Lifelong Learning Policy

Stockholm, 30 November - 1 December 2009

During the Swedish Presidency, DG EAC organized the international conference "Improving Education: evidence from secondary analysis of international studies" in collaboration with the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish National Agency for Education.

The main aim of the conference was to bring together researchers and policy makers in the education field to present key results relevant for education policy making.

The European Commission is an active and frequent user of data from large scale international assessments - such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) - and is also behind several initiatives to develop surveys in new areas, such as foreign language learning (the European Survey on Language Competences) and the skills required in learning how to learn.

For the first time, results and research from large scale international assessments from several international organizations were presented at the same conference, highlighting 8 main areas:

• The impact of teachers and teaching on students achievements
• The role of motivation/attitudes/peer effects to learning and impact on school achievement
• How out-of-school factors influence student achievements
• ICT - the effect on education
• Educational gaps between immigrant and native students in Europe
• School and education system effects on student achievements
• School resources, school composition, school management school leadership
• Survey structures and country comparisons

The event attracted some 200 participants from 44 countries and included input from more than 30 speakers.

Programme, abstracts and speakers

Photo gallery

Conference speeches and presentations

OPENING SESSION
	Jaap Scheerens (University of Twente, the Netherlands): Fuzzy expectations and unmet aspirations: the case of the background questionnaires in large scale international assessment studies
	Seamus Hegarty (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement - IEA): International Assessment Studies: a tool for improving education
	Bernard Hugonnier (OECD): The Programme for International Assessment of Adults Competencies (PIAAC)
WORKSHOP 1. THE IMPACT OF TEACHERS AND TEACHING ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENTS
	Chair Steve Leman (Department for Children, Schools and Families, United Kingdom)
	Jaap Scheerens (University of Twente, the Netherlands): Professional development of teachers and Educational Effectiveness; results from a secondary analysis of the TALIS 2009 database
	Eva Myrberg (University of Gothenburg, Sweden): Professional development of teachers and Educational Effectiveness; results from a secondary analysis of the TALIS 2009 database
	Daniele Checchi (University of Milan, Italy): Does school tracking affect equality of opportunity? New international evidence
WORKSHOP 2. THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION/ATTITUDES/PEER EFFECTS TO LEARNING AND IMPACT ON SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT
	Chair: Jan-Eric Gustafsson, (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
	Mary Ainley (University of Melbourne, Australia): Motivation and engagement according to PISA: Unlocking ability in achievement settings
	Eirini Tatsi (University of Frankfurt, Germany) : Migrants at School: Educational Inequality and Social Interaction in the UK and Germany
	Paola Borrione (Institute for Economic and Social Research - IRES, Italy): Interests, attitudes, motivations and science’s learning: some evidences from OECD-PISA 2006 data
WORKSHOP 3. HOW OUT OF SCHOOL FACTORS INFLUENCE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
	Chair: Lorna Bertrand (Department for Children, Schools and Families, United Kingdom)
	Gary Marks (University of Melbourne, Australia): What Aspects of Schooling are Important? School Effects on Tertiary Entrance Performance in Australia
	Thierry Rocher (Ministry of Education, France): The role of students’ occupational expectations in achievement disparities. Lessons from PISA data
	Kajsa Yang-Hansen (University of Gothenburg, Sweden): Ten-year Trend in SES Effects on Reading Achievement at School and Individual Levels: A Cross-Country Comparison
WORKSHOP 4. ICT – THE EFFECT ON EDUCATION
	Chair: Christina Szekely (Skolverket, Sweden)
	Willem Pelgrum (University of Twente, The Netherlands): Indicators of ICT in primary and secondary education in the EU
	Francesc Pedro (OECD): Technology use and educational performance in Pisa 2006
WORKSHOP 5. EDUCATIONAL GAPS BETWEEN IMMIGRANT AND NATIVE STUDENTS IN EUROPE
	Chair: Bernard Hugonnier (OECD)
	Sylke Viola Schnepf (University of Southampton, United Kingdom): Educational Inequalities Among Immigrant Children in Industrialised Countries
WORKSHOP 6. SCHOOL AND EDUCATION SYSTEM EFFECTS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
	Chair: Seamus Hegarty (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) )
	Ralf Maslowski (University of Groningen, The Netherlands): The Effect of Educational Decentralization on Student Achievement
	Nathalie Mons (University of Grenoble, France): Models of comprehensive schooling and student academic achievement
	Maciej Jakubowski (OECD): Early tracking and achievement growth
WORKSHOP 7. SCHOOL RESOURCES, SCHOOL COMPOSITION, SCHOOL MANAGEMENT, SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
	Chair: Annamaria Fichera (Ministry of Education, Italy)
	Daniele Vidoni (Invalsi, Italy): To teach or to organize? This is the question. An analysis of the relationship between school principals’ time allocation strategies and student achievement
	Trevor Collier (University of Dayton, US): Institutional Arrangements in Education Systems and Student Achievement: A Cross-National Analysis
	Kenneth Wong (Brown University, US): Inquiry in Science Classrooms: A Cross National Examination of Inquiry and Its Relationship to Student Performance in Science
WORKSHOP 8. SURVEY STRUCTURES AND COUNTRY COMPARISONS
	Chair: Claude Sauvageot (Ministry of Education, France)
	Graham Ruddock (NFER, UK): Does Differential Item Familiarity