Lower Secondary Education : How Much Time do Pupils Spend in School

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The Organization of Secondary School Curricula
Cross National Trends and Patterns
by Aaron Benavot EFA Global Monitoring Report
Team UNESCO October 6, 2006
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Introduction

• Historically, international discussions and
  national policies on education focused almost
  exclusively on quantitative targets (increasing
  access) now greater emphasis on quality-related
  issues
• Little international or academic consensus what
  educational quality entails
• Most studies concentrate on input-output models
  and say little about the nature of the
  educational process and classroom learning
• The school curriculum- both intended and
  implemented- is a very important indicator of
  educational quality since it begins to capture
  what actually happens in the classroom
• While school curricula do not measure classroom
  lifeeg, pedagogy, teaching methods or
  teacher-pupil interactionthey provide a general
  portrait of intended classroom activity and
  emphases
• This presentation looks at cross-national trends
  in the intended curriculum at the secondary
  level, including instructional time and content
  emphases across regions and over time

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A Brief Framework for Understanding Education
Quality

• Enabling Inputs
• Expenditures
• Physical infrastructure
• Human resources (teachers, ..)
• School governance/autonomy
• Intended curriculum
• Teaching learning materials

Classroom Environment/ Learning Activities

• Outcomes
• Subject based knowledge
• Literacy and numeracy skills
• Creative and emotional skills
• Values and behavior
• Social benefits

• Context
• Global diffusion of educational models/practices
• Economic and labor market conditions (Intl
  Nat.)
• Socio-cultural traditions, Historical influences
• National governance and management strategies
• Public resources available for education
• Public expectations of education

• Parental support/ school involvement
• National standards
• Influence of peers
• Changes of teaching profession

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Methodology of Research

• Data on national educational structures from
  UNESCOs Institute for Statistics (Montreal)
• Compilation of official curricular timetables for
  primary and secondary education, from multiple
  sources, mainly UNESCOs International Bureau of
  Education (Geneva)
• Development of coding scheme to analyse official
  timetables by (tracks), curricular categories,
  subject areas, grade levels, time periods, world
  regions, (such as ECA)
• Estimation of intended annual instructional time
  by grade level and time period as well as subject
  specific time allocations
• Exploratory analysis, looking at cross-national
  and longitudinal trends

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More than 80 of national education systems
distinguish between Lower and Upper secondary
education

• Increasingly, lower secondary education seeks to
  continue and deepen the educational aims of
  primary schools (Basic Education cycle)
• Lower secondary education usually part of
  compulsory years of schooling
• Upper secondary schooling marks onset of
  programmatic specialization, tracking and end of
  compulsory education
• Upper secondary education involves
  diversification of curricula, specialized teacher
  staff, and greater expenses

• In 2000, 85 of ECA countries distinguished
  between lower and upper secondary education.
  increased since 1980s

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Lower secondary education growing faster than
upper secondary
Gross enrolment ratios in lower and upper
secondary education, 1999-2004, region
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The ECA Region Enrollment Patterns
Enrollment upper secondary education in ECA
region is above global average.

• Enrollment ratios in lower secondary education
  are above 90 in most of the world including,
  Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
• The global GER for upper secondary enrollment is
  just above 50
• Above 75 of the relevant population is enrolled
  in upper secondary schools in Central and Eastern
  Europe and Central Asia

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Curricular Trends in Lower Secondary Education
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How Much Time Do Lower Secondary Pupils Spend in
School?
Countries allocate on average between 850-900
hours of instruction per year during lower
secondary education

• Intended instructional hours increase on average
  25 hours each grade level between primary
  education to lower secondary education, though
  not a linear trend, jumps after specific grades)
• Intended instructional time policies in lower
  secondary education have remained fairly stable
  since the 1980s
• Cross-national variation in instructional time
  policies is smaller in the lower secondary grades
  than in the primary grades

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How Do Instructional Time Policies in ECA Region
Compare Globally?
Intended instructional time tends to be lower in
the ECA region than in other regions

• Significant increase in yearly instructional time
  in the ECA region between primary and lower
  secondary schooling
• Some indication that overall yearly instructional
  time in the ECA region has declined somewhat
  during the past 15-20 years

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The next slides are examples of Official
Curricular Timetables, the main data source of
the analytical tables that follow
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What can we learn from analysing timetables?

