The authors aim to identify characteristics of democratic schools. The Delphi technique used in this study is based on attaining a consensus among a group of experts over 3 rounds with 22 experts from 9 countries participating in the first round. By the end of the third round, 339 items referring to democratic school characteristics were…

The present article discusses the role and impact of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Finland. PISA has created a new geography of education policies and reforms by shifting global interest away from Anglo-Saxon education systems to Asian countries, as well as to Finland and Canada in the West. The article describes how…

This paper addresses the fact that although globalization cannot be resisted by the nation-state, it is often confronted by mixed reactions from both the GN (Global North) and the GS (Global South). The essay charges that globalization has political, economic and cultural impact on the nation-state, which ultimately impacts the issue of identity…

This investigation serves as one of the first empirical analyses to examine the international volunteering gap year from an educational perspective, concluding an in-depth case study of a prominent gap year organisation in the UK. Contrary to widespread industry promotion of international development, the findings suggest that the experience can…

The International Studies in Education program at the University of Iceland illustrates how one university is responding to global trends in higher education. Through a case study we examined the significance of an innovative B.A. program, which is taught in English, aligned with values affirmed in critical multiculturalist scholarship, and…

The International Research and Studies Program supports surveys, studies, and instructional materials development to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields. The purpose of the program is to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies and other…

Living-learning communities (LLCs) have become an important part of the educational experience for many first-year university students. As academic units seek new ways to reach undergraduate students, partnering with an LLC is often an effective solution. This article explores a largely untapped link between LLCs and geography. An inventory of…

The "Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications Frameworks," the result of collaborative work between the European Training Foundation (ETF), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] and UIL [UNESCO Institute for…

In the wake of the recent ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) launch in 2010, this paper argues for the greater scholarly contribution of international development studies in the discourse of comparative education in East Asia. The argument is based on three premises. The first acknowledges the growing relations of East Asian countries to…

This first "OECD Skills Outlook" presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The PIAAC survey was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills and how they are used at work and at home through the…

This publication is a global, country-by-country, inventory of National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs). It is a copublication, prepared by two EU agencies, the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop); and UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Section for TVET at…

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) shows that US school students have a lower level of achievement than students from many East Asian countries. Therefore, media, researchers and policy-makers in the United States have often argued that US competitiveness in mathematics and science will decline. This paper aims at…

Language learning strategies are used with the explicit goal of helping learners improve their knowledge and understanding of a target language. They are the conscious thoughts and behaviors used by students to facilitate language learning tasks and to personalize language learning process. Learning styles on the other hand, are "general…

Action research can be understood as a complex interplay between local circumstances and local research traditions, embedded in their turn in local intellectual-philosophical traditions, national as well as international. Because of this interplay it is questionable whether it would be particularly fruitful to look for 'typical local forms of…

To make an academic study of matters inherently secret and potentially explosive seems a tall task. But a growing number of scholars are drawn to understanding spycraft. The interdisciplinary field of intelligence studies is mushrooming, as scholars trained in history, international studies, and political science examine such subjects as the…