Using structural regression analyses, data from the U.S. 2017 Program on International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) background survey were examined to test the effect of informal learning (observed through everyday activities, such as reading the newspaper or using the Internet to find information about issues) on civic engagement…

Despite increasing demand in distance education, relatively little is known about the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as basic skill levels of adult distance education participants at the national level in the US. This study analyzed the US data from the 2012/2014 and 2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult…

This article examined the relationship between participation in adult nonformal education (NFE), defined as on-the-job training, attending private lessons, attending seminars, or distance learning, and Canadian immigrant respondents' literacy and numeracy outcomes, using data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies…

In this paper, I develop a critique of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-based lifelong learning policy discourse with a particular focus on "key competencies" (KCs) and its equity implications for school curricular policies. First, I review the discussion of KCs in the writings by the OECD-affiliated…

This paper aims to discuss the emergence, form and likely effects of international surveys of adults' skills by locating them in the global context of policies on education and Life Long Learning (LLL). It focuses on adults' numeracy and discusses its conceptualisation and assessment in the Project for the International Assessment of Adult…

This article deals with central issues in the field of sociology and politics of education after the publication of the outcomes of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) study for Germany. These outcomes serve to remind us of the old debate on politics of education in the 1960s. The main topic since then remains the reproduction…

A great education is the key to unlocking personal potential to succeed in careers and to lead a meaningful life. Accordingly, education is best addressed by those closest to students--parents and teachers. The proper Federal role in education should be to come alongside teachers, parents, and students in ensuring every student has opportunities…

The concept of learning outcomes is at the heart of many research programmes and policy responses. International surveys (from the International Adult Literacy Survey, back in the mid-nineties, to the forthcoming Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes two OECD surveys), National Qualifications Frameworks or the European Qualifications…

Drawing on a critical theoretical paradigm and critically engaging with the externalization thesis that Gita Steiner-Khamsi and Jurgen Schriewer have developed, this article examines the politics of "Finnish education" in the ongoing Japanese education reform debate. More specifically, it examines the various discursive uses of…

Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education. The 2009 edition of "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries' performance. It provides a rich,…