November 2011 ~ Global perspectives on education

‘Internationalist, not isolationist’

12:22 AM PISA OECD teachers globalisation democracy teachers' unions economy equity youth United States

Randi Weingarten, attorney, educator and president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers spoke with Marilyn Achiron during an afternoon at OECD headquarters. Marilyn Achiron: To what extent do you look to international examples for improving teaching performance? To what extent is that important to you?Randi Weingarten: Good practice and what works knows no geographic boundaries. We should be looking for it wherever we find it....

Calling all youth: Get involved in the OECD Global Youth Video Competition 2012

4:51 AM education skills jobs employment students competition

by Desiree QuinterosOECD Global Youth Video Competition 2011 winner and Consultant to the OECD Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial DevelopmentWhere am I going to work after I finish my studies? This is the question all young students face sooner or later, but finding a quick answer is growing more and more difficult. Finding the “dream job” has never been easy, but finding a “job” is becoming harder, particularly after the financial...

Early childhood education: an international development issue

1:04 AM early childhood equity education China Mongolia

by Ian WhitmanHead of the Programme for Co-operation with Non Member Economies, OECD Directorate for EducationQuality, quality, quality – that’s what matters most. This was the overwhelming cry at the international conference I attended in Beijing this week on early childhood development, “Child Leads, Equity Counts”. Feng Xiaoxia, the Former President of the Chinese National Society of Early Childhood Education went as far as to say that without...

The parent factor in student performance

4:59 AM PISA parents reading children school

by Marilyn AchironEditor, Indicators and Analysis Division, Directorate for EducationWhen it comes to parents’ involvement in their child’s education, is there really such a thing as “quality time”?Evidence from PISA, highlighted in the latest issue of PISA in Focus, suggests there is. Parents who are concerned that they don’t have enough time–or, for that matter, expertise–to help their children succeed at school can find some comfort in knowing...

Finding your way in the higher education marketplace

3:56 AM higher_education internationalisation universities students

by Richard YellandHead of the Education Management and Infrastructure Division, OECD Directorate for Education Suppose you are running a business with global brand recognition and tens of thousands of customers trying to buy your product. You can choose to remain exclusive and put the price up, or you might want to increase production to meet demand.If you are running a university you might well find that your Government won’t allow you to do either...