If the quality of an education system can never exceed the quality of its teachers, then countries need to do all they can to build a high-quality teaching force.

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)’s aims, implementation and effect on the English higher education sector remains a controversial and contested subject. This text offers a wide-ranging interdisciplinary discussion of the implications of the TEF on the UK’s fast-moving policy environment, and increasingly neoliberal higher education sector.

Voices from the Classroom illustrates that teachers have a leading voice in the policies that impact their students and the profession of teaching. The aim is to provide a rich and broad view of the impact of inquiry in the classrooms, from primary to higher education, and to provide a window into the perspective of teachers. Voices from the Classroom allows us to advance this mission by identifying and then turning educators' ideas into action. The publication includes chapters on issues ranging from dyslexic students' geospatial abilities to teachers' differential behaviours related, student characteristics and the experiences of refugees with bullying in the educational space. All the contributions published in this book emerged from real classrooms: our teachers and researchers conducted their research by drawing on their experience as educators. We believe that these insights into everyday classrooms, and the issues affecting them, are crucial to making teaching and learning better. We hope they can help drive real, positive change for students and teachers.

Quality improvement is a major current goal of Education in China and this will be achieved through overall quality improvement of the education system as a whole, a situation that is also the case across the world. Deploying a cost-benefit analysis and multidisciplinary perspectives from education, economics, neurocognition, gender studies, child development, and international development, this book presents a range of critical interventions in education development and investment that have proven to be effective in many countries around the world. The book draws on theoretical and practical experience in the field of education investment and analyses key issues in China's early childhood education, early reading, girls' education, brain science application in international education, small-scale schools in low income areas and teacher education. Students and scholars of education and development and Chinese education will benefit from this title.

Reviews of National Policies for Education offer customised, in-depth analysis and advice to assist policy makers in developing and implementing education policy. Individual reviews can focus on a specific policy area, a particular level of education or a country’s entire education system.

Taking the perspective of institutions and the system, Education Policy Outlook 2019: Working Together to Help Students Achieve their Potential, analyses the evolution of key education priorities and key education policies in 43 education systems. It compares more recent developments in education policy ecosystems (mainly between 2015 and 2019) with various education policies adopted between 2008 and 2014.

This book presents critical perspectives on teacher professional learning and professional development as interpreted in 14 countries across Europe. Bringing together experts from across Europe, the book fulfils a need for a better understanding of the changing nature of teacher professional learning in national policy contexts and of the cultural differences existing between various systems. It discusses the new thinking that has emerged in the field of teacher education alongside new models that reflect the changing patterns and policies relating to the ways educational professionals maintain and enhance professional practice. The book highlights that new models of teacher leadership and practitioner inquiry have a strong focus on pedagogy and social justice. It also examines briefly the challenges brought about by the Covid pandemic and the ways in which new approaches to professional learning, specifically the use of new technologies, have begun to transform practice in some countries in Europe. The book gives insights into the ways in which professional learning policy is interpreted and applied in practice. It will be highly relevant for researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher professional learning and development, school leadership, comparative education and educational policy and planning.

Human capital is a central determinant of economic well-being and social advancement in the modern world economy. The concept of human capital covers the knowledge, skills, nutrition, and health that people accumulate over their lives, enabling them to realize their potential as productive members of society. Because of the vital importance of human capital for economic growth, the World Bank has launched the Human Capital Project (HCP), which includes the Human Capital Index (HCI). The objective of the HCP is to accelerate human capital development around the world. The HCI is a cross-country metric designed to measure and forecast a country’s human capital. Sri Lanka is a lower-middle-income country seeking to become an upper-middle-income country. Developing human capital to a new and higher level will be central to achieving this development goal. After the country’s 26-year secessionist conflict ended in 2009, Sri Lanka’s economy enjoyed rapid growth at an average rate of almost 6 percent between 2010 and 2017, reflecting a peace dividend and a determined policy thrust toward reconstruction and growth. However, in more recent years there have been signs of a slowdown. The economy is transitioning from a predominantly rural economy to a more urbanized one. In the context of the HCP and the HCI, Sri Lanka Human Capital Development analyzes the main achievements and challenges of human capital development in this East Asia and Pacific island country in health and nutrition—including stunting—and in education—including the challenges posed by Sri Lankans’ low participation in higher education. The report concludes with a look at the importance of building a consensus among the public and other stakeholders to launch an ambitious human capital development program in Sri Lanka.

This report presents an assessment of Mexico's recent education reforms. Education systems worldwide require continued policy efforts in essential areas to improve student learning, such as: the need to prioritise equity; providing learning environments that are fit for the 21st century...

Singapore’s education system has come to international attention due to its commendable performance on the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), as well as the students’ continual sterling performance in internationally benchmarked tests such as Trends in International Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The accomplishments are the result of a long-haul vision of education, and more importantly, a deep commitment towards developing teachers for the 21st century. Singapore has invested steadfastly from the early years in teachers at the front line of the classrooms in schools. This book explicates the ‘thinking’ behind Singapore’s approach to developing teachers and building the teaching profession. It examines how Singapore strives to attract the best and the brightest people to become teachers, develop them into autonomous professionals, and grow them over their career so that they are able to deliver quality education for every child. The author hopes that by sharing the hindsight, insight and foresight of the system, and looking at Singapore's aspirations and challenges, the book can stimulate reflection and generate discussion, and provide ideas for improving teaching and teacher learning worldwide.