Regional inequalities in PISA: the case of Italy and Spain

This technical brief analyses the regional distribution of skills in Italy and Spain. Educational attainment rates have frequently been used as an indicator of regional educational development in EU Member States (MS). These rates indicate significant regional disparities in education within countries. However, recent evidence shows that the quality of education, as measured by the level of specific skills, is more important than the number of years one spends in school, in particular when considering the relationship between the cognitive (and non-cognitive) skills and economic growth. International large scale assessments (ILSA) of student performance measure these cognitive skills in key areas. OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides a very useful and important source of information of students' performance in key cognitive skills. When analysing PISA data, researchers and commentators often focus on cross-country comparisons. However, vast within-country differences exist, also in terms of educational attainment and PISA test scores. A focus on country averages alone would hence provide only a partial view of the status of education within countries. However, the possibility of exploring within-country differences with PISA data is limited to only a few countries. In this report we focus on regional inequalities in cognitive skills (as measured by PISA test scores) in Italy and Spain, using regional PISA data from the most recent 2015 wave, and we analyse the factors that are associated with these inequalities. In order to insure full comparability between the two countries we define regions at the level of NUTS1 (macro-region), following Eurostat’s official NUTS 2013 classification. We investigate regional inequalities by using descriptive statistics, by running a range of OLS regression models that allow us to analyse the associations between PISA 2015 science scores and the explanatory variables within regions and finally by using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method to specify the factors that are related to within-country differences. The results show that there are significant regional differences in PISA scores within both MS. There are several factors that are associated with regional differences within Italy and Spain. The factors most consistently positively associated with regional science achievement are teacher-directed teaching and epistemological beliefs, while grade repetition and truancy are significantly negatively related with achievement. Still, there is also a range of other relevant factors varying between and within both MS. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition also shows that variables such as the socio-economic background, the students’ expected occupation, learning outside school time, truancy, immigrant status and grade repetition matter for within-country differences. Our results suggest that policy makers should focus on finding solutions to limit truancy and rethink grade repetition to leverage scores in lower performing regions. Moreover, our results with regard to epistemological beliefs and teaching practices challenge thinking about how science should be taught in schools in Italy and Spain. The specific results for each region may allow policy makers to consider more in detail how a region stands in comparison to the rest of the country, and the specific factors that need to be addressed to improve the within-country inequality related to educational achievement.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Quality of Teaching and Learning in Science

Quality teaching and learning is linked to the structural and process characteristics of educational systems. Importantly, the role of education policies, of schools and of teachers in promoting high student performance is increasingly recognized (IEA, 2016; Hanushek & Woessmann, 2014). International large-scale surveys (ILSA) such as PISA allow for envisioning what is amenable to change beyond what is determined by culture and to consider reforms that improve learning conditions (Hanushek & Woessmann, 2014). This report focuses on identifying the variation in different teaching practices in the Science classroom and their relation with students’ achievement. Using PISA 2015 data collected in the student and school questionnaires, the report offers an overview of the variations in teaching practices across European Member States (EU MS) and how they relate to students’ Science achievement. For this purpose, we present univariate statistics and we explore the proportion of variance in students’ achievement that can be explained by the use of different teaching practices. More specifically, this report answers the following research question: What is the relationship between teaching practices, the learning environment and students’ achievement in EU MS? A multilevel analysis is used for the available PISA 2015 data including different levels of analysis. These analyses contribute to our understanding of the differences and similarities among countries and provide evidence regarding teaching effectiveness, giving an overview about what works well in the Science classroom in EU MS. This information strengthens the evidence-base and can be used at the EU level to share knowledge about good practices and to inform policy initiatives that focus on high quality teaching (European Commission, 2016). Specific actions in this area are intended to help raise the skills’ levels of pupils and the workforce by improving the effectiveness of education and training systems (European Commission, 2015).JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Teacher Costs

The purpose of this technical brief is to assess current methodologies for the collection and calculation of teacher costs in European Union (EU) Member States in view of improving data series and indicators related to teacher salaries and teacher costs. To this end, CRELL compares the Eurydice collection on teacher salaries with the similar Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data collection and calculates teacher costs based on the methodology established by Statistics Canada as explained in Indicator B7 in Education at a Glance (OECD, 2014). This indicator allows for analysing the different factors that influence teacher costs: teacher salaries, teaching time, instruction hours and student/teacher ratios, as well as class size. The analyses will provide specific information on the contribution of the different factors used to derive the Salary Cost of Teachers per Student (CCS) and how they might depend on the way data for the different factors are collected. On the basis of assessing the different forms of data collection with the same methodology, suggestions for development work that could be undertaken to align the Eurydice and OECD data collections are offered.JRC.DDG.01-Econometrics and applied statistic

Differential Item Functioning (DIF): What Functions Differentlyfor Immigrant Students in PISA 2009 Reading Items?

This analysis focuses on identifying items that present Differential Item Functioning (DIF) between native and immigrant students in the PISA 2009 reading assessment. The findings indicate that thirty-five percent of the 95 items or questions included in the analysis present DIF. This is an important finding because it can help us detect content that is treated differently between different groups of students. In particular, we found that immigrant students perform better than native ones in about half of the items with DIF and that they tend to perform better in questions that relate to situations and types of reading typically done in school settings. Policy measures aimed at ensuring educational achievement for all students can be informed by studies of this kindJRC.G.3-Econometrics and applied statistic

