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Intersectionality highlights that different aspects of individuals' identities are not independent of each other. Instead, they interact to create unique identities and experiences, which cannot be understood by analysing each identity dimension separately or in isolation from their social and historical contexts. Intersectional approaches in this way question the common classification of individuals into groups (male vs. female, immigrant vs. native etc.), which raises important implications for the policy-making process. In education, analyses with an intersectional lens have the potential to lead to better tailored and more effective policies and interventions related to participation, learning outcomes, students' attitudes towards the future, identification of needs, and socio-emotional well-being. Consequently, as elaborated in this paper, some countries have adjusted their policies in the areas of governance, resourcing, developing capacity, promoting school-level interventions and monitoring, to account for intersectionality. Gaps and challenges related to intersectional approaches are also highlighted.

Module A of the OECD Higher Education Policy Survey (HEPS) 2022 elicited information on policies to promote digitalisation of higher education in OECD member and accession countries. In total, 30 jurisdictions responded, providing comparative information on various areas of digitalisation policy, from regulation and governance to financial and human resources. The survey results provide insight into the role of public authorities in guiding, coordinating and resourcing the digital transformation of higher education institutions. The analysis and comparative tables in this working paper provide insights that can support the development of strategic digitalisation policies.

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into fruition in the early 1990s, there were high hopes and expectations on what this emerging economic block could achieve. Although the agreement involved extensive conversations that led to regulations that facilitated trade across the region--the main intent of NAFTA--the same was not true for the higher education environment. Critics have argued that NAFTA's heavy focus on trade left little room for similar harmonization on issues like higher education. From this perspective, it is evident that if efforts to improve higher education are to gain traction in the trilateral relationship, they must be linked with regional trade and competitiveness. Yet even though NAFTA was not the vehicle for further cooperation on higher education, colleges and universities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States did embrace the opportunity and enthusiastically engaged in conversations that prompted trilateral collaboration. This article follows the key agreements that influenced and guided the early stages of NAFTA collaboration among higher education institutions, as well as developments that kept engagement across the three countries active. It also provides an initial list of areas in which future collaboration might focus. [The report was published in partnership with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. This working paper will be published as a chapter in the forthcoming book, "North America 2.0: Forging a Continental Future."]

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.

The worldwide school closures in early 2020 led to losses in learning that will not easily be made up for even if schools quickly return to their prior performance levels. These losses will have lasting economic impacts both on the affected students and on each nation unless they are effectively remediated. While the precise learning losses are not yet known, existing research suggests that the students in grades 1-12 affected by the closures might expect some 3 percent lower income over their entire lifetimes. For nations, the lower long-term growth related to such losses might yield an average of 1.5 percent lower annual GDP for the remainder of the century. These economic losses would grow if schools are unable to re-start quickly. The economic losses will be more deeply felt by disadvantaged students. All indications are that students whose families are less able to support out-of-school learning will face larger learning losses than their more advantaged peers, which in turn will translate into deeper losses of lifetime earnings. The present value of the economic losses to nations reach huge proportions. Just returning schools to where they were in 2019 will not avoid such losses. Only making them better can. While a variety of approaches might be attempted, existing research indicates that close attention to the modified re-opening of schools offers strategies that could ameliorate the losses. Specifically, with the expected increase in video-based instruction, matching the skills of the teaching force to the new range of tasks and activities could quickly move schools to heightened performance. Additionally, because the prior disruptions are likely to increase the variations in learning levels within individual classrooms, pivoting to more individualised instruction could leave all students better off as schools resume. As schools move to re-establish their programmes even as the pandemic continues, it is natural to focus considerable attention on the mechanics and logistics of safe re-opening. But the long-term economic impacts also require serious attention, because the losses already suffered demand more than the best of currently considered re-opening approaches.

Are teachers and principals aligned in their perceptions of the core components of the theory of Leadership for Learning across countries, or are there subgroups of schools in which there is misalignment? The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which a congruency-typology model of leadership for learning is distributed across countries/economies using the TALIS 2018 dataset through examining the interaction of significantly different subgroups of teacher and principal responders through using multilevel latent class analysis (LCA) with a cross-level interaction. I analyse data from lower secondary schools of n=152 635 teachers in 9 079 schools and their principals across 47 countries/economies. Currently in the research literature on school leadership, leadership for learning has emerged as a framework to bring together managerial, transformational, distributed, and instructional leadership. Yet little is known about leadership for learning across national contexts. This study 1) maps the TALIS 2018 survey items to the current literature and surveys for leadership for learning, 2) then details the methods and analysis framework to examine if there are multiple significantly different types of teachers, principals, and schools from a leadership for learning theory framework. The final model 3) identifies a three-group teacher typology and a three-group principal typology, linking these types to school context, covariates, as well as teacher and principal training and experience. Results relate directly to the intersection of research, policy, and practice for training and capacity of school leaders across 47 countries/economies globally.

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.

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.]

This report highlights some of the programs that have been begun by and for Hispanic Americans, particularly in the field of higher education. Of particular interest are the cooperative efforts between the United States and Mexico in developing programs for the Latino population. Some of the programs include: the Julian Samora Research Institute; the Mexico-United States Consortium for Academic Cooperation; programs started by the University of Arizona; the University of Texas, El Paso; the California State University System; the North American Regional Academic Mobility Program; the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education; the Mexican Association for International Education; the North American Forum; and the Mexican American Partnership. (JM)

This paper explores the impact of policies and institutions on employment and unemployment of OECD countries in the past decades. Reduced-form unemployment equations, consistent with standard wage setting/price-setting models, are estimated using cross-country/time-series data from 21 OECD countries over the period 1982-2003. In the "average" OECD country, high and long-lasting unemployment benefits, high tax wedges and stringent anticompetitive product market regulation are found to increase aggregate unemployment. By contrast, highly centralised and/or coordinated wage bargaining systems are estimated to reduce unemployment. These findings are robust across specifications, datasets and econometric methods. As policies and institutions affect employment not only via their impact on aggregate unemployment but also through their effects on labour market participation -- particularly for those groups "at the margin" of the labour market, group-specific employment rate equations are also estimated. In the "average" OECD country, high unemployment benefits and high tax wedges are found to be associated with lower employment prospects for all groups studied, namely prime-age males, females, older workers and youths. There is also evidence that group-specific policy determinants matter, such as targeted fiscal incentives. The paper also finds significant evidence of interactions across policies and institutions, as well as between institutions and macroeconomic conditions. Consistent with theory, structural reforms appear to have mutually reinforcing effects: the impact of a given policy reform is greater the more employment-friendly the overall policy and institutional framework. Certain more specific interactions across policies and institutions are found to be particularly robust, notably between unemployment benefits and public spending on active labour market programmes as well as between statutory minimum wages and the tax wedge. Finally, it is shown that macroeconomic conditions also matter for unemployment patterns, with their impact being shaped by policies. (A bibliography is included. Contains 144 footnotes, 9 figures, 3 boxes and 27 tables.)

The contribution of higher education institutions to regional development is a theme that has attracted growing attention in recent years. Knowledge institutions are increasingly expected not only to conduct education and research, but also to play an active role in the economic, social and cultural development of their regions. The extent to which higher education institutions are able to play this role depends on a number of circumstances: the characteristics of the institutions, the regions in which they are located and the policy frameworks are all significant. At the same time, there are signs of more fundamental conceptual and strategic confusion. The discussions in this domain are frequently characterised by slogans and popular metaphors. This literature review was prepared to support the OECD project entitled 'Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development', which was conducted by the OECD Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) in collaboration with the Directorate of Public Governance and Territorial Development. Drawing mainly from a selection of European and North American publications, the report takes an overall view on the development of higher education institutions in the regional context. It focuses on the evolution and discourses of higher education and research, the regional aspects of higher education policies, the various functions and roles that the institutions play, measures taken to link the universities with their regional partners, and the conditions which favour or hamper stronger regional engagement. (A bibliography is included. Contains 9 figures.)

