it important to better understand which factors are the most effective in preventing such age-related decline in proficiency, which does not occur to the same extent in all countries and for all individuals. Two broad interventions seem to be particularly promising in this respect. First, it is important to ensure that there is adequate and effective investment in skills development early in the life-cycle: as skills beget skills, starting off with a higher stock of human capital seems also to ensure smaller rates of proficiency decline. Second, it is equally important that policies are in place that provide incentives to individuals (and firms) to invest in skills across the entire working life. In this respect, changes in retirement policies can not only have the short-term effect of providing some reliefs to public finance, but have the potential to radically reshape incentives to stay active, to practice their skills and to invest more in training, thus helping to maintain high levels of proficiency. One table, Age Differences and Age Effects, is appended.
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- 2016
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14. Working and Learning: A Diversity of Patterns. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 169
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France) and Quintini, Glenda
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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.
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- 2015
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15. Test-Taking Engagement in PIAAC. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 133
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Goldhammer, Frank, Martens, Thomas, Christoph, Gabriela, and Lüdtke, Oliver
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In this study, we investigated how empirical indicators of test-taking engagement can be defined, empirically validated, and used to describe group differences in the context of the Programme of International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC). The approach was to distinguish between disengaged and engaged response behavior by means of response time thresholds. Constant thresholds of 3000 ms and 5000 ms were considered, as well as item-specific thresholds based on the visual inspection of (bimodal) response time distributions (VI method) and the proportion correct conditional on response time (P+>0% method). Overall, the validity checks comparing the proportion correct of engaged and disengaged response behavior by domain and by item showed that the P+>0% method performed slightly better than the VI method and the methods assuming constant thresholds. The results for Literacy and Numeracy by module revealed that there was an increase from Module 1 to Module 2 in the proportion of disengaged responses, suggesting a drop in test-taking engagement. The investigation of country differences in test-taking engagement by domain using the P+>0% method showed that the proportion of responses classified as disengaged was quite low. For Literacy, the proportion was well below 5% for the majority of countries; in Numeracy, the proportion was even smaller than 1% for almost all countries; while for Problem solving, the proportion of disengaged responses was more than 5% but usually well below 10%. There were significant differences in test-taking engagement between countries; the obtained effect sizes were small to medium. Population differences in test-taking engagement were highly correlated between the three domains, suggesting that test-taking engagement can be conceived as a consistent characteristic. Furthermore, there was a clear negative association between test-taking disengagement and proficiency in Literacy, Numeracy and Problem solving, respectively. Finally, subgroup differences for gender, age, educational attainment, and language proved to be insignificant or very small. Results suggest that males tend to be more disengaged, that disengagement increases with age in Problem solving, with lower educational attainment and when the test language is not the same as a testee's native language. Appended are: (1) Country differences in test-taking engagement; and (2) Subgroup differences in test-taking engagement.
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- 2016
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16. The Impact of Literacy, Numeracy and Computer Skills on Earnings and Employment Outcomes. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 129
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (France), Lane, Marguerita, and Conlon, Gavan
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Using the 2012 PIAAC data, our analysis confirms that there are significantly higher earnings and employment returns to "both" increasing levels of formally recognised education, and to increasing levels of numeracy, literacy and information and communication technologies (ICT) skills proficiencies controlling for the level of education. Unsurprisingly, the labour market returns to changes in formally recognised levels of education in general exceed the labour market returns associated with increasing levels of skills proficiency. In the case of literacy and numeracy proficiencies, improved literacy and numeracy skills narrow the labour market outcomes gap between individuals with different levels of formally recognised education, but do not close it completely. The analysis demonstrates more substantial returns to ICT skills. Furthermore, possession of higher levels of ICT skills and lower levels of formally recognised qualification are often associated with higher returns compared to individuals with higher levels of formally recognised education but lower ICT proficiency levels. In other words, ICT skills proficiencies often entirely compensate for lower formally recognised qualifications in the labour market. Contains the following annexes: (1) Country Literacy and Numeracy Profiles; and (2) Demographic Control Variables.
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- 2016
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17. Evaluating Eco-Innovation of OECD Countries with Data Envelopment Analysis
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Mavi, Reza Kiani and Standing, Craig
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Government regulations require businesses to improve their processes and products/services in a green and sustainable manner. For being environmentally friendly, businesses should invest more on eco-innovation practices. Firms eco-innovate to promote eco-efficiency and sustainability. This paper evaluates the eco-innovation performance of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with data envelopment analysis (DEA). Data were gathered from the world bank database and global innovation index report. Findings show that for most OECD countries, energy use and ecological sustainability are more important than other inputs and outputs for enhancing eco-innovation. [For full proceedings, see ED571459.]
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- 2016
18. Telecollaboration, Challenges and Oppportunities
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Abruquah, Emmanuel, Dosa, Ildiko, and Duda, Grazyna
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This article discusses some practical ideas associated with a pilot intercultural telecollaboration project. The aim of the project was to connect students from five countries: Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland and Spain, and to make them interact using social media, such as Facebook, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. There were success stories connected with the project outcomes, as well as some challenges and problems, such as students' motivation and the available technology. This paper presents the project's objectives, methods and results. [For the complete volume, see ED571330.]