• Is a subject (area) taught or not taught in an
  official timetable? Results in the estimation of
  a dichotomous variable, i.e, the proportion of
  countries requiring instruction in each subject
  (area)
• What percentage of total class periods or
  instructional hours are allocated to each subject
  area in timetables? Results in the estimation of
  a ratio variable -- the percentage of total
  instructional time allocated to different subject
  areas
• How many yearly hours of instruction are devoted
  to each subject area, per grade level or
  educational level (primary, lower secondary,
  upper secondary)? Results in an interval variable
  of the yearly amount of intended instructional
  time per subject

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Caveats

• Only looks at intended curricular policies, not
  the actual implementation of policies in local
  schools and classrooms
• Does not examine the actual contents and topics
  of what is taught in a specified subject and
  grade e.g., 8th grade science or history
• Cannot discern whether same content is taught
  under different subject labels (eg, history vs
  social studies)
• (Masks national differences in annual intended
  instructional time per subject)

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Which Curricular Categories are Taught Worldwide
in Primary Lower Secondary?Proportion of all
countries requiring instruction in categories
(number of countries in parentheses)
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Prevalence of Select Curricular Subjects
Worldwide, over timeProportion of all countries
requiring instruction in subjects
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How Do Curricular Requirements Change Between
Primary and Lower Secondary?

• Less basics, more discipline orientated subjects

Subjects increasingly required In Lower Secondary
education (relative to Primary) Sciences Computer
s Technology Social Sciences Foreign
language Social Studies Skills and
Competencies Electives Options
Subjects receiving less emphasis in Lower
Secondary education Aesthetic
Education Environment Ed/Ecology Mathematics Langu
age Instruction Religious Moral
Ed Sport/Physical Education
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How much emphasis do different subject areas
receive in lower secondary education?

• Most countries require instruction in six core
  areaslanguage, mathematics, science, social
  science, aesthetic education and sportswhich
  usually receive 80-90 of total instruction time
• Language and mathematics are still the
  predominant subjects in lower secondary education
  (but less so than at primary level)

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ECA Region Comparing Emphases

• ECA regions curricular emphases in sciences,
  and, to a lesser extent, in computer technology
  and social sciences are higher than the global
  norm
• ECAs curricular emphases in language,
  mathematics, religion/moral edu, arts, sport,
  skills and electives are slightly lower than
  global norm
• Overall, in most subjects differences are not huge

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The Prevalence and Relative Emphasis on Different
Types of Language Education Worldwide, by Grade
Level, Circa 2000Percentage of Countries
Requiring Instruction (a) Of those, Mean
Instructional Time Allocated to Language Type (b)
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Trends in Upper Secondary Education
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Complexity of Comparing Systems of Upper
Secondary Education

• Need to compare upper secondary systems on three
  levels
• Different school sectors academic, vocational/
  technological, teacher training, religious
  training, other
• Different track types or basic programs in
  academic sector e.g. classical, comprehensive,
  math and science, modern languages, law, social
  sciences
• Different official curricular policies in each
  track type

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Percentage of Countries with Major Upper
Secondary Sectors, worldwide and by period
120
100
80
ECA
60
percent
AIC
Total
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20
0
1960
1980
2000
1960
1980
2000
1960
1980
2000
1960
1980
2000
2000
Religious/ Theological
Academic Sector
Voc/Tech Educ
Teacher Training
Other
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Trends in Number of Upper Secondary tracks
(Academic sector)
Significant increase in single-track academic
systems since 1980s

• Worldwide, in 1960s, about 30 of academic upper
  secondary systems consisted of a comprehensive or
  general track, in 2000s the figure was over 50
• At the national level, academic upper secondary
  systems experience a considerable degree of
  volatility over time regarding track number and
  composition
• A large percentage of countries have moved
  between multi- and single- track systems,
  reflecting intensified national reforms

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ECA Region Trends in Upper Secondary
Organization

• At the sector level ECA region has up-graded
  teacher training institutions (to
  post-secondary), and reduced specialized school
  sectors
• The break up of the Soviet Union resulted in a
  significant increase in single, comprehensive
  track systems at academic upper secondary level
• The percentage of countries in Eastern Europe and
  Central Asia with single track systems increased
  between 1980 and 2000 from 25 to 65

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Classification of Upper Secondary Academic
Tracks, 2000-03
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Curricular Trends in the Upper Secondary Education
Homogenization of institutions and tracks
diversification of curricular contents and options

