The revolutionary belief that education is the great equalizer" has spread across the globe, and education systems reflect ideals including universal enrollment. Yet how can success in education be measured-and improved? How the World Learns is an international comparison of teaching methods and student achievement, delving into culture and context to see what is succeeding and what is failing, at home and abroad."
How the World Learns: Comparative Educational Systems
Discover the unique ways some countries foster student achievement-and the circumstances that cause others to fall short.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Ceasar ces ceso from
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Date published: 2024-09-21
Rated 3 out of
5
by
DaGeek from
Only if you are deep into educational theory...
I will have to admit I found this course more than a little dry. My wife (a retired school teacher) actually gave up on the course and I finished watching it solo… mainly due to my OCD saying finish what you start.
The presenter, Alexander W. Wiseman, seems knowledgeable on his subject matter, but he did not seem to have enough material to fill 24 classes, which is to say at times it felt a bit redundant.
On the other hand, since my wife is a retired teacher, I knew education was more complicated than it looks from the outside. I enjoyed the little bit of history he presented to show how we got where we are at with education. I did enjoy learning about different educational theories.
Would I recommend this course, probably not unless you are deep into the nuts and bolts of education at a much higher level than a classroom teacher. C’est la vie.
Date published: 2023-03-02
Rated 1 out of
5
by
aribrixo33 from
Not well organized or factually correct
To start with the lectures are not well organized. The professor doesn't fully tell you where he's going and doesn't always connect the material.
Some of the information was interesting and I enjoyed learning about the history of the modern education system from Prussian schools in the 18th century, but I would have preferred it the professor was able to cover different schools in more depth and what systems work for them. I found that most of the information couldn't actually be applied to how to teach better or learn better.
The nail in the coffin was the number of errors. When the professor discussed the success of Finnish schools I was fascinated - especially in regards to how they typically have a masters degree and are the best paid in Western countries. I looked into this more and this information just isn't true. Finland doesn't even make the top 10. According to OECD data at 2021 Luxembourg is in the lead with an average salary for primary teachers of 101,000
Source: OECD
Date published: 2022-10-31
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Slimokie from
Data was repetitious
This course reviewed several topics, but the examples kept coming back to a select few countries. As a result, the lectures kept repeating the same data throughout the course.
Date published: 2022-03-06
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JosephS from
Important for teachers and parents
This book explains the issues involved in evaluating the merits of education systems in different parts of the world. What it brings home is the importance of context when doing these evaluations, especially when using standard international testing systems.
Date published: 2022-03-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Jeff Towers from
Spectacular view of the educational landscape
I'm a parent, really wanted to know how a family could help their children. My understanding of educational systems was greatly expanded by the course, backwards and forwards in time and around the world. I felt I could nitpick, maybe some topics could have been introduced with simple phrasing. But I came away with a magnificent overview and many years of experience carefully dissected. So it's a five!
Date published: 2022-03-01
Rated 1 out of
5
by
Uncle Wiggly from
Misleading title and vague course content
Great, I thought, an expert who knows details of various educational systems around the world - what works better and why. Sounds very interesting. I was disappointed. I didn't learn much about that.
I did learn that if you think something is wrong with schools and needs to be fixed, you are mistaken and misguided. Educational systems around the world are largely similar. Teachers are well-trained, certified and dedicated, although underpaid, professionals.
First, and he is honest about this in the first lesson, this is more of an academic presentation of his Doctoral Thesis that Non-School Factors are possibly more important than School Factors in the results of an educational system. His sentences are complex and filled with baffling academic terminology which he has to carefully read from the teleprompter to avoid frequent stumbles. This leaves the listener confused about what he just said and a little bored. Each lesson ends with a somewhat vague summary statement which is more of a question than a conclusion supported by any evidence presented in the lecture.
Second, he believes that educational "success" is impossible to define and varies with different cultures. Producing good little citizens and a stable society is as important as acquiring knowledge. He is critical of systems that emphasize standardized testing and believes that the test results are too complex for anyone other that the experts to analyze. Certainly they should not be used by the general public, parents, the media or politicians to attempt to influence decisions regarding educational funding or curriculum, to rank educational results, or to assign accountability to educators for the results of their teaching.
He clearly admires the educational system of Finland where educators and students are free to explore learning in a much less-ordered system. He smiles broadly when he says words like globalization, equity or social justice, and when he quotes Nelson Mandela. He believes that only government provision of free healthcare, childcare, school, food, shelter and so forth can eliminate the poverty which is the real reason (i.e. non-school factors) for the unfair differences in educational success.
I learned that global education is a huge conglomeration of competing academic institutions, organizations and companies. It leaves me wondering if much of the money intended for education is not actually going to teachers and students. Yikes!
Date published: 2021-03-22
Rated 1 out of
5
by
DMortensen from
Needs more on comparing educational systems
This course focuses way too much on US education policy and not enough on comparing and contrasting different teaching systems and styles. Both the title and trailer seem to me to be misleading.
Date published: 2020-12-16
Overview
About
Professor Alexander W. Wiseman is an Associate Professor of Comparative and International Education at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in both Comparative and International Education and Educational Theory and Policy from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Wiseman has more than 19 years of professional experience, working worldwide with government education departments, university-based teacher education programs, and community-based professional development programs for teachers. He also has been a classroom teacher in both the United States and East Asia, and he currently serves as a frequent strategic planning and development consultant for ministries of education and national education organizations worldwide. He is a co-chair of the Committee on International Accreditation for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. Professor Wiseman is the author of many research-to-practice articles and books. Recent articles have appeared in Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education; Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education; American Behavioral Scientist; Computers & Education; and Research in Comparative and International Education. In addition, Professor Wiseman serves as the series editor for the International Perspectives on Education and Society volume series and as the chief editor of the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education volume. He also is the senior editor of the peer-reviewed journal FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education.
Trailer
01: The Global Challenge to Educate
Borrowing or benchmarking one national education system against another is not necessarily a remedy or the most useful analytical tool for educational reform, yet these are among the most common approaches. Begin to understand why this approach falls short as Professor Wiseman lays out his general thesis for the course....
34 min
02: Sputnik Launches the Science-Math Race
Dating back to Sputnik in the 1950s, education culture has been driven by anxiety. Learn about the history of "crisis" in U.S. education before investigating how America's educational system compares with schools and students in other countries. Focus on TIMSS in particular, which tracks mathematics and science achievement in about 70 countries....
33 min
03: Education Is Life
Which is more important-gaining knowledge or new skills? Is standardized testing the best measure of what someone knows? What is the purpose of going to school-to prepare for college or a career? Address such questions as you probe Americans' views on education and how it can be improved using internationally comparable information....
31 min
04: Evidence-Based Policy Making in Education
Delve into the question of why evidence-based educational policymaking has become a global phenomenon by looking at the way data is used to shape what teachers and students do in the classroom. See how governing bodies can bureaucratize the ways data is collected, presented, and interpreted-or manipulated....
30 min
05: What Should We Compare about Education?
Do the achievement rankings paint an accurate picture of what's happening in schools, or is the crisis politically manufactured? Get answers as you analyze common criticisms of national education systems through the lens of three recurring phenomena-achievement envy, the accountability expectation, and access entitlement-and look at approaches to shifting school culture....
34 min
06: The World Learns from Horace Mann
Trace how the ideologies of mass education emerged in the U.S. and became central tenets of education around the world. Survey the ideas of key educational thinkers such as Horace Mann and James Bryant Conant, then consider why, despite its strengths, the U.S. might be ranked low relative to international standards....
30 min
07: When Culture Invades the Classroom
Investigate the idea that "non-school factors" such as student poverty are among the strongest predictors of learning. Examine how two of the largest of these factors-culture and economics-play out in South Africa, which is experiencing an HIV/AIDS crisis, and in China, where test scores and national economics are thought to go hand-in-hand....
29 min
08: Germany and Japan's Shattered Expectations
Thanks to the PISA and other internationally comparative data, each nation's policymakers, educators, and the public know exactly how well their students perform compared to their peers. Consider why Finland sits at the top of these rankings, and examine reforms countries such as Indonesia and Japan have implemented in response to their results....
31 min
09: Borrowing Foreign School Cultures
Why are educational comparisons so popular? Should educational reform be driven by economic competition? Think critically about these questions as you examine which countries and cultures are and aren't comparable, and consider the United Arab Emirates' unique strategy of importing 50 Finnish teachers to reform two schools based on the Finnish model....
30 min
10: The Value in Linking School to Jobs
Many business and industry leaders say there is no connection between formal school education-which teaches information, but not skills-and what is needed in the world of work. Investigate renewed global efforts to test whether vocational training can better prepare youth to participate in the emerging technology-driven knowledge economy....
30 min
11: Why Blame the Teacher?
Is low student performance the fault of teachers? Consider this question as you study characteristics of students, teachers, curriculum, and culture in the "model" educational systems to see what makes them different (or not) from the U.S. and other middle- or low-performing countries. Look at the elusiveness of quality teachers in the Gulf region....
30 min
12: Gender Pipeline Lifts Equality Dream
The U.S. and other countries may not be able to replicate Finland's educational system, but they can level the playing field by making adjustments that contribute to equity in policies, curricula, and pedagogy. Focus on gender-based equity, looking at areas where real progress is being made as well as institutionalized gender inequalities masked by egalitarian values....
32 min
13: Gulf Schools: The Non-National Advantage
Look at the "insider" versus the "outsider" in national education systems such as Saudi Arabia to see how education bridges political citizenship, academic performance, and economic productivity. Examine how education is a means for producing citizens who reflect the desired image of a nation's population and its government....
29 min
14: Who Is Accountable for Education?
Accountability culture varies from country to country and region to region, but three common elements appear in most educational systems. Compare and contrast how access, achievement, and a combination of standards and assessments play out in the U.S. and Finland, and look at one notable exception-the consensus culture of Japan....
30 min
15: How Parents Shape Student Outcomes
Explore how parental involvement aligns with socioeconomic status and influences student achievement and education worldwide. See the role "cram schools" in Korea and other private tutoring play in education and the importance of early childhood education on child literacy. Finally, learn how the Japanese system fosters ties between schools and employers....
33 min
16: Reading, Writing, and Religion
Think about how educators and students in systems around the world decide what to teach and learn, and consider how this decision is largely a product of context. Start with an examination of national curricula around the world, where you'll find commonalities in content matter and cognitive skills, as well as key differences....
30 min
17: International Test Scores: All and Nothing
Most educational systems around the world have four general goals. Explore each of them here as you get a framework for finding what works to improve student achievement on standardized tests in countries worldwide. Also, look closely at some of the chief concerns regarding these tests....
32 min
18: Turning a Good Teacher into a Great One
Think about what constitutes good teaching, and look at the ways teachers teach in the U.S., Finland, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Begin your comparison by looking at some of the school factors that influence teaching, including how teachers are trained and the degree to which they routinely collaborate....
29 min
19: The Foundations of Civil Society
Think critically about political socialization and why it plays such a large part in education worldwide by looking closely at the various ways students are politically socialized, the results of these efforts, and who realistically-rather than ideally-benefits....
29 min
20: From National Student to Global Citizen
Explore how education in countries around the world develops global citizens by imparting a combination of identity, knowledge, skills, and action-both explicitly and implicitly-to engender concern for making the world a better place. Examine curricula designed to focus on global citizenry, including the International Baccalaureate and instruction created by Oxfam....
32 min
21: The Problem with Teaching's Best Practices
Explore ways that teachers and students behave in classrooms across the globe, focusing on what seems to work in a few key systems. Discover why practices that produce a great outcome in one place-such as lengthening the school year-don't necessarily lead to success in another....
29 min
22: A School inside Your Phone?
New technologies are being implemented as teaching tools, combining traditional teaching methods with more self-directed learning. Consider efforts such as the One Laptop per Child organization, and see why even when such technology does exist, its use is not always sustainable....
30 min
23: The Rich-and-Poor Learning Cycle
How should we measure academic success? By standardized tests and school grades? By transition and mobility within an education system? See how true success in education is a delicate balance between school factors and non-school factors, which can look quite different depending on the context....
30 min
24: How to Fix Education: Heart, Head, Hands
Assuming something is "wrong" with schools, how might they be fixed? Analyze how the larger forces of imposition, invitation, and innovation can lead to change through examples from Saudi Arabia, the U.S., and Myanmar, where Buddhist monks have established non-religious schools at their monasteries to remedy the poor quality of government-provided education....
35 min