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- 2016
19. Social capital and self-rated health among older adults: a comparative analysis of Finland, Poland and Spain.
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KOUTSOGEORGOU, ELENI, NYQVIST, FREDRICA, NYGÅRD, MIKAEL, CERNIAUSKAITE, MILDA, QUINTAS, RUI, RAGGI, ALBERTO, and LEONARDI, MATILDE
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ELDER care ,CHI-squared test ,COMPARATIVE studies ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,HEALTH status indicators ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,RESEARCH funding ,SELF-evaluation ,SOCIAL capital ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,ODDS ratio ,OLD age - Abstract
The aim of this paper is to investigate the association between structural and cognitive aspects of social capital and self-rated health among adults aged 50 or more, living in three countries: Finland, Poland and Spain. The study, which was based on data from the European Social Survey (2008/09), was a part of the EU research project COURAGE in Europe. More specifically the paper assesses the association between social capital indicators – informal social network and general trust – and good self-rated health through single-level and joint effects analyses. The results showed that Finland was a country of high social capital, in terms of both social networks and general trust, while Spain showed low levels of general trust and Poland low levels of informal social networks. As to the association between social capital and self-rated health, high levels of general trust and high networks were found to be associated with good health among all countries' respondents. Older persons living in partnerships, with higher education, higher levels of engagement in informal networks and general trust, were found to be more likely to show good self-rated health. Our comparative analyses revealed different associations between social capital and health according to country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
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- 2015
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20. Multi-Level Classification of Literacy of Educators Using PIAAC Data
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Yalcin, Seher
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This study aims to identify the literacy skills of individuals whose highest level of education was in the field 'teacher training and educational sciences'. The study sample comprised 10,618 individuals in the field of teacher training and educational sciences, selected from 31 countries (participating in the International Adult Skills Assessment Programme during the 2014-2015 survey) using a multi-stage sampling method. The study employed multi-level latent class analysis and three-step analysis in order to determine both the number of multi-level latent classes of educators' literacy scores as well as the selected independent variables' success in predicting those latent classes. The analysis revealed that educators in Germany constituted the group with the highest literacy skills while educators from Singapore comprised the group with the lowest literacy skills. [This study was presented at the 9th International Congress of Educational Research. Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.]
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- 2022
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21. Adult Readiness to Learn: An International Study of Individual and Contextual Predictors
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Smith, Thomas J., Rose, Amy D., Ross-Gordon, Jovita M., and Smith, M. Cecil
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The present study examined an international sample of adults from the Survey of Adult Skills administered by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2009) to assess (1) how specific individual and country-level characteristics predict adult readiness to learn, and (2) how readiness to learn predicts adult skills in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments. Multilevel modeling showed that education and hours worked positively predicted readiness to learn, while age negatively predicted it, and men showed high levels of readiness to learn than women. At the individual level, a positive relationship between readiness to learn and skill proficiency was observed, while at the country level a negative relationship occurred. This "readiness to learn paradox" is discussed in terms of cultural differences in learning environments.
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- 2016
22. Lifelong Learning: Capabilities and Aspirations
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Ilieva-Trichkova, Petya
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The present paper discusses the potential of the capability approach in conceptualizing and understanding lifelong learning as an agency process, and explores its capacity to guide empirical studies on lifelong learning. It uses data for 20 countries from the Adult Education Survey (2007; 2011) and focuses on aspirations for lifelong learning. The study results show that there are considerable country differences in the level of people's aspirations. They highlight the fact that, despite the growing emphasis on lifelong learning, the level of aspirations has decreased in half of the European countries. However, this decrease occurs to a greater extent among people who did not participate in lifelong learning, but wanted to participate, than among people who had already participated in some form of education or training in the previous 12 months. [For the complete Volume 14, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568088.]
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- 2016
23. Insights into Accounting Education in a COVID-19 World
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Sangster, Alan, Stoner, Greg, and Flood, Barbara
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This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and teaching strategies away from the comfort of traditional formats, but many more that are negative, primarily relating to the impact on faculty and student health and well-being, and the accompanying stress. It identifies issues that need to be addressed in the recovery and redesign stages of the management of this crisis, and it sets a new research agenda for studies in accounting education.
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- 2020
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24. Bilingual Street Signs Policy in EU Member States: A Comparison
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Raos, Višeslav
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This paper explores linguistic landscapes and the enactment of public visibility and presence of non-majority linguistic groups in EU member states. Non-majority linguistic groups gain power, visibility and presence through the introduction of bilingual or multilingual signposts on roads, streets, squares, and public buildings in towns and cities where a given linguistic group represents a significant population share. The article offers a comparative analysis of language policies of EU member states regarding enactment of official bilingual or multilingual signs in public space. Twenty EU member states have signed the "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages," while 17 members have ratified it. In addition, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, an integral party of the Lisbon Treaty, stipulates that language diversity is one of the fundamental values respected by the EU. Hence, this comparative research assesses various practices employed by member states in relation to the proclaimed values of multilingualism. Consequently, the paper depicts and compares different language policies that produce linguistic landscapes in EU member states. Finally, it tries to determine whether there is a convergence towards a common EU policy on bilingual and multilingual signs in public space.
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- 2018
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25. Participation in Adult Education and Training in Countries with High and Low Participation Rates: Demand and Barriers
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Hovdhaugen, Elisabeth and Opheim, Vibeke
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This paper explores patterns in participation in adult education and training (AET) by comparing five countries with high participation rates (the Nordic countries and the Netherlands) with three countries with significantly lower participation rates (France, Poland and the Slovak Republic). Using PIAAC data the paper examines differences in the levels of demand for AET as well as variations in barriers to AET participation between the two groups of countries. The demand for AET is higher than the actual participation rate since it includes those who do not participate although they wish to. The demand for AET is substantially higher in countries with high participation rates. Further, the structure and level of barriers is quite similar in the two groups of countries. Countries with low AET participation rate do not have a higher proportion of individuals reporting barriers to AET participation; that they do not participate in AET although they wish to. In both groups of countries demand for AET is strongly associated with the individuals' educational level. The findings are discussed by drawing on previous studies on drivers of and barriers to participation in AET.
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- 2018
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26. Examination of the Researches on the Use of Technology by Fine Arts Teachers
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Rakhat, Berikbol, Kuralay, Bekbolatova, Akmaral, Smanova, Zhanar, Nebessayeva, and Miyat, Dzhanaev
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The aim of this study was to determine the examination of the researches about the use of technology by fine arts teachers. The study was conducted according to the content and citation analysis model. In this context, Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection indexes were included. In the document scanning in the WOS environment, the keywords 'Fine arts', 'Teachers' and 'Technology' were searched. In total, 169 documents were examined and analysed one by one. They were analysed according to year, document type, WOS content category, country, source title, organisation and citation, authors, publication language and categories. As a result of this research, the first study was conducted in 2004, while the most studies were conducted in 2016. It was concluded that the published studies had the most Proceedings papers as the document type. The area where the studies of fine arts teachers on the use of technology are mostly carried out is Education Educational Research, according to the Web of Science content category. The most researched title in the distribution according to the Source Title field is 'International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts.' The university with the most studies is Kazan Federal University. The 19 authors who conducted the studies have a large number of studies in this field. It was concluded that other authors had only one study in the field. Again, when we look at the distribution of the countries and documents according to the language of writing, the country with the most studies is China and the language of the documents is English. The area continues to evolve.
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- 2021
27. Returns to Workplace Training for Male and Female Employees and Implications for the Gender Wage Gap: A Quantile Regression Analysis
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Icardi, Rossella
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Context: Existing studies have explored the association between workplace training and wages suggesting that training participation may have a positive association with wages. However, we still know very little about whether this association varies between men and women. Through its potential positive association with wages, training may balance wage differences between men and women. In addition, the gender wage gap varies across the wage distribution. Differences in the association between training participation and wages for men and women across the earnings spectrum may offer an explanation as to why the discrepancy in female/male earnings is larger at some point of the wage distribution compared to others. Approach: Using data from the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and unconditional quantile regression, this paper examines whether the association between workplace training and wages differs between men and women at different points of the wage distribution across 14 European countries. To partly control for endogeneity in training participation, detailed measures of cognitive skills have been included in the models. Findings: Findings show gender differences in the association between training and wages across the wage distribution. In most countries, results indicate larger training coefficients for women than men at the lower end of the wage spectrum whereas they are larger for men at the top. This pattern holds across most countries with the only exception of Liberal ones, where women benefit less than men across the entire wage spectrum. Conclusions: The findings of this work reveal that distributional variations in returns to workplace training follow a similar pattern across industrialized countries, despite their different institutional settings. Moreover, differences in training coefficients of men and women at different parts of the wage distribution suggest that training could reduce gender wage differences among low earners and potentially widen the gap in wages among individuals at the top of the wage distribution.
- Published
- 2021
28. Designing and Implementing Virtual Exchange -- A Collection of Case Studies
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Research-publishing.net (France), Helm, Francesca, Beaven, Ana, Helm, Francesca, Beaven, Ana, and Research-publishing.net (France)
- Abstract
Virtual exchange is gaining popularity in formal and non-formal education, partly as a means to internationalise the curriculum, and also to offer more sustainable and inclusive international and intercultural experiences to young people around the world. This volume brings together 19 case studies (17 in higher education and two in youth work) of virtual exchange projects in Europe and the South Mediterranean region. They span across a range of disciplines, from STEM to business, tourism, and languages, and are presented as real-life pedagogical practices that can be of interest to educators looking for ideas and inspiration. [This content is provided in the format of an e-book. Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]
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- 2020
29. Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity in Physical Education: A Review of Reviews
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Damián Iglesias, Javier Fernandez-Rio, and Pablo Rodríguez-González
- Abstract
Purpose: This paper aimed to examine moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels in physical education. Method: A review of reviews was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The screening process, data extraction, assessment of the risk of bias, and analysis of the results were carried out independently by two reviewers. A total of eight systematic reviews from six databases, which included 224 studies, involving more than 80,000 students (elementary, middle, and high school), enrolled in more than 450 schools worldwide were unpacked. Results: Students fail to meet the 50% recommendation of MVPA lesson time, irrespective of country, school stage, gender, or MVPA measures. Physical education-based interventions increased students' MVPA during lessons (range 14.3%-24%) compared with control groups. Conclusion: Physical education is uniquely positioned to provide physical activity opportunities for students, but teachers must target the provision of adequate MVPA levels, which is not currently happening.