Innovation is essential for the education sector. The ways in which curriculum decision making is organised reflects different implicit approaches on how educational systems pertain to promote innovation in education. Curriculum holds an outstanding place when seeking to promote innovation in education, as it reflects the vision for education by indicating knowledge, skills and values to be taught to students. It may express not only "what" should be taught to students, but also "how" the students should be taught. Curriculum innovations can include new subjects, combinations of old subjects or cross-cutting learning objectives. They may also take a form of new content, concepts, sequencing, time allocation or pedagogy. This paper characterises two contrasted approaches to curriculum decision making and bringing about innovations in education. At one extreme, a prescriptive central curriculum implicitly places the initiative for educational innovations at the level of the central administration. This approach provides strong incentives for schools and teachers to adapt innovations that would not otherwise take place. Innovations, supported by policy measures and informed by research, are brought within the reach of all schools and teachers in an equitable manner. The challenge is then to accommodate local needs and ensure the commitment to and implementation of innovations by schools and teachers. At the other extreme, decentralised curriculum decision making provides schools--and perhaps even teachers--with room to create their own educational innovations. This approach allows for experimentation relevant to individual students and local communities. Innovations are meant to spread through horizontal networks of schools and teachers. The challenge is then to provide incentives for individual schools and teachers to innovate or adapt innovations and ensure that they have equal capacity to do so. The paper provides an overview of various possible approaches linking curriculum policy to educational innovation, it shows that OECD countries can mix these approaches and it discusses elements that can affect those innovations in reality. Focusing on public lower-secondary education, it draws on various OECD and UNESCO data. First, the paper suggests that OECD education systems differ clearly when looking at formal curriculum decision making, although no system relies on a purely central or school-based approach to curriculum innovations. Second, several elements can reduce the "innovation power" of the central curriculum and the "innovation flexibility" of the decentralised curriculum. Third, stakeholders--such as experts, teachers and parents--are able to influence curriculum innovations differently at central and school levels. Innovations in central-level curriculum appear to have widespread possibilities to rely on expert knowledge with consultation with practitioners, parents and the wider public. School level curriculum innovations appear to build mainly on principals and teachers' knowledge with an indirect influence from experts and parents. Annexed are: (1) Emerging Curriculum Themes in OECD Countries; (2) Approaches to Bringing About Competence-Based Curriculum; (3) Central Level Curriculum in OECD Countries; (4) Details on the Implicit Approaches to Curriculum Innovations; and (5) Roles of Parents in Decision Making on Education Policy. (Contains 13 tables, 4 charts, 5 boxes and 20 notes.)

Papers from the proceedings of the 14th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society was submitted in two volumes. Volume 1 contains papers submitted at the conference held in Sofia, Bulgaria, June 14-17, 2016. Volume 2 contains papers submitted at the 4th International Partner Conference of the International Research Centre (IRC) "Scientific Cooperation," Rostov-on-Don, Russia. The overall conference theme was "Education Provision to Every One: Comparing Perspectives from Around the World" and included six thematic sections: (1) Comparative Education & History of Education; (2) Pre-service and In-service Teacher Training & Learning and Teaching Styles; (3) Education Policy, Reforms and School Leadership; (4) Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Social Inclusion; (5) Law and Education: Legislation and Inclusive Education, Child Protection & Human Rights Education; and (6) Research Education: Developing Globally Competent Researchers for International and Interdisciplinary Research. The book contains a Preface: "Bulgarian Comparative Education Society: 25 Years of Being International" (Nikolay Popov); an Introduction: "Education Provision to Everyone: Comparing Perspectives from Around the World" (Lynette Jacobs) and papers divided into the respective thematic sections. Part 1: "Comparative Education & History of Education": (1) Jullien: Founding Father of Comparative and International Education Still Pointing the Way (Charl Wolhuter); (2) Presentation of Marc-Antoine Jullien's Work in Bulgarian Comparative Education Textbooks (Teodora Genova & Nikolay Popov); (3) "Teach Your Children Well": Arguing in Favor of Pedagogically Justifiable Hospitality Education (Ferdinand J. Potgieter); (4) Theory for Explaining and Comparing the Dynamics of Education in Transitional Processes (Johannes L. van der Walt); (5) Nordic Internationalists' Contribution to the Field of Comparative and International Education (Teodora Genova); (6) International Research Partners: The Challenges of Developing an Equitable Partnership between Universities in the Global North and South (Karen L. Biraimah); (7) Providing Books to Rural Schools through Mobile Libraries (Lynette Jacobs, Ernst Stals & Lieve Leroy); (8) South African Curriculum Reform: Education for Active Citizenship (Juliana Smith & Agnetha Arendse); (9) Universities Response to Oil and Gas Industry Demands in South Texas (USA) and Tamaulipas (Mexico) (Marco Aurelio Navarro); (10) Goals That Melt Away. Higher Education Provision in Mexico (Marco Aurelio Navarro & Ruth Roux); (11) How the Issue of Unemployment and the Unemployed Is Treated in Adult Education Literature within Polish and U.S. Contexts (Marzanna Pogorzelska & Susan Yelich Biniecki); (12) Contribuciones de un Modelo Multiniveles para el Análisis Comparado de Impactos de Políticas Educativas en la Educación Superior (Mirian Inés Capelari) [title and paper are provided in Spanish, abstract in English]; and (13) Internationalization, Globalization and Relationship Networks as an Epistemological Framework Based on Comparative Studies in Education (Amelia Molina García & José Luis Horacio Andrade Lara). Part 2: "Pre-service and In-service Teacher Training & Learning and Teaching Styles": (14) The Goals and Conditions of Qualitative Collaboration between Elementary Schools and Community -- A Challenge for the Professional Development (Jana Kalin & Barbara Šteh); (15) South African Heads of Department on Their Role in Teacher Development: Unexpected Patterns in an Unequal System (André du Plessis); (16) Do Teachers, Students and Parents Agree about the Top Five Good Teacher's Characteristics? (Marlena Plavšic & Marina Dikovic); and (17) Personality Traits and Learning Styles of Secondary School Students in Serbia (Gordana Djigic, Snežana Stojiljkovic & Andrijana Markovic). Part 3: "Education Policy, Reforms & School Leadership": (18) Routes into Teaching: Does Variety Aid Recruitment or Merely Cause Confusion? A Study of Three Different Programmes for Teacher Training in England (Gillian Hilton); (19) The Status of Teaching as a Profession in South Africa (Corene de Wet); (20) Initial and Continuing Professional Development of Adult Educators from an Educational - Policy Perspective: Rethinking from Croatia (Renata Cepic & Marijeta Mašic); (21) Educational Reform from the Perspective of the Student (Claudio-Rafael Vasquez-Martinez, Felipe Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Jose-Gerardo Cardona-Toro, MaríaGuadalupe Díaz-Renteria, Maria-Ines Alvarez, Hector Rendon, Isabel Valero, Maria Morfin, Miguel Alvarez); (22) Leadership and Context Connectivity: Merging Two Forces for Sustainable School Improvement (Nylon Ramodikoe Marishane); (23) Approaches to In-servicing Training of Teachers in Primary Schools in South Africa (Vimbi P. Mahlangu); (24) Social Justice and Capacity for Self-development in Educational Systems in European Union (Bo-Ruey Huang); (25) Social Justice and Capacity for Self-Development in Educational System in Japan (Yu-Fei Liu); and (26) Emotions in Education Generated by Migration (Graciela Amira Medecigo Shej). Part 4: "Higher Education, Lifelong Learning & Social Inclusion": (27) Ambivalent Community: International African Students in Residence at a South African University (Everard Weber An); (28) Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions in Latvia and Turkey: Its Management and Development during the Last Decade (Sibel Burçer & Ilze Kangro); (29) Lifelong Learning: Capabilities and Aspirations (Petya Ilieva-Trichkova); (30) Where Have All the Teachers Gone: A Case Study in Transitioning (Amanda S. Potgieter); (31) An Overview of Engineering Courses in Brazil: Actual Challenges (Alberto G. Canen, Iara Tammela & Diogo Cevolani Camatta); (32) Multiculturalism and Peace Studies for Education Provision in Time of Diverse Democracies (Rejane P. Costa & Ana Ivenicki); (33) Social Inclusion of Foreigners in Poland (Ewa Sowa-Behtane); (34) An Autistic Child Would Like to Say "Hello" (Maria Dishkova); (35) Research Approaches for Higher Education Students: A Personal Experience (Momodou M Willan); (36) Social Networks Use, Loneliness and Academic Performance among University Students (Gordana Stankovska, Slagana Angelkovska & Svetlana Pandiloska Grncarovska); and (37) The Personal Characteristics Predictors of Academic Success (Slagana Angelkoska, Gordana Stankovska & Dimitar Dimitrovski). Part 5: "Law and Education: Legislation and Inclusive Education, Child Protection & Human Rights Education": (38) An Exploration of the Wider Costs of the Decision by the Rivers State Government in Nigeria to Revoke International Students' Scholarships (Elizabeth Achinewhu-Nworgu & Queen Chioma Nworgu); (39) Strategies for Improving the Employability Skills and Life Chances of Youths in Nigeria (Elizabeth Achinewhu-Nworgu, Steve Azaiki, Shade Babalola & Chinuru Achinewhu); (40) Examining the Role, Values, and Legal Policy Issues Facing Public Library Resources in Supporting Students to Achieve Academic Success (Elizabeth Achinewhu-Nworgu, Steve Azaiki & Queen Chioma Nworgu); (41) Peer Exclusion at Physical Education (Gorazde Sotosek); (42) Exclusion and Education in South Africa: An Education Law Perspective of Emerging Alternative Understandings of Exclusion (Johan Beckmann); and (43) Educational and Social Inclusion of Handicapped Children. Polish Experiences (Anna Czyz). Part 6: "Research Education: Developing Globally Competent Researchers for International and Interdisciplinary Research": (44) Observations about Research Methodology during 15 Years of Presenting Capacity-Building Seminars (Johannes L. van der Walt); and (45) Using a Play-Based Methodology in Qualitative Research: A Case of Using Social Board to Examine School Climate (Anna Mankowska). Following the presentation of the complete conference papers, the following abstracts are provided: (1) Project-Based Learning in Polish-American Comparative Perspective (Marzanna Pogorzelska); (2) Teaching and Researching Intervention and Facilitation in a Process of Self-reflection: Scrutinity of an Action Research Process (Juliana Smith); (3) Investigating Perceptions of Male Students in Early Childhood Education Program on Learning Experiences (Ayse Duran); (4) Teacher Professional Development and Student Achievement in Turkey: Evidence from TIMSS 2011 (Emine Gumus & Mehmet Sukru Bellibas); (5) The Usage of CBT and Ayeka Approach at the Kedma School (Yehuda Bar Shalom & Amira Bar Shalom); (6) Factors Affecting Turkish Teachers' Use of ICT for Teaching: Evidence from ICILS 2013 (Mehmet Sukru Bellibas & Sedat Gumus); (7) Application of Big Data Predictive Analytics in Higher Education (James Ogunleye); (8) The Pursuit of Excellence in Malaysian Higher Education: Consequences for the Academic Workplace (David Chapman, Sigrid Hutcheson, Chang Da Wan, Molly Lee, Ann Austin, Ahmad Nurulazam); (9) Challenging the Value and Missions of Higher Education: New Forms of Philanthropy and Giving (Pepka Boyadjieva & Petya Ilieva-Trichkova); (10) The Effects of Major-changing between Undergraduates and Postgraduates on the Major Development of Postgraduates (Jinmin Yu & Hong Zhu); (11) Spotlight on Canadian Research Education: Access of Doctoral Students to Research Assistantships (Ewelina Kinga Niemczyk); (12) Regulation or Freedom? Considering the Role of the Law in Study Supervision (J. P. Rossouw & M. C. Rossouw); (13) The Subjectivity-Objectivity Battle in Research (Gertrude Shotte); and (14) Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Chemistry: Electrochemical Biosensors Case Study (Margarita Stoytcheva & Roumen Zlatev). A Name Index is included. (Individual papers contain references.) [For Volume 2, "Education Provision to Every One: Comparing Perspectives from around the World. BCES Conference Books, Volume 14, Number 2" see ED568089.]

This literature review on school choice analyses the impact of choice schemes on students and on school systems focusing on equity. Reviewing the evidence can be difficult, as the literature is often fragmented and inconclusive, and the political importance of this research often results in high-profile attention given to individual studies rather than systemically understanding collected from a larger empirical base (Berends, Cannata and Goldring, 2011). Different political groups use evidence that supports their positions in favour or against school choice, and their positions relative to school choice are largely based on their ideologies, rather than on empirical work and evidence of effectiveness (Levin and Belfield, 2004). This report steps away from the ideological debate and provides research-based evidence on the impact of choice on disadvantaged students and schools. As "only with data on the consequences of different plans for school choice will we be able to reach sensible judgements rooted in experience (Fuller and Elmore, 1996, p. 8)". It uses analysis and statements that are supported empirically and attempts to cover the widest possible scope of research, and provide responses to the key question of how to balance choice with equity considerations. (Contains 7 tables, 4 figures, 5 boxes and 13 footnotes.)

This paper discusses the most relevant issues concerning teacher evaluation in primary and secondary education by reviewing the recent literature and analysing current practices within the OECD countries. First, it provides a conceptual framework highlighting key features of teacher evaluation schemes. In particular, it emphasises the importance of clarifying the purposes of teacher appraisal, whether summative when designed to assure that the practices enhancing student learning are undertaken or formative when conducted for further professional development objectives. It also encompasses the diverse criteria and instruments commonly used to assess teachers as well as the actors generally involved in the process and potential consequences for teachers' professional life. Second, it deals with a number of contentious points, including the question of the use of student outcomes to measure teaching performance, the advantages and drawbacks of different approaches given the purpose emphasised and resource restrictions, the implementation difficulties resulting from different stakeholders' interests and possible ways to overcome these obstacles. Finally, it provides an account of current empirical evidence, pointing out mixed results stemming from difficulties in assessing the effects of such evaluation schemes on teaching quality, teachers' motivation and student learning. It concludes by considering the circumstances under which teacher evaluation systems seem to be more effective, fair and reliable. Developing a comprehensive approach to evaluate teachers is critical to make demands for educational best practice compatible with teachers' appropriation of the process as well as to enhance the decisive attractiveness and recognition of the teaching profession. (Contains 1 table.)

Education plays an essential role in preparing the children of immigrants for participation in the labour market and society. Giving these children opportunities to fully develop their potential is vital for future economic growth and social cohesion in OECD countries. But migrant students in most OECD countries tend to have lower education outcomes than their native peers. Extensive previous research has described the system level, school level and individual level factors that influence the education outcomes of migrant students. Building on such previous research, this paper looks at the ways in which "education policies" can influence these factors to help provide better educational opportunities for migrant students. (Contains 7 footnotes.) [This review was prepared for the OECD Thematic Review on Migrant Education. It was presented and discussed at the Second Meeting of the Group of National Experts on the Education of Migrants in Paris on 13-14 October 2008.]

Do some forms of student (and school) assessment hinder the introduction of innovative educational practices and the development of innovation skills in education systems? This report focuses on the impact of high-stake summative assessment on innovation and argues that it is possible to reconcile high-stakes assessments and examinations through innovative approaches to testing. While necessary, assessment based on high-stake examinations often acts as an incentive to teach or study "to the test". It may thus limit risk-taking by teachers, students and parents, for instance. The problem may be amplified if a system of accountability and incentives uses the results of these examinations and tests to assess teachers and schools. What should be done to ensure that the systems used to assess education systems do not stifle the risk-taking inherent to innovation--and that they foster innovation skills in students? This study proposes three main ways of combining assessment and innovation: 1) developing a wide range of performance measurements for both students and schools; 2) rethinking the alignment of standards and assessment; 3) measuring the impact of assessments on teaching and learning. One way of influencing teaching and learning might be to modify high-stake testing. Systems will adapt to this, and both teaching and learning will focus on acquiring the right skills. Rather than testing the content of learning, standards could relate to cognitive skills such as problem-solving, communicating and reasoning--with test/examination developers adapting those skills to subjects such as mathematics, science or literary analysis. Similarly, more use might be made of innovative assessment methods based on information and communication technologies, inasmuch as these may feature simulation or interactivity, for instance, at a reasonable cost. Focusing the assessment on cognitive processes rather than content would leave more scope for teachers to put in place innovative teaching/learning strategies. This does, however, assume a high standard of professionalism in teachers and an adequate system of continuing training and knowledge management. As a single type of assessment cannot fully capture student learning, one effective strategy might also be to multiply the number of measurements and thus relieve the pressure on students and teachers to perform well in a single, high-visibility, high-stake test. At the same time, this larger number of measurements could provide the necessary input for systems based on accountability, diagnosis and assessment of the effectiveness of innovative practice. Finally, assessing the technical standard of tests and examinations is an integral part of their development, but it is less common to address the impact they have on teaching/learning or the validity of how their results are used. Since assessment is an integral part of the education process, it is just as important to assess tests and examinations as it is other educational practices in order to achieve improvements and innovation in educational assessment, but also in educational practice. (Contains 12 notes.)

This report presents the responses of three experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to 18 questions concerning issues in business-higher education alliances in the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). They address such issues as the need for alliances; the characteristics of successful (and unsuccessful) alliances; the progress in each country toward establishing alliances; the function of government agencies, professional associations, and community organizations in the formation of alliances; the role of technology in furthering alliances; the advantages of alliances; and the prospects for alliances in the future. The questions are grouped into three sections. In the first, responses to the seven questions about smart alliances produce several definitions of alliances, note various types of alliances, and define the characteristics of "smart" alliances. Responses to the five questions in the second section address what is needed for higher education institutions and business to develop successful alliances, and cover issues such as relationship management and the necessary people skills for alliance building. The six questions of the third section address the required framework for these partnerships to prosper, such as mechanisms for measuring the impact of alliances and prospects for binational and trinational collaboration in the context of NAFTA and the global economy. Appendices present reprints of two brief related articles. (DB)

This paper discusses the question of whether, in a multilingual society, the child's first or second language is best as a language of instruction in primary school. Reviewing eight case studies from seven countries in which initial primary schooling was given either in the second or first language, the discussion compares achievement in reading and language in both languages and describes achievement in content subjects, especially arithmetic. Case studies from the Philippines, Ireland, and Canada report the use of a second language as the language of instruction, while studies from Mexico, Nigeria, Sweden, and the United States report use of the first language. It is concluded that, depending on the interrelated characteristics of each situation, answers must be found on a case-by-case basis. Such characteristics include the linguistic and cognitive development of the child in his or her first language, the attitudes of parents toward the language chosen for the school, and the status of the languages in the wider community. In terms of these characteristics, situations are described in which the best choice for initial instruction might be either the child's first or second language. These descriptions are followed by a discussion of issues raised in a paper (1980) devoted to education sector policy and by a series of recommendations for World Bank staff. (Author/RH)

We present in this paper five case studies of instrumental genesis of number-theoretic concepts and techniques involving multiples, divisors, and numerical decomposition. The pupils, who were 12 to 15 years old, used the multi-line screen display of the graphing calculator to explore numerical tasks related to the "Five steps to zero" problem. The paper begins with a mathematical task analysis of various techniques that could be used to determine divisibility by 9. Findings show that the use of the technological tool permits students of this age to spontaneously develop variants of these techniques within tasks that simultaneously afford the co-emergence of related conceptual notions. (Contains 3 footnotes and 6 figures.) [Additional support for the research described in this paper was provided by CONACYT of Mexico. For complete proceedings, see ED500858.]

Humans are born with the natural ability to gain skills through play. Children learn about social norms, roles and responsibilities, and language through curiosity-driven, playful interactions and activities. Learning through play harnesses the power of children's imagination and inspires active engagement with the material. The Center for Universal Education at Brookings, is studying innovations that strive to improve education. If the education sector stays on its current trajectory, half of all youth around the world entering the workforce in 2030 will lack basic secondary-level skills they need to thrive--from literacy and numeracy to critical thinking and problem solving. It is believed that leapfrogging, or rapid nonlinear progress, is needed to change this trajectory. Education that allows students to leap forward in learning should incorporate experimentation and iteration, helping students make meaning of what they are learning, and engage with others in doing so. These types of student-centered, playful learning experiences are an essential component to leapfrogging in education because without them young people will not be able to develop the full breadth of competencies and skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing world. This paper is the first in in a series of Leapfrogging in Education snapshots that provide analyses of a global catalog of education innovations. Of the nearly 3,000 innovations captured in the catalog, two-thirds involve playful learning, which represents the largest category of innovations that were recorded. [Support also provided by the BHP Foundation.]