• Specialized schools disappearing or being
  upgraded general institutions strengthening
• The charter of vocational schools and tracks
  has changing
• enrolment share is less than 20 of USE, 10 of
  total secondary
• existing vocational programs less terminal, more
  mobility opportunities for graduates
• Traditional forms of classical education are in
  decline
• Most USE systems following two basic organizing
  principles
• A single, general or comprehensive program,
  allowing students some degree of track and course
  selection
• Two or more specialized programs emphasizing
  distinctive contents students are channeled into
  specializations
• Small increase in social science and business
  tracks
• Small increase in multi-discipline tracks (eg,
  humanities science)

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Conclusions and Implications
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Implications

• Effects of diffusion of world models of secondary
  education ?
• Less specialized institutions (schools), more
  diversification in a limited number of standard
  schools and tracks
• secondary education is becoming more
  comprehensive to meet the needs more
  heterogeneous pupil population, which comes with
  increased access
• Decline in classical education
• Adapt curricula to emphasize subjects they
  perceive to have the greatest economic
  implications it seems that most policymakers see
  mathematics and science as economically
  advantageous
• Less explicit labor market oriented tracks and
  contents at lower secondary level, declining
  share of TVET enrolments
• Effects of Globalization ?
• Foreign language as increasingly important in the
  globalizing labour force globalization makes
  foreign languages more applicable and necessary
  to the labour force

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Implications II

• School systems aim to prepare young people with
  skills for local or national markets. Misses the
  point that the boundedness of labour markets is
  eroding, that people move across markets, and
  especially that jobs are increasingly moving
• Very hard to forecast what are skill requirements
  of multiple jobs graduates will assume during
  their lifetime and skills needed for each job
• Which curricular subjects influence the
  development of which skills and competences?
• Which curricular subject are most relevant to
  economic outcomes?
• Important societal outcomes (democratization,
  modernization, changing gender roles) schools are
  chartered to serve, that curricula are designed
  to produce

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References for Global Analyses of the School
Curriculum

• John Meyer, David Kamens and Aaron Benavot. 1992,
  School Knowledge for the Masses World Models and
  National Primary Curricular Categories in the
  Twentieth Century. Falmer Press.
• David Kamens, John Meyer and Aaron Benavot. 1996,
  "Worldwide patterns in academic secondary
  education curricula." Comparative Education
  Review 40 (May) 116-138.
• Aaron Benavot. 2002, "A critical analysis of
  comparative research." Prospects 32 (March)
  51-73. (English, Russian)
• Aaron Benavot. 1992, Curricular content,
  educational expansion and economic growth.
  Comparative Education Review 36 (May) 150-174.
• Aaron Benavot and Cecilia Braslavsky (eds). 2006,
  School Knowledge in Comparative and Historical
  Perspective Changing Curricula in Primary and
  Secondary Education. University of Hong Kong and
  Springer.
• Aaron Benavot, forthcoming, The diversification
  of secondary education School curricula in
  comparative perspective.
• Aaron Benavot. 2005. A global study of intended
  instructional time and official school curricula,
  1980-2000. Background report commissioned by the
  International Bureau of Education for UNESCO-EFA
  Global Monitoring Report.

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Global Monitoring Reports Six EFA Goals

• Expand and improve early childhood care
  education, especially for most vulnerable and
  disadvantaged children 2007 Report
• Ensure free and compulsory primary education of
  good quality for all children by 2015 2002 and
  2008 Reports
• Ensure equitable access to appropriate learning
  and life skills programmes for all young people
  and adults
• Achieve a 50 percent improvement in levels of
  adult literacy by 2O15, especially for women 2006
  Report
• Eliminate gender disparities in primary and
  secondary education by 2005, achieve gender
  equality by 2015 2003/4 Report
• Improve all aspects of the quality of education,
  including measurable improvements in learning
  outcomes 2005 Report

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Thank You
a.benavot_at_unesco.org www.efareport.unesco.org
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Implications The Context for Change

• Post-Soviet Political Tide?
• The alleged link between education and societal
  outcomes encouraged reform
• Educational reforms in the 90sparalleling the
  political reforms of the timewere based on
  democratization, freedom of choice and
  individual responsibility
• Reforms especially effected secondary education
  students were given greater choice in programs,
  granted more options, new exams were prepared and
  vocational schools were revamped
• Reform of moral education represented a reaction
  to the Soviet area, when schools indoctrinated
  students with the ideals and morals of communism
• High levels of participation by Western
  governments and non-profits in helping to
  construct the post-soviet education reforms