Search

Governments recognise that careers guidance, underpinned by accurate labour market information, can help learners make post-secondary education choices that match their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and lead to rewarding employment. For this reason, they have invested in building linked education/employment information systems and other information resources which are displayed on websites targeted to learners and their families. However, researchers and governments agree that these efforts are often ineffective in informing learners' decisions -- access to information is not sufficient to provide effective support to student choice. Drawing upon the insights of behavioural economics, this paper examines how learners access and use information, and what this implies for the design of public study and career choice websites that aim to effectively support student choice. The report also takes stock of the career guidance websites in use in the majority of OECD countries, and sets out to provide actionable advice for policy makers to guide the design of effective information policy levers that support student choice.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

The European Students' Union with the support of the Open Society Foundation published a new study on recognition of qualifications held by refugees and their access to higher education in Europe. The paper analyses how a selected pool of countries use education as an instrument for inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers and persons in refugee-like situation. The report includes detailed country analyses of Romania, Belgium, Norway and Germany. The chosen countries represent different parts of Europe as well as countries that face specific challenges in coping with the inclusion of refugees into higher education and that have partially found solutions for these problems that might serve as good practice examples. According to the information provided by the European Higher Education Area's (EHEA) the main barriers refugees face when accessing higher education in Europe are lack of information; lack of advice and individual guidance; recognition of credits and qualifications, particularly without documents; inadequate language support provisions and lack of adequate financing. The report provides an argument that providing access to education for refugees contributes to the country economically and societally. However, in order to guarantee this inherent element of integration, national higher education systems need to fulfill their commitments to social dimension, i.e. the strategies and measures to mirror the diversity of society within higher education. One of the tools used to provide wider participation in higher education for refugees is recognition of their qualifications. National authorities and higher education institutions should ensure flexible procedures for the recognition of degrees, periods of study and prior learning of refugees, in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention. However, despite the existing legal regulations ENIC-NARIC [European Network of Information Centres in the European Region and the National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union] centres responsible for information and recognition still indicate a number of challenges, such as: lack of information about the education systems and qualifications from countries in conflict, questionable authenticity of the documents provided, lack of documentation, incomplete qualifications and the number of applicants. The report shows that despite various approaches to policy-making and implementation that the countries applied, they certainly have elements in common: bottom-up approaches and initiatives taken up by higher education institutions, staff, students and NGOs [non-governmental organisations], regardless of the scope of governmental support, are central to refugees' integration.

Early childhood education and school readiness is essential to preparing children to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy. Compared to other countries, however, the United States lags far behind on preschool, trailing a number of other countries in enrollment, investment, and quality. In February 2013, however, President Barack Obama put forth a bold plan to significantly expand access to preschool. His plan would invest $75 billion in high-quality preschool, helping the nation catch up with other countries. On almost every element (preschool participation, typical age children begin early-childhood programs, teacher-to-child ratio in early childhood-education programs, and total investment in early childhood-education programs) the United States ranks behind most of the other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD. This paper shows how far behind the United States is on preschool, making it evident that the president's plan needs to be implemented. Each of these elements is explored and compared with other countries' numbers. If the United States is to train a world-class workforce, it is imperative that it catches up to the rest of the world on pre-K.

This collection contains 17 papers presented at a seminar on literacy strategies in the community movement, held in Namur, Belgium, in 1991. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Hautecoeur); "Illiteracy: Direction? Action? Results?" (Hautecoeur); "Basic Education and Personal Development Strategies" (Georis); "Breaking Down Barriers: A Local Approach to Adult Basic Education" (Denwette, Walker, Tett); "Illiteracy--Solely an Educational Problem?" (Jaehn); "Knowing Where We Are: Participatory Research and Adult Literacy" (Hamilton, Ivanic, Barton); "Community Development Project among the Gypsies of Sao Gregorio" (Oliveira et al.); "Literacy and Community Development in a Lower Class Neighborhood" (Dias); "Building a Regional Partnership in the Fight against Illiteracy in Belgium" (Chapotte, David); "Urgently Required: Imagination--A Writing Competition" (Azzimonti); "Working with Illiterate Young People in a Community Group: The Boite a Lettres Experience (1983-1987)" (Roy); "From Specialized Training to Grass-Roots Literacy Education" (Raymond, Meunier); "Women and Literacy: A Vital Movement" (de Coster); "The Alpha Mons-Borinage Experience" (Arrijs); "Adult Education: Literacy for the Masses" (Corzo, Lancho); "Training: A Tool in the Struggle against All Types of Exclusion?--The History of AFER (Action-Formation-Etude-Recherche)" (Gosset, Caron, Andreau); "Basic Education in Flanders: Strengths and Weaknesses" (Gehre); and "Literacy Tactics in the Community Organizations Movement" (Hautecoeur). (MN)