Virtual Library

This WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources is an Internet directory of over 2000 annotated links to high-quality English-language sources of information and analysis in many international and global studies topics. Sites are carefully selected for their long-term value, favoring those with cost-free, authoritative information and analysis online.

COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION



Insightful Blogs on International Education Issues-- World Economic Forum

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" quarterly (with archives) and publications on higher education around the world from Center faculty and programs. 


Center for World University Rankings-- "Publishes the only global university ranking that measures the quality of education and training of students as well as the prestige of the faculty members and the quality of their research without relying on surveys and university data submissions."

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.

EdCan Network-- Information and publications about Canadian education and Canadian research on education, from the Canadian Education Association.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)-- "The world’s premier database of journal and non-journal education literature," offering 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 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." Posts analysis of trends, country studies, briefing papers, blog, and more.

Eurydice-- Major European Union "network whose task is to explain how education systems are organised in Europe and how they work. We publish descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, indicators and statistics in the field of education."
 

Global Education Search Facility-- From Eldis, a world-class UK directory and gateway to electronic information resources on development, to search thousands of high quality online publications concerning global, regional, and country education issues. Additional related topics to search are found under the "Topics" dropdown menu at the top of this page.


Global Teacher Status Index-- "The world's first comprehensive attempt to compare the status of teachers across the world. It is based on in-depth opinion by Populus in 21 countries that explores the attitudes on issues ranging from what is a fair salary for teachers to whether they think pupils respect teachers to how highly people rank their own education system."


Institute of International Education-- A world-class source on study abroad, IIE conducts and posts statistical and policy research and provides information on international study and work opportunities. including about the Fulbright Program. Their Open Doors section contains much online information about international student mobility in the United States and the world. Project Atlas "is a collaborative global research initiative that provides a comprehensive picture and analysis of international student mobility in higher education."

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 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 largest 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."


National Policies Platform-- The official EU information network about national education systems in Europe. Posts studies and descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, and indicators and statistics.


OECD Education Page-- Provides online access to much internationally comparable data and analysis of key aspects of the education systems of OECD member countries, mainly all the Western democracies. See especially the Online Education Database, the Programme for International Student Assessment, and the annual report Education at a Glance. The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) provides data and analysis from "teachers and schools about their working conditions and the learning environments [that] covers important themes such as initial teacher education and professional development; what sort of appraisal and feedback teachers get; the school climate; school leadership; and teachers’ instructional beliefs and pedagogical practices." 


QS World University Rankings-- "The most trusted university ranking in the world, [now including] university fees information," from Top Universities, a study abroad service.


Times Higher Education World University Rankings-- "The only global university performance tables to judge world class universities across all of their core missions - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The top universities rankings employ 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available, which are trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments."

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. The Open Access search portal provides easy and free downloads of thousands of UNESCO publications. Note the Education Transforms Lives section, with a wide variety of documents, statistics, and contact points. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics posts "global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication," including the Global Education Digest. The International Bureau of Education is the center for information and research in the field of comparative education, with publications online. Check out the Global Monitoring Report for in-depth country information on the status of basic education in over 150 countries. Look for the annual Global Education Digest that "presents the latest available data for more than 200 countries and territories."


Universitas 21-- "International network of 25 leading research-intensive universities in fifteen countries." Produces and posts a global ranking of national higher education systems, "based on resources, environment, connectivity, and output."


Universities Canada-- Information on the Canadian higher education system and exchange and study abroad opportunities in that country.


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


University World News-- "The global window on higher education... reports on "the whole gamut of higher education from top world-ranking universities to institutions in more marginalised parts of the globe... news reports, analysis, features, global round-ups on key issues, plus links to interesting stories from other leading newspapers and journals around the world."


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


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This section of the WWW Virtual Library system was created, and is edited and maintained, by Dr. Wayne A.Selcher, Professor of International Studies Emeritus, Department of Political Science, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2288  U.S.A., as a volunteer and non-profit public service. This website copyright 1997-present by Wayne A. Selcher. E-mail: wayneselcher@comcast.net