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- 2023
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30. Efficiency Measurement with Network DEA: An Application to Sustainable Development Goals 4
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Koçak, Deniz, Türe, Hasan, and Atan, Murat
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Education is the core of the factors that improved people for a better lifestyle and increases the level of society' development. Quality education is one of the most vital goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to actualizing these factors. Using relational network data envelopment analysis (DEA), which have three interrelated substages, this current paper computes the educational economy efficiency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries bearing in mind the characteristics related to SDGs. The contribution of our study is the use of a novel approach to computing the educational economy efficiency using relational network DEA with GAMS. Even though some interesting differences reveal in the efficiency of the countries, the findings show that countries with high-efficiency scores are clustered around countries like Latvia, Slovenia, and Korea.
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- 2019
31. The Impact of Studying Abroad on Students' Intercultural Competence: An Interview Study
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Sobkowiak, Pawel
- Abstract
This paper presents qualitative research examining to what extent sojourns abroad engage their participants in intercultural interactions and whether or not such experience translates into students' intercultural growth. The results of the study demonstrated that studying abroad did not provide students with ample opportunities to immerse into the local community and fully discover a new cultural environment. However, students surrounded by local and their fellow international students met foreign cultures, which motivated them to explore and interpret the encountered diversity, and thus equipped them with knowledge about foreign cultures, sensitizing them to cultural diversity. Sometimes such contacts challenged students' preconceived judgments and stereotypes of specific cultural groups, their ways of thinking, valuing and acting, and resulted, to a lesser or greater extent, in rethinking these, leading to changing attitudes and values. International experiences also stimulated students to self-analyze their own cultural identity, and thereby contributed to their growth in self-awareness in this respect. By offering opportunities for experiencing cultural differences and prompting students to develop coping strategies and to make references to the home culture, the sojourn is thus of significant importance for tertiary students, allowing for fostering their intercultural development to a certain degree.
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- 2019
32. Government Spending across the World: How the United States Compares. National Issue Brief No. 144
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University of New Hampshire, Carsey School of Public Policy, Ettlinger, Michael, Hensley, Jordan, and Vieira, Julia
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In this brief, authors Michael Ettlinger, Jordan Hensley, and Julia Vieira analyze how much the governments of different countries spend, and on what, to illuminate the range of fiscal policy options available and provide a basis for determining which approaches work best. They report that the United States ranks twenty-fourth in government spending as a share of GDP out of twenty-nine countries for which recent comparable data are available. The key determinant of where countries rank in overall government spending is the amount spent on social protection. The United States ranks last in spending on social protection as a share of GDP and twenty-second in per capita spending. The United States ranks at or near the top in military, health care, education, and law enforcement spending. Measuring government spending by different methods and including tax expenditures does not appear to significantly alter the conclusion that the United States is a low-tax, low-spending country relative to the other countries examined, particularly when compared to its fellow higher-income countries. [This paper is an evolution of a previous work, "Comparing Public Spending and Priorities Across OECD Countries" (ED606844).]
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- 2019
33. Partiti populisti, diritti e uguaglianza di genere.
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MACALUSO, MARILENA
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WOMEN'S rights ,SCIENTIFIC literature ,POLITICAL parties ,GENDER ,POLITICAL change - Abstract
The Great Recession changed the political landscape of the European democracies with the electoral success of populist protest parties in different countries. In this article, we wonder if there are features that characterized these political parties about the issues of gender equality and women's rights. Populism and feminization of politics are recurring topics in the scholars' debate, but the relationships between these two phenomena are still little studied. Seeing as the issue is linked to context, and not only to the political parties' differences, we will focus on three illustrative cases, in different European nations - Spain, Finland, Poland - analysing scientific literature and documents. The hypothesis is that the issues of gender can be an additional contentious line useful for defining identity and differences in the heterogeneous set of populist parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
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34. 12‐hr shifts in nursing: Do they remove unproductive time and information loss or do they reduce education and discussion opportunities for nurses? A cross‐sectional study in 12 European countries.
