This article posits that world-class education is international education, as defined by UNESCO, and presents International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes as examples of this phenomenon. It begins with the IB's 1960s origins in international schools, which educated the children of globally mobile parents who worked principally in the UN and its…

Borrowing educational institutions and ideas from the past and from other contemporary education systems is a significant part of the educational history of many nations. Many of the current nations continue to probe the past for pleasure or insights, while some nations seek to erase much of their educational past. Further, an increasing number of…

For over two decades the State of Ohio has been reforming its education system. This article focuses on the 2006 reform initiatives: a newly elected governor pledged to review and revise its 2002 kindergarten to twelfth grad (K-12) academic content standards and benchmark them to international "best-in-class" measures, given Ohio's need to develop…

This article discusses an educational practice that has been introduced in Rwanda, which aims to bring back into the formal education system children who are out-of-school or unschooled, even though they are over the legal enrolment age. The authors analyse this intensive programme, designed for children at that age and adapted to their daily…

The article deals with a particular aspect of the competencies-based approach in the curricula of basic and secondary education: the role of complex situations in learning. What should their role be so that education systems gain both in effectiveness and equity? Many research outcomes have shown that it is important to stress first and foremost…

The increasing importance of schools and learning in the changing patterns of work and society is widely recognized. However, implementing and sustaining educational reforms pose major problems in all countries. This paper briefly: (1) summarizes conceptual trends in implementing educational change, (2) reviews the complexities of educational…

This article recounts the battle in the "math wars" that took place in Massachusetts, United States in 1999-2000 over the scope, content and teaching of the state's K-12 mathematics curriculum. Harsh controversies arose between the partisans of a "reform-math" movement stressing an undefined "conceptual understanding" and student-created…

Like many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, children in Slovakia are allocated to different types of schools at an early age based upon their perceived aptitude. Part of the selection process includes an attempt to identify those children who are particularly academic-oriented. Primary and secondary education in Slovakia is divided…

The education system in Mauritius bears the influence of British education. Preprimary education is fee paying. Primary schooling is free and covers 6 years. This leads to a highly selective Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) which opens the doors of secondary schooling. Since 1991, secondary education is also free and compulsory. But 80% of…

Since 2001 the school system in Cote d'Ivoire has evolved with the advent of the second Republic and the rise to power of the Ivorian Popular Front (Front Populaire Ivoirien, FPI). The Government has introduced reforms in the education system making use of past experience and extending its benefits. Most of the innovations implemented as part of…

This essay discusses educational goals for universal basic and secondary education. It suggests some of the difficulties that may explain the great diversity of educational goals. The purposes of this essay are to (1) stimulate attention to educational goals on the part of individuals, families, educational professionals, community leaders in…

For the first time in Benin, the education sector has built its own vision. In the past, there were general policy laws, which provided a framework for education policy. The current building experience, arising in a particular context, is the result of a political decision to include in one document all the replies to the questions raised by the…

While education is a key to any development strategy, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is the master key that can transform the world of work and the economy, alleviate poverty, save the environment and improve the quality of life. As students are being prepared to become efficient, skillful and competent workers, they can at…

The aim of this study is to describe and to explore the main factors affecting the performance of South African pupils in the mathematics test of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). The first objective was to describe the performance of the pupils in the mathematics test, the pupils' proficiency in English, as…

"The Student Evaluation Standards" were born from the frustrations and concerns of many people who want the evaluations to better serve student learning. This paper describes those standards and how they serve student learning. The first part of this paper lays groundwork--context--by providing strong evidence that, at least in the United States…