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Articles on Comparative education

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The big spending provinces in Canada did not necessarily get the best Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) standardized test results. (Shutterstock)

Canadian schools spend more as enrolment and test scores fall

Research shows that the provinces vary widely in their ability to produce academic results for money they spend, and PEI shows the most efficient results.
China’s maths stars. How Hwee Young/EPA

How China teaches children maths so well

There has been much publicity in recent years about China and its teachers. After the most recent results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) were published in 2013, considerable…
Finland is the country to beat. Kimmo Brandt/EPA

Debate education efficiency, but don’t rank countries on it

There has been a recent explosion of interest in the effectiveness of education systems around the world, largely driven by international studies that compare the performance of large samples of students…
Maybe I’ll get a better mark if I answer in Mandarin. David Davies/PA

Reforms based on PISA tests alone won’t fix GCSE standards

With the creeping rise of exam results over the past few decades, many have questioned whether standards are really as high as they were in the past. More worrying still is whether pupils in the UK can…
Can I be a puzzle-maker when I grow up? Child with puzzle via Shutterstock

Why 21st century children need to excel at problem solving

It’s no longer enough for children just to be able to read, count or multiply. With computers now doing many mundane repetitive tasks for us, many jobs in today’s world require analytical skills and the…
My mum could use that extra cash. Peter Macdiarmid/PA

New childcare accounts help those who already afford quality

The coalition has placed a series of new plans on the table with regard to childcare and early years education. Most eye-catching is the new “tax-free childcare” scheme: from September 2015, for every…
Racing back up. Lynne Cameron/PA

Explainer: how does the UK rank on child well-being?

The well-being of children in the UK has seen significant improvement over the past decade or so. This is supported by evidence from the latest comparative study on child well-being published by UNICEF…

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