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Dall'Ora, Chiara, Griffiths, Peter, Emmanuel, Talia, Rafferty, Anne Marie, Ewings, Sean, Sermeus, Walter, Van den Heede, Koen, Bruyneel, Luk, Lesaffre, Emmanuel, Aiken, Linda, Smith, Herbert, Sloane, Douglas, Marie Rafferty, Anne, Jones, Simon, Ball, Jane, Kinnunen, Juha, Ensio, Anneli, Jylhä, Virpi, Busse, Reinhard, and Zander, Britta
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COMMUNICATION ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,CONTINUUM of care ,HOSPITALS ,MEDICAL quality control ,NURSES ,NURSING ,CONTINUING education of nurses ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,REGRESSION analysis ,RESEARCH funding ,SCALE analysis (Psychology) ,SHIFT systems ,PEER relations ,CROSS-sectional method ,DATA analysis software ,STATISTICAL models ,ODDS ratio - Abstract
Aims and objectives: To examine the association between registered nurses' (referred to as "nurses" for brevity) shifts of 12 hr or more and presence of continuing educational programmes; ability to discuss patient care with other nurses; assignments that foster continuity of care; and patient care information being lost during handovers. Background: The introduction of long shifts (i.e., shifts of 12 hr or more) remains controversial. While there are claims of efficiency, studies have shown long shifts to be associated with adverse effects on quality of care. Efficiency claims are predicated on the assumption that long shifts reduce overlaps between shifts; these overlaps are believed to be unproductive and dangerous. However, there are potentially valuable educational and communication activities that occur during these overlaps. Design: Cross‐sectional survey of 31,627 nurses within 487 hospitals in 12 European countries. Methods: The associations were measured through generalised linear mixed models. The study methods were compliant with the STROBE checklist. Results: When nurses worked shifts of 12 hr or more, they were less likely to report having continuing educational programmes; and time to discuss patient care with other nurses, compared to nurses working 8 hr or less. Nurses working shifts of 12 hr or more were less likely to report assignments that foster continuity of care, albeit the association was not significant. Similarly, working long shifts was associated with reports of patient care information being lost during handovers, although association was not significant. Conclusion: Working shifts of 12 hr or more is associated with reduced educational activities and fewer opportunities to discuss patient care, with potential negative consequences for safe and effective care. Relevance to clinical practice: Implementation of long shifts should be questioned, as reduced opportunity to discuss care or participate in educational activities may jeopardise the quality and safety of care for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2020
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35. Power Distance and Physician–Nurse Collegial Relations Across 14 European Countries: National Culture is Not Merely a Nuisance Factor in International Comparative Research.
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Bruyneel, Luk, Lesaffre, Emmanuel, Meuleman, Bart, and Sermeus, Walter
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CHI-squared test ,COMPARATIVE studies ,STATISTICAL correlation ,CULTURE ,FACTOR analysis ,INTERPROFESSIONAL relations ,MASCULINITY ,NURSE-physician relationships ,NURSES' attitudes ,POPULATION geography ,POWER (Social sciences) ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,STATISTICAL sampling ,SCALE analysis (Psychology) ,SOCIAL skills ,SURVEYS ,WORK environment ,ETHNOLOGY research ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Purpose: This study illustrates the huge untapped potential of quantifying the impact of culture in making meaningful comparisons across groups. Our focus is on cross‐national differences in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians, and how the measurement of this complex construct and the evaluation of true differences are related to dimensions of national culture. Design: We examine across 14 European countries the association between indices of national culture from the seminal work of Hofstede and 39,435 nurses' ratings of their relations with physicians. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate strong factorial invariance across countries and to examine the influence of power distance and masculinity. Findings: There was wide variation across countries in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians. Strong factorial invariance was shown for a one‐factor model, which confirmed that across countries the seven survey items measure a common factor of physician‐nurse relations. This model showed no country bias for any of the seven survey items, which suggests that differences across countries reflect true differences. These true differences were significantly associated with variation in country values of power distance, which showed a significant negative correlation with physician–nurse relations. Conclusions: Continuously pursuing a better understanding of characteristics that impact the studied indicators, such as national culture, is elementary to better understand the construct under study. In this application, country values of power distance negatively impacted nurse‐reported relations with physicians, which strongly varied across countries. Clinical Relevance: Better nurse‐reported relations between nurses and physicians link to higher nurse job satisfaction, lower emotional exhaustion, better nurse‐perceived quality of care, and lower patient mortality. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index is an excellent instrument to characterize variation in working relations between nurses and physicians as well as physicians' professional posture towards nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2019
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36. Does Variation in the Extent of Generalized Trust, Individual Education and Extensiveness of Social Security Policies Matter for Maximization of Subjective Well-Being?
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Valeeva, Rania F.
- Abstract
In this paper, I examine whether generalized trust and education, as well as social security policies of welfare state institutions matter for cross-national differences in subjective well-being (SWB), because knowledge on this issue is still lacking. For this purpose I integrated the insights of two sociological theories: Social Function Production theory and Actor-Centred Institutionalism. Based on these theoretical notions we derived several hypotheses, which I tested using multilevel analysis of the data from the European Social Survey (2006), in a sample of 37,237 respondents from 22 European countries. My findings indicate that various extensiveness of social security policies matter for the level of SWB, and for the impact of education on SWB. I found negative impact of low education on SWB in all countries, except in Northern and Western European countries. This might suggest that social security policies of the latter countries have diminished the negative impact of low education on SWB. Moreover, my findings indicate positive relationship between individual education and generalized trust; as well as between generalized trust and SWB in countries with all five types of social security policies.
- Published
- 2016
37. A Cross-National Perspective on the Associations of Grit with Career Success
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Danner, Daniel, Lechner, Clemens M., and Rammstedt, Beatrice
- Abstract
This paper presents one of the first cross-nationally comparative studies on the economic and social returns to grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals). Specifically, we investigated whether grit incrementally predicted objective (income) and subjective (job satisfaction) career success over and above cognitive skills and educational attainment; whether grit's association with career success was moderated by individual characteristics; whether grit's associations with career success varied across countries; and whether this variation could be explained by labour market conditions (unemployment rates). Multi-group structural equation models with data from 6,738 respondents from 19 countries revealed that grit was incrementally associated with income and job satisfaction in some but not all countries. Grit's effect sizes were mostly modest, yet there were some indications for variations by education and labour market conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that the associations between grit and career success are not uniform but vary across individuals and contexts.
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- 2020
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38. Gender Parity in Higher Education Enrolments: Trends and Paradoxes
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Clancy, Patrick and O'Sullivan, Sara
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Higher education systems globally have seen major increases in women's participation and the overall trend in OECD countries has been a transition from the traditional male majority in enrolments to a substantial female majority. Prompted by a recent reversal of this trend, this paper explores gender differences in participation in higher education in 27 OECD countries between 1971 and 2015. While increased participation by women was thought to be part of the solution to persistent gender inequalities we argue that this is not an inevitable outcome. Our argument is based on an analysis of changes in the gender composition of the student population, using available secondary data. We explore how changing gender differentials are linked to the concurrent massification of HE, changing distribution of enrolments by field of study, changes in sex segregation by field, features of national education systems and wider social structural differences related to gender. Our analysis examines the complex interaction between discipline-specific levels of sex segregation and overall levels of gender parity. We argue that that sex segregation needs to be considered alongside women's long-standing higher participation rates to understand why the latter has not triggered a transformation in the gendered division of labour.
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- 2020
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39. What Do Parents of Children with Autism Expect from Participation in Research? A Community Survey about Early Autism Studies
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Fletcher-Watson, Sue, Larsen, Kenneth, and Salomone, Erica
- Abstract
Engagement with stakeholders is an essential part of the research process. This is particularly the case for early autism research with infant cohorts and their families, where a range of ethical issues are pertinent. Here, we report on a large survey of parents who have a child on the autism spectrum (n = 1040) which specifically probed attitudes to early autism research. The large majority of parents showed positive attitudes overall, and these were associated with greater access to services, higher service quality ratings and higher rates of intellectual disability among their children. Parents valued the scientific goals of research, but half of parents also reported that an intervention component would be an essential prerequisite for them to participate in research. If enrolled in a study, parents were positive about most commonly used measures though less favourably disposed towards brain scans for children. They valued direct contact with the research team and openness in data sharing. We interpret our findings in terms of lessons for the early autism research community and for stakeholder engagement projects. [Members of the COST ESSEA Working Groups contributed to the writing of this paper.]
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- 2019
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40. Defining Competences for Future Geography Students in Relation to Low Carbon Societies
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Feliu, Jaume, Inkeroinen, Paula, Markuszewska, Iwona, Tanskanen, Minna, Nuss, Sergi, and Vila-Subirós, Josep
- Abstract
This paper presents the results of an analysis of the most important skills and competences that will be important in the coming years for future geographers involved in assessing and managing low-carbon societies. The analysed information was extracted from a questionnaire answered by professionals working in low-carbon management in three European countries (Finland, Poland and Catalonia, Spain). From the results, we have identified not only the most requisite abilities and skills, but also differences between countries on a European scale. Among the findings, we would highlight the general agreement that "soft skills", as opposed to "hard skills", are critical for future professionals addressing policies in relation to low carbon societies.
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- 2019
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41. Comparing the Efficiency of Schools through International Benchmarking: Results from an Empirical Analysis of OECD PISA 2012 Data
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Agasisti, Tommaso and Zoido, Pablo
- Abstract
This paper derives efficiency scores for around 8,500 schools in 30 countries, using Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 data and a nonparametric approach called data envelopment analysis as method. On average, achievement scores of schools can be increased by 27%, holding inputs constant. Efficiency scores vary considerably both between and within countries; the role of managerial efficiency and structural differences due to operating in different contexts (countries) is disentangled. Subsequently, a number of school-level factors are found to be correlated with efficiency scores and indicate potential directions for improving educational results. Heterogeneity of such characteristics across countries and along the distribution of efficiency is explored.
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- 2018
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42. Same but Different? Measurement Invariance of the PIAAC Motivation-to-Learn Scale across Key Socio-Demographic Groups
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Gorges, Julia, Koch, Tobias, Maehler, Débora B., and Offerhaus, Judith
- Abstract
Background: Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) revealed that countries systematically differ in their respondents' literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments skills; skill levels also vary by gender, age, level of education or migration background. Similarly, systematic differences have been documented with respect to adults' participation in education, which can be considered as a means to develop and maintain skills. From a psychological perspective, motivation to learn is considered a key factor associated with both skill development and participation in (further) education. In order to account for motivation when analyzing PIAAC data, four items from the PIAAC background questionnaire were recently compiled into a motivation-to-learn scale. This scale has been found to be invariant (i.e., showing full weak and partial strong measurement invariance) across 21 countries. Methods: This paper presents further analyses using multiple-group graded response models to scrutinize the validity of the motivation-to-learn scale for group comparisons. Results: Results indicate at least partial strong measurement invariance across gender, age groups, level of education, and migration background in most countries under study (all CFI > 0.95, all RMSEA < 0.08). Thus, the scale is suitable for comparing both means and associations across these groups. Conclusions:Results are discussed in light of country characteristics, challenges of measurement invariance testing, and potential future research using PIAAC data.
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- 2017
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43. A Languacognitive Constructionist Approach to Intercultural Competence in Educational Settings
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Strugielska, Ariadna and Piatkowska, Katarzyna
- Abstract
The aim of this paper is to discuss intercultural competence (IC) from a languacognitive perspective, whose main assumption is the interface between language, cognition and culture manifested in meaning construction. The article first emphasizes the centrality of language in the process of meaning construction. As a result, in the following section, we point to a potential contribution that a cognitive-linguistic perspective with its focus on two complex systems, that is, language and cognition, can bring to research on IC. More specifically, since, as we argue, intercultural competence is an abstract notion incorporating other intangible concepts, its interpretation needs a languacognitive focus. To illustrate the validity of the approach, we analyze meaning construals of IC of the participants of the summer school DICETE. The results highlight the importance of language for interpreting and developing IC in the context of higher education.
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- 2017
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44. Degrees of Competency: The Relationship between Educational Qualifications and Adult Skills across Countries
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Massing, Natascha and Schneider, Silke L.
- Abstract
Background: Educational qualifications and literacy skills are highly related. This is not surprising as it is one aim of educational systems to equip individuals with competencies necessary to take part in society. Because of this relationship educational qualifications are often used as a proxy for "human capital". However, from a theoretical perspective, there are many reasons why this relationship is not perfect, and to some degree this is due to third variables. Thus, we want to explore the net relationship between educational attainment (harmonized according to the International Standard Classification of Education, ISCED) and literacy skills, and how much skills vary within education levels across countries. Methods: We use data from 21 countries from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2012. This paper compares the literacy skills of adults who achieved different levels of educational attainment across countries. Given the high degree of educational differentiation in most countries, we do this using a more differentiated educational attainment variable than what is commonly used. In our analyses we firstly adjust for factors that are likely to affect access to education and the acquisition of educational qualifications and literacy skills, such as parental education and language and migration background. In a second step, we also take into account factors affecting skill development after initial formal education, such as occupation and skill use at home. Results: We firstly find a high degree of heterogeneity of skills across countries for equivalent education categories. Secondly, we find skill similarities for equivalent education categories classified at different broad education levels, sometimes even breaking the hierarchical order of 'higher education entails higher competencies'. Conclusion: We conclude that ISCED levels cannot be taken as a cross-nationally comparable proxy for human capital in terms of literacy skills, and that education has to be harmonized in a substantively more meaningful way in future adult literacy surveys.
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- 2017
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45. Psychosocial difficulties from the perspective of persons with neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Coenen, Michaela, Cabello, Maria, Umlauf, Silvia, Ayuso-Mateos, José Luis, Anczewska, Marta, Tourunen, Jouni, Leonardi, Matilde, and Cieza, Alarcos
- Subjects
MIGRAINE ,MULTIPLE sclerosis ,MENTAL health ,PSYCHOLOGY of drug addiction ,PARKINSON'S disease ,SCHIZOPHRENIA ,EPILEPSY & psychology ,MENTAL depression ,DEMENTIA ,STROKE ,CAREGIVERS ,COMMUNICATION education ,EMOTIONS ,FOCUS groups ,INTERPERSONAL relations ,INTERVIEWING ,MEDICAL cooperation ,MEMORY ,NOSOLOGY ,PAIN ,PERSONALITY ,RESEARCH ,RESEARCH funding ,STATISTICAL sampling ,HEALTH self-care ,SLEEP disorders ,QUALITATIVE research ,THEMATIC analysis ,HUMAN research subjects ,PATIENT selection ,PATIENTS' attitudes ,FAMILY attitudes ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,PSYCHOLOGY - Abstract