Computer-based Assessment of Foreign Language Speaking Skills

In the frame of the current effort to establish an indicator of foreign language competency in Europe via the implementation of a language survey in 2011, a Conference on computer-based assessment (CBA) of speaking skills was held in Brussels in June 2010. The sponsors of this event, the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning of the European Commission in Ispra and the Directorate General of Education and Culture, are pleased to put forward this report with the Conference proceedings. It is our hope that it can serve, not only to inform the implementation of the language survey, but also to assist Member States and their representatives in the task of gathering current evidence on the benefits and challenges linked to the implementation of CBA.JRC.DG.G.9-Econometrics and applied statistic

Reading Literacy in EU Countries: Evidences from PIRLS

In this report we used data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2011 in order to identify the school, class and individual student background factors that explain reading literacy achievement. We aim to identify the factors associated with achievement at different levels of analysis, both at the EU level and at the individual country level using a multilevel model. Additionally, we intend to establish trends in students reading achievement by comparing PIRLS 2006 and PIRLS 2011 cycles. For the data from 2011 we found that our aggregated model explains 37% of the variance in students’ achievement and that the variables with the highest impact on students´ overall reading score relate to home resources and practices, students´ attitudes toward reading and pre-reading knowledge. Moreover, the results of the country-level analysis indicate that the variables with the strongest influence on students’ reading performance are the same, despite of the wide variation across countries in terms of their magnitude due to the characteristics of each country. Furthermore, these findings are in line with the previous analysis performed for PIRLS 2006 (Araújo & Costa, 2012). Our results have important policy implications as they show which factors can be addressed by policy measures to improve students´ achievement.JRC.DDG.01-Econometrics and applied statistic

Cerebral fat embolism in polytraumatized: case report

Cerebral fat embolism (CFE) results from the release of fat globules into the bloodstream, mainly from long bone fractures. The presence of significant fat emboli in the blood can cause vascular occlusion and clinical manifestations depend on the location of the obstruction. In this work, we report a case of a young patient, victim of an automobile accident with acetabulum fracture and right femoral diaphysis, who showed a decrease in the level of consciousness. In view of the clinical picture, magnetic resonance imaging was requested, which showed results compatible with the diagnosis of CFE. After proper care for embolism management, the patient had a favorable evolution.A embolia cerebral gordurosa é uma patologia decorrente da liberação de glóbulos de gordura na circulação sanguínea provenientes, principalmente, de fraturas de ossos longos. A presença de êmbolos significativos de gordura no sangue resulta oclusão vascular e manifestações clínicas dependentes da localização da obstrução. O caso relatado apresenta um paciente jovem, vítima de acidente automobilístico com fratura de acetábulo e diáfise femoral direita, que evoluiu com rebaixamento do sensório. Diante do quadro clínico, foi solicitada ressonância magnética, que apresentou resultado compatível com o diagnóstico de embolia cerebral gordurosa. Realizado os devidos cuidados para tratamento da embolia, o paciente apresentou prognóstico favorável

Perfil epidemiológico dos casos de Chikungunya em Palmas (TO) de 2018-2022

A febre Chikungunya é uma das principais arboviroses em território brasileiro, caracterizada pela febre alta e poliartralgia debilitante, associada a mialgia, fadiga, erupções cutâneas e artrite crônica. Embora o vírus seja responsável por epidemias mundialmente distribuídas, não há, atualmente, tratamento específico ou vacina. Portanto, para melhor compreender a epidemiologia da Chikungunya no Tocantins, foram coletados dados no DATASUS, via SINAN, considerando as notificações de janeiro/2018 a dezembro/2022. Os resultados evidenciaram o aumento do número de casos em 2022 em comparação à anos anteriores, concentrados nos meses de abril, maio e junho, acometendo predominantemente adultos jovens, especialmente do sexo feminino, evoluindo para cura na esmagadora maioria dos casos. Dessa forma, novas pesquisas são de suma importância para a compreensão deste arbovírus, e consequente criação de estratégias capazes de reduzir a incidência, bem como a cronificação do quadro

A Importância da Acolhida na Atenção Básica como Ferramenta de Humanização

Primary care plays a central and decisive role in the healthcare system, being the first point of contact between users and healthcare services. Within this scenario, the practice of welcoming emerges as an essential element for the humanization of care, going beyond a formality of reception and becoming a fundamental link in the interaction between health professionals and patients. This study aims to describe the importance of primary care as a primary tool for humanization, aligned with the principles established in the National Humanization Policy (PNH). For this purpose, an investigation was carried out in a virtual environment, using digital resources available on platforms such as Google Scholar, SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) and sources from government agencies. Relevant documents, such as articles, theses, monographs and health policies, were examined in order to understand and support the theme proposed in this study. In the context of implementing humanization, primary care plays a crucial role, acting as the gateway to the health system and as coordinator of the care network. However, some challenges become evident in implementing these humanized practices.A atenção básica assume um papel central e decisivo no sistema de saúde, sendo o primeiro ponto de contato entre os usuários e os serviços de assistência médica. Dentro desse cenário, a prática da acolhida emerge como um elemento essencial para a humanização do cuidado, indo além de uma formalidade de recepção e tornando-se um elo fundamental na interação entre profissionais de saúde e pacientes. Este estudo tem como objetivo descrever a importância da atenção básica como uma ferramenta primordial para a humanização, alinhada aos princípios estabelecidos na Política Nacional de Humanização (PNH). Para este propósito, uma investigação foi realizada em um ambiente virtual, utilizando recursos digitais disponíveis em plataformas como Google Acadêmico, SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) e fontes de órgãos governamentais. Documentos relevantes, como artigos, teses, monografias e políticas de saúde, foram examinados a fim de compreender e embasar a temática proposta neste estudo. No contexto da implementação da humanização, a atenção primária desempenha um papel crucial, atuando como a porta de entrada no sistema de saúde e como coordenadora da rede de assistência. Contudo, tornam-se evidentes alguns desafios na efetivação dessas práticas humanizadas

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions