The Learning Curve

The Economist Intelligence Unit / Pearson

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Related Article:
New report compares education systems around the world
Report card, Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
Jan 29, 2013

… The report concludes that there is no magic bullet for improving education, but there are lessons to be learned, such as the following (word for word from the report):

  • Respect teachers
  • Culture can be changed
  • Parents are neither impediments to nor saviours of education
  • Educate for the future, not just the present

The Economist story concludes with this:

“A big message is that national culture matters more than the structure of an education system. So the main lesson for policymakers may be to put education at the forefront of the story a nation tells about itself. Countries which do that with conviction and consistency can leapfrog the complacent. Outcomes can change rapidly: many students in the Asian “super league” countries have grandparents who are barely literate. Israel has also leapt up in maths and reading. Rankings and data do not tell the whole story. But they provide a useful spur.”

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