In any field, effective teaching and learning are greatly aided by information and communication technology, or ICT. ICT integration in education has received significant attention in educational system reforms, which emphasized it as an essential component in improving the learning process. Educational organizations have been particularly…

This study investigates the relationship between school-level accountability practices and science achievement of 15-year-olds, across four counties: Australia, Korea, Portugal, and the United States. We used PISA 2006 data, since 2006 is the only administration that has focused on science. School-level accountability practices are here defined as…

Due to the poor performance of US students in international math and science tests, many authors worry that the US lead in science is in jeopardy. A recent study by Chen and Luoh ("Soc Indic Res" 96: 133-143, 2010) challenged this pessimistic view by delinking test performance and labor force quality. It was found that measures such as…

This study conducts a meta-analysis using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to address the questions of the extent of gender differences in reading, whether or not these differences apply similarly across English and non-English speaking countries and decrease with age. Female secondary students performed 0.19 standard deviation units above their…

After describing both average scores, dispersion, and social inequalities in achievement in the various countries included in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, this article relates those "products" to country economic and cultural characteristics. It then explores relations between student scores and…

Education aims to enable students not only to acquire knowledge but also to become capable and enthusiastic lifelong learners. Prior research has found that learning is more likely to be effective where a student plays a proactive role in the learning process. Such a proactive process, including learning on students' own initiative and strategies,…