A Millennium Learning Goal: Measuring Real Progress in Education

The Millennium Development Goal for primary schooling completion has focused attention on a measurable output indicator to monitor increases in schooling in poor countries. We argue the next step, which moves towards the even more important Millennium Learning Goal, is to monitor outcomes of learning achievement. We demonstrate that even in countries meeting the MDG of primary completion, the majority of youth are not reaching even minimal competency levels, let alone the competencies demanded in a globalized environment. Even though Brazil is on track to the meet the MDG, our estimates are that 78 percent of Brazilian youth lack even minimally adequate competencies in mathematics and 96 percent do not reach what we posit as a reasonable global standard of adequacy. Mexico has reached the MDG—but 50 percent of youth are not minimally competent in math and 91 percent do not reach a global standard. While nearly all countries’ education systems are expanding quantitatively nearly all are failing in their fundamental purpose. Policymakers, educators and citizens need to focus on the real target of schooling: adequately equipping their nation’s youth for full participation as adults in economic, political and social roles. A goal of school completion alone is an increasingly inadequate guide for action. With a Millennium Learning Goal, progress of the education system will be judged on the outcomes of the system: the assessed mastery of the desired competencies of an entire age cohort—both those in school and out of school. By focusing on the learning achievement of all children in a cohort an MLG eliminates the false dichotomy between “access/enrollment” and “quality of those in school”: reaching an MLG depends on both.primary school, poverty, millenium development goals, school completion, school enrollment

Universities in Arab countries

Half the Arab universitiies in existence today were established after 1970. Enrolment has increased rapidly, leading to overcrowding, unqualified faculty, and insufficient equipment and facilities. Several Arab nations have moved to control (in some cases, to reduce) enrolment. They have done this partly because of the fall in oil revenues, and partly in recognition of the problems related to the rapid growth of the university systems. As student enrolment expanded rapidly, the quality of education suffered and many universities became less attractive to highly trained faculty. This pattern has contributed to the national and regional brain drain. The cost of underwriting university education at a time of slow economic expansion raises the issue of whether it is better to have unemployed high school graduates or unemployed university graduates.Teaching and Learning,Gender and Education,Tertiary Education,Girls Education,Curriculum&Instruction

PISA 2012 results in focus: what 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what they know

The findings in this paper allow policy makers around the world to gauge the knowledge and skills of students in their own countries in comparison with those in other countries, set policy targets against measurable goals achieved by other education systems, and learn from policies and practices applied elsewhere.What is PISA?“What is important for citizens to know and be able to do?” That is the question that underlies the world’s global metric for quality, equity and efficiency in school education known as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. The assessment, which focuses on reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving, does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce what they have learned; it also examines how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. This approach reflects the fact that modern societies reward individuals not for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know.PISA results reveal what is possible in education by showing what students in the highest-performing and most rapidly improving education systems can do. The findings allow policy makers around the world to gauge the knowledge and skills of students in their own countries in comparison with those in other countries, set policy targets against measurable goals achieved by other education systems, and learn from policies and practices applied elsewhere.Key features of PISA 2012 ContentThe PISA 2012 survey focused on mathematics, with reading, science and problem-solving minor areas of assessment. For the first time, PISA 2012 also included an assessment of the financial literacy of young people. Participating countries and economiesAll 34 OECD member countries and 31 partner countries and economies participated in PISA 2012, representing more than 80% of the world economy. Participating studentsAround 510 000 students between the ages of 15 years 3 months and 16 years 2 months completed the assessment in 2012, representing about 28 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 65 participating countries and economies. The assessmentPaper-based tests were used, with assessments lasting two hours. In a range of countries and economies, an additional 40 minutes were devoted to the computer-based assessment of mathematics, reading and problem solving. Test items were a mixture of questions requiring students to construct their own responses and multiple‑choice items. The items were organised in groups based on a passage setting out a real‑life situation. A total of about 390 minutes of test items were covered, with different students taking different combinations of test items. Students answered a background questionnaire, which took 30 minutes to complete, that sought information about themselves, their homes and their school and learning experiences. School principals were given a questionnaire, to complete in 30 minutes, that covered the school system and the learning environment. In some countries and economies, optional questionnaires were distributed to parents, who were asked to provide information on their perceptions of and involvement in their child’s school, their support for learning in the home, and their child’s career expectations, particularly in mathematics. Countries could choose two other optional questionnaires for students: one asked students about their familiarity with and use of information and communication technologies, and the second sought information about their education to date, including any interruptions in their schooling and whether and how they are preparing for a future career

MENA occasional papers n°2

There are many variations between the countries of the Middle East and North Africa in terms of access and quality of education. Tunisia is one of the countries in this region that have done very well in both regards. This report is a case study of Tunisia’s Basic Competencies (BC) Approach to improving learning and educational quality. The approach is founded on the educational principle that children can learn complex skills and achieve educational objectives through progressive mastery of basic competencies, the building blocks for attaining developmental goals. The case study is a reminder that quality education does not just happen and cannot be taken for granted. Instead, quality education requires a serious, deliberate and persistent commitment on the part of a government and its partners. It is a commitment to children’s future and to a country’s economic, social and political stability. The report provides a critical analysis of the process and initial results of the Competency Approach in Tunisia. UNICEF’s role as a key player is also mentioned, notably its technical assistance that was critical in designing the approach and conceptual framework, and in developing background material, training and monitoring tools. UNICEF will continue to work in partnership with the Tunisian government in fine-tuning this approach to quality learning that places the child at the centre of the instructional process. Above all, we hope to tap the experience and expertise acquired through this innovative approach for the benefit of other countries in the region.peer-reviewe

'This Is Real Misery': Experiences of Women Denied Legal Abortion in Tunisia.

Barriers to accessing legal abortion services in Tunisia are increasing, despite a liberal abortion law, and women are often denied wanted legal abortion services. In this paper, we seek to explore the reasons for abortion denial and whether these reasons had a legal or medical basis. We also identify barriers women faced in accessing abortion and make recommendations for improved access to quality abortion care. We recruited women immediately after they had been turned away from legal abortion services at two facilities in Tunis, Tunisia. Thirteen women consented to participate in qualitative interviews two months after they were turned away from the facility. Women were denied abortion care on the day they were recruited due to three main reasons: gestational age, health conditions, and logistical barriers. Nine women ultimately terminated their pregnancies at another facility, and four women carried to term. None of the women attempted illegal abortion services or self-induction. Further research is needed in order to assess abortion denial from the perspective of providers and medical staff

Navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfinished learning in primary and secondary education in Tunisia

During the outbreak of the global SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, Tunisia, like many countries, prepared an emergency plan to shift to distance learning to salvage the academic year and ensure continuous learning. However, a shortage of digital materials coupled with the fact that many households did not have adequate Internet bandwidth made it virtually impossible to secure adequate digital learning. When in-person schooling was restarted in 2020/21, primary, pre-secondary, and secondary school pupils attended school on alternate days to avoid overcrowding. As a result of the pandemic, the curriculum has been lightened, and the fundamentals have been prioritized. Based on a content analysis of the Ministry of Education documents and a survey conducted by the Ministry on remote learning, we shed light on the different measures taken to curb learning loss during the spread of the pandemic as well as the challenges facing Tunisian students and the government. The consequences of these measures are discussed along with future recommendations. (DIPF/Orig.

Improving women's access to higher education : a review of World Bank project experience

World Bank project experience on what works to improve women's access to tertiary education is so limited that it may be premature to draw firm conclusions. Many of the projects with interesting multiple interventions are ongoing. But two conclusions emerge. First, the most essential factor for successful intervention seems to be a strong demand for educated women in the labor market combined with a high private demand for higher education by women (and their parents). How well a project succeeds depends on the extent to which project components are sensitive to the local situation in terms of these factors. Projects with often only a single intervention were successful in societies where the formal labor market is growing and there are few social constraints or qualifications to inhibit women's participation. Projects with single interventions are unlikely to succeed with such pervasive social factors as low secondary enrollment rates for women, high direct costs for female education, and heavy cultural restrictions in the labor market. Second, the link between programs offered and labor market demands is critical. High secondary enrollment rates, heavy private demand for women's education, and the availability of student places do not necessarily guarantee an increase in women's participation in higher education - unless the programs are dovetailed to meet the specific demands of the labor market. It is not enough to overcome social barriers through policy interventions. Projects must take an integrated view of social and labor market constraints. The Bank seems to be moving in a positive direction as more projects are addressing and taking action against gender inequities today than they did in the 1970s. Of the projects introducing gender-specific interventions, 62 percent were developed in the past five years (1987-92). Some recent Bank projects have multiple, interrelated interventions. Initial project results indicate that this combined (package) approach, made country-specific, could well increase female participation in higher education.Primary Education,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Teaching and Learning,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Curriculum&Instruction

Heroes and villains of world history across cultures

© 2015 Hanke et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedEmergent properties of global political culture were examined using data from the World History Survey (WHS) involving 6,902 university students in 37 countries evaluating 40 figures from world history. Multidimensional scaling and factor analysis techniques found only limited forms of universality in evaluations across Western, Catholic/Orthodox, Muslim, and Asian country clusters. The highest consensus across cultures involved scientific innovators, with Einstein having the most positive evaluation overall. Peaceful humanitarians like Mother Theresa and Gandhi followed. There was much less cross-cultural consistency in the evaluation of negative figures, led by Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. After more traditional empirical methods (e.g., factor analysis) failed to identify meaningful cross-cultural patterns, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify four global representational profiles: Secular and Religious Idealists were overwhelmingly prevalent in Christian countries, and Political Realists were common in Muslim and Asian countries. We discuss possible consequences and interpretations of these different representational profiles.This research was supported by grant RG016-P-10 from the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (http://www.cckf.org.tw/). Religion Culture Entropy China Democracy Economic histor