International and Comparative Education

• Africa Education-- Web portal for information and resources on many aspects of education in Africa, particularly from a teacher's point of view.

• African Higher Education Research Online-- "Open access archive of texts that focus on the study, practice and governance of higher education in Africa. The collection includes research reports, journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, working papers, booklets, and policy documents."

• Boston College Center for International Higher Education-- "Dedicated to research and service in international higher education," to serve as a "focal point for discussion and thoughtful analysis of higher education." Posts the "International Higher Education" newsletter (with archives) and some publications on higher education around the world from Center faculty and programs. Note the material from the International Network for Higher Education in Africa.

• Braintrack-- Index of links to the higher education institutions of the world, by continent and country, plus hundreds of useful articles on higher education and careers by the BrainTrack staff.

• Canadian Education Association-- Information and publications about Canadian education and Canadian research on education.

• Center for Higher Education Policy Studies-- At the Universiteit Twente in the Netherlands, "produces and disseminates knowledge with respect to higher education policy, especially at the system and institutional levels." Offers many free insightful publications on higher education issues, such as country reports and the series "Higher Education Policy Issues and Trends."

• Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity-- Co-ordinated from the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex "to develop and encourage the application of knowledge to improve access to basic education... [with] a programme of research focused on countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa to analyse policy and practice designed to reduce exclusion." Offers reports, information, bibliographic database, and more. Note especially the CREATE Gateway that "provides links to resources related to access issues in education."

• Council of Ministers of Education, Canada-- Information about all levels of the Canadian educational system, from the "national voice for education" in that country.

• Current Issues in Comparative Education-- From Teachers College, Columbia University, a free online international journal for debate of issues in comparative and international education.

• Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science-- Posts "information about the Dutch education system and Dutch policy on education, culture and science" and "practical information about going to school, studying and working in the Netherlands." Also has information and leads about other European education systems.

• Educational Policy Institute-- "International organization dedicated to the study of educational opportunity and a collective association of researchers and policy analysts from around the world dedicated to the mission of enhancing our knowledge of critical barriers facing students and families throughout the educational pipeline." Posts studies on education in various countries and on a world scale.

• Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)-- "The world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature," offering searchable access to an extensive body of cost-free education-related literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Library of Education.

• European Association for International Education-- "Non-profit organisation whose main aim is the stimulation and facilitation of the internationalisation of higher education in Europe and around the world, and to meet the professional needs of individuals active in international education." Excellent professional source on the topic.

• European Centre for Higher Education-- From UNESCO, "promotes co-operation and provides technical support in the field of higher education among UNESCO's member states in Central, Eastern, and South-East Europe." Site posts statistics, monographs, papers, studies, and texts.

• European Schoolnet-- Site for European teachers, students, and school administrators, sponsored by 30 European Ministries of Education, with much information about education in Europe to serve as "a gateway to national and regional school networks."

• Eurydice-- The official information network about national education systems in Europe, part of the EU's Socrates Project. Posts studies and descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, and indicators and statistics. Note especially Eurybase, a "highly detailed database – the only one of its kind – on all education systems covered by the Network."

• Global Education Database-- Sponsored by USAID's Office of Education, "a repository of international education statistics compiled from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Demographic and Health Surveys. The GED also provides a series of analytic tools to facilitate effective use of the data."

• IDP Database of Research on International Education-- "This searchable database is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and contains details of more than 8,000 books, articles, conference papers and reports on various aspects of international education from publishers in Australia and abroad. The database houses material published from 1990 onwards." Many of the documents are available cost-free online.

• Institute of International Education-- The best source in the world on study abroad, IIE conducts statistical and policy research and provides information on international study and work opportunities. Their Open Doors section contains much online information about international student mobility, in the United States and the world.

• Inter-American Development Bank-- The education section of the website of this international organization posts excellent information and analysis on educational matters in Latin America.

• International Institute for Educational Planning-- A part of UNESCO whose mission is "to help Member States improve the quality and effectiveness of their education systems." Site offers information on IIEP services and contains a large searchable archive of free online IIEP publications on a broad range of education issues.

• National Center for Educational Statistics-- The purpose of this Center, in the U.S. Department of Education, is to collect and report "statistics and information showing the condition and progress of education in the United States and other nations in order to promote and accelerate the improvement of American education." The National Assessment of Educational Progress is "the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas." Visit the International Activities Program section to "learn more about how U.S. education compares with education in other countries." The Program for International Student Assessment is "an assessment (begun in 2000) that focuses on 15-year-olds' capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy." International comparisons of education are given in the yearly Digest of Education Statistics. Also see the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study that "provides reliable and timely data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. students compared to that of students in other countries."

• OECD Education Page-- Provides online access to much internationally comparable data and analysis of key aspects of the education systems of OECD member countries, essentially all the Western industrialized democracies. See especially the UNESCO/OECD/EUROSTAT Online Education Database, the Programme for International Student Assessment, and the large report Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators. The 2009 publication Education Today: The OECD Perspective offers a broad comparative review and analysis of OECD education statistics and conclusions since 2002.

• United Nations Children's Fund-- UNICEF works for children's rights, protection, and sound development and produces some reports on education and children. The best sources relating to education are the annual State of the World's Children reports.

• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization-- One of the best sources worldwide for comparative education analysis. Note the Education Sector, with a wide variety of documents, statistics, IGO and NGO links, and contact points. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics posts "global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication." The International Bureau of Education is the center for information and research in the field of comparative education, with publications online, a very useful resource bank, and an IBE Databases section for great resources and links in that area. Check out the Education for All section and the Global Monitoring Report for in-depth country information on the status of basic education in over 150 countries. World Data on Education provides databanks on national education systems, country education profiles, and links to related resources. Look for the annual Global Education Digest that "presents the latest available data for more than 200 countries and territories." The Portal to Recognized Higher Education Institutions "offers access to on-line information on higher education institutions recognized or otherwise sanctioned by competent authorities in participating countries." The Courier is UNESCO's main magazine.

• U.S. Network for Education Information-- "An interagency and public/private partnership whose mission is to provide official information assistance for anyone seeking information about U.S. education and for U.S. citizens seeking authoritative information about education in other countries." It is also the official U.S. national education information center. This large site provides many links to authoritative sources of information about U.S. and foreign education systems, including a foreign country database.

• Universities Worldwide-- Searchable database of links to thousands of universities in over 200 countries.

• World Bank Education Page-- Wide variety of authoritative data, statistics, documents, reports, and links on education worldwide from this IGO.