Secondary Education - Links

American Academy of Arts and Sciences 
http://www.amacad.org/projects/ubase.aspx
The Academy’s Universal Basic and Secondary Education project is assembling teams of scholars and practitioners from a wide variety of fields to study the rationale, means, and consequences of providing universal education.

European Training Foundation
http://www.etf.eu.int/
The ETF is a European Union agency and promotes the values and objectives of the EU.  The ETF’s work is based on the fundamental contribution that vocational education and training makes to competitiveness, employability and mobility in modern economies.

International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) http://www.iea.nl/
The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement is an independent, international cooperative of national research institutions and governmental research agencies.  Through its comparative research and assessment projects IEA aims to provide international benchmarks to assist policymakers in identifying the comparative strengths and weaknesses of their educational systems.

International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive  http://www.inca.org.uk/
INCA is the International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Internet Archive.  It provides regularly updated descriptions of government policy on education in Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland (forthcoming), Scotland (forthcoming), Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA and Wales, and makes particular reference to the curriculum and assessment frameworks in place.  This site also features specific sections describing initial teacher training policy across the Archive countries.

The International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
http://www.iteaconnect.org/index.html
ITEA is the largest professional educational association, principle voice, and information clearinghouse devoted to enhancing technology education through technology, innovation, design, and engineering experiences at the K-12 school levels. Its membership encompasses individuals and institutions throughout the world in over 45 countries with the primary membership in North America.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/
NCES plays an active role in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) International Indicators of Education Systems (INES) Project.  The INES Project began in 1988 in response to national policymakers' desire for information that would allow them to compare the performance of their education systems with those of other countries and thus better assess and monitor the effectiveness and evolution of their education systems.  The INES Project develops a system of indicators for cross-national comparisons in education.

National College for School Leadership (NCSL), UK
http://www.ncsl.org.uk/
NCSL aims to provide a single national focus for school leadership development, research and innovation; be a driving force for world-class leadership in schools and the wider community; provide support to and be a major resource for school leaders; and stimulate national and international debate on leadership issues.

National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/At-Risk/index.html
The National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students is one of five Institutes created in the U.S. by the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination and Improvement Act of 1994. These Institutes are located within the Office of Educational Research and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education.  The At-Risk Institute supports a range of research and development activities designed to improve the education of students at risk of educational failure because of limited English proficiency, poverty, race, geographic location, or economic disadvantage.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Catalog of School Reform
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/catalog/index.shtml
The Catalog of School Reform Models was designed to help educators find an external model that meets the needs of their school. It provides descriptions of whole-school models and is updated regularly as models are added or removed based on a formal review process.

PISA International Database, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
http://www.pisa.oecd.org/
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an internationally standardized assessment that was jointly developed by participating countries and administered to15-year-olds in schools.  The survey was implemented in 43 countries in the first assessment in 2000 and at least 58 countries will participate in the third assessment in 2006. 

TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College 
http://timss.bc.edu/
The TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center is dedicated to conducting comparative studies in international education achievement.   This website features information about the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2005n2/secondaryedu.php
One of the most pressing concerns in secondary education is to eliminate gender disparity.  This is a direct link to UNICEF’s website on secondary education and gender parity.

UNESCO, Secondary, Vocational and Science Education
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=44060&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Drawing on the outcomes of recent international and regional meetings on secondary education reform and the education of adolescents, UNESCO makes policy recommendations to member states, addressing a range of salient issues.  This website describes UNESCO’s programs and activities related to secondary education.   

UNESCO, International Bureau of Education (IBE)
http://www.ibe.unesco.org/
IBE joined UNESCO as an integral, yet autonomous, institution in 1969.  IBE concentrates on the adaptation of educational content to the challenges of the 21st century, focusing on strengthening capacity-building in the area of management of curriculum change. In this framework, its main functions are observation, promotion of dialogue on educational policy, strengthening of capacity building, and dissemination of information.

UNESCO, International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP)
http://www.unesco.org/iiep/
IIEP was created by UNESCO in 1963 and is supported by grants from UNESCO and by voluntary contributions from member states and others.  IIEP's goal is to help member states improve the quality and effectiveness of their education systems, mainly through training and research activities.