Purpose: The objective of this study is to determine whether persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience a common set of psychosocial difficulties using qualitative data from focus groups and individual interviews.Method: The study was performed in five European countries (Finland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain) using the focus groups and individual interviews with persons with nine neuropsychiatric disorders (dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, stroke and substance dependence). Digitally recorded sessions were analysed using a step-by-step qualitative and quantitative methodology resulting in the compilation of a common set of psychosocial difficulties using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework.Results: Sixty-seven persons participated in the study. Most persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience difficulties in emotional functions, sleeping, carrying out daily routine, working and interpersonal relationships in common. Sixteen out of 33 psychosocial difficulties made up the common set. This set includes mental functions, pain and issues addressing activities and participation and provides first evidence for the hypothesis of horizontal epidemiology of psychosocial difficulties in neuropsychiatric disorders.Conclusions: This study provides information about psychosocial difficulties that should be covered in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of clinical diagnoses.Implications for RehabilitationEmotional problems, work and sleep problems should be addressed in all the treatments of neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of their specific diagnosis, etiology and severity.Personality issues should be targeted in the treatment for neurological disorders, whereas communication skill training may also be useful for mental disorders.The effects of medication and social environment on patient’s daily life should be considered in all the neuropsychiatric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2016
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46. Student and Graduate Migration and Its Effect on the Financing of Higher Education
- Author
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Haussen, Tina and Uebelmesser, Silke
- Abstract
In higher education systems that are partly tax funded, a country might not be willing to subsidize the education of international students who might leave after graduation. This paper analyzes how student migration affects governmental decisions regarding the private funding share of higher education for 22 OECD countries for the period of 2000-2011. Based on fixed effects estimations, we find a significant positive correlation. This result is robust to changes in the specification, including estimations for country groups and for an expanded lag structure. The use of an instrumental variable approach supports a causal interpretation.
- Published
- 2016
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47. Teaching Excellence Initiatives: Modalities and Operational Factors
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Higher Education Academy (HEA) (United Kingdom), Land, Ray, and Gordon, George
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Teaching excellence is at the centre of national and international higher education policy. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is a part of the debate to develop a shared understanding of what constitutes teaching excellence and has published research including "Considering Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: 2007-2013" by Dr Vicky Gunn and Dr Anna Fisk, which provided a much-needed and wide-ranging review of literature. This report by Professor Ray Land, Durham University, and George Gordon, University of Strathclyde, was produced as a stimulus paper for a roundtable event on the theme of teaching excellence organised by the HEA and hosted by HEFCE. It usefully surveys and analyses the nature and current direction of initiatives and strategies for fostering, recognising and rewarding excellent practice in teaching and learning in higher education worldwide. Commentaries by Professor Rosemary Deem, Vice Principal (Education) and Professor of Higher Education, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, and Professor Amy B. M. Tsui, Chair Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, were also produced for the event.
- Published
- 2015
48. Self-Assessments or Tests? Comparing Cross-National Differences in Patterns and Outcomes of Graduates' Skills Based on International Large-Scale Surveys
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Humburg, Martin and van der Velden, Rolf
- Abstract
In this paper an analysis is carried out whether objective tests and subjective self-assessments in international large-scale studies yield similar results when looking at cross-national differences in the effects of skills on earnings, and skills patterns across countries, fields of study and gender. The findings indicate that subjective skills measures do not correlate well with objective measures of similar constructs when looking at cross-national differences. Countrywise associations between subjective skills measures and earnings do not correlate well with those found using objective skills measures. Moreover, cross-national differences in the level of subjective skills measures do not correlate well with cross-national differences in skill levels based on objective tests. Nor do gender differences found using subjective skills measures correlate with those found using objective skills measures. This does not mean that self-assessments cannot be used, but they need to be restricted to analysing within-country differences. Within countries, self-assessments do a good job in predicting skills differences across fields of study and also in predicting the effect of skills on earnings. When comparing gender differences in skills levels within countries, however, one needs to be aware that females tend to overestimate their skills levels in typical "female" domains like literacy.
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- 2015
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49. Impacts of Academic R&D on High-Tech Manufacturing Products: Tentative Evidence from Supercomputer Data
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Le, Thanh and Tang, Kam Ki
- Abstract
This paper empirically examines the impact of academic research on high-tech manufacturing growth of 28 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and emerging countries over the 1991-2005 period. A standard research and development (R&D) expenditure based measure is found to be too general to capture the input in high-tech research. To overcome this problem, a novel proxy for high-tech research investment--the supercomputer capacity--is proposed. Empirical evidence strongly supports this choice of variable. It is also found that academic R&D exerts a larger growth effect on high-tech output than its industry and government counterparts, but only the impact differential between academic and government R&D is statistically significant.
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- 2015
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50. Global Higher Education in Need of More and Better Learning Metrics. Why OECD's AHELO Project Might Help to Fill the Gap
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Van Damme, Dirk
- Abstract
In this paper, I argue for more and better learning metrics in higher education, eventually through an international, comparative assessment of students' learning outcomes. Better learning measures may help to improve transparency in the system by addressing the information asymmetry problem. If not addressed adequately, the lack of transparency could lead to "bubbles" comparable to those in financial markets. On a systemic level, the higher education community has a definite interest in filling the information gaps by making decisive steps forward in the development of valid and reliable learning metrics.
- Published
- 2015
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