0000000000422305
AUTHOR
Anne Sliwka
Germany: A System Undergoing Change
The German school system has been undergoing significant reforms as it works to challenge long-held beliefs about the country’s traditional tiered system of schooling. Once believed to be a symbol of national strength, the sifting and sorting of children into one of three tiers of school at the age of 10 is now believed by many to be a limiting factor in potential for student growth and development (OECD 2011). In response to what has often been described as the “PISA shock,” Germany has, since the initial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study (2000), seen a steady increase in PISA scores in literacy, mathematics and the sciences.
Ecologies of Practice
Through current research evidence, anecdotal experiences portrayed in the research to praxis sections and country-specific images of practice, we hope the chapters of this book have highlighted the tremendous potential and power of the adolescent developmental period. Education systems, schools and teachers all play important roles in how the schooling experience of adolescents unfolds. Since such a significant portion of their sense of self develops through their interactions and explorations with people and ideas at school, we can no longer leave to chance what happens during the middle years of learning. Bringing the science and research of adolescence and adolescent schooling to life th…
Multicultural and Multifaceted Canada
Describing the system of education in Canada is akin to trying to describe the nation itself—complex. It is perhaps difficult to pinpoint defining features, the country being viewed by many on the world stage as strong and stable; yet on home soil, many Canadians struggle to articulate where the essence of their country lies. [I am one of those Canadians. That being said, I feel very fortunate to live, work and raise my children in Canada. I look out my window and see the Rocky Mountains; I breathe clean air and have clean water to drink any time I turn my faucets on; my children walk to school in what I feel is as safe a neighbourhood as you will find in a large Canadian city; and, I am fo…
Finland: Towards the Future School
Finland is known globally for two things: first, Santa Claus who is living in Korvatunturi in Lapland, near the Russian border; and second, education. A huge success in the international Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results in the early 2000s raised Finnish education to the core of educational discussion all around the world. Finland’s top rankings in not only one category but in all three main test categories—literacy, mathematics and science—has led to many questions as to the origins of this success. The answers lay in two main categories: the developmental history of Finnish compulsory school and teacher education. In Finland, PISA results were of more importanc…
Why Comparative Research on the Middle Years?
Anyone who has recently stepped into a middle years’ classroom knows all too well the truth of this portrait—the lived experience of learners in our schools today. Early adolescents are truly a unique group of learners, like none other a teacher might experience—a group that will at one moment test a teacher’s mettle and the very next bring so much elation and reward that a teacher might even question how they could ever think of working with another age group. This is the appeal and the true curiosity behind the early adolescent learner and is the heart of what we will present to you in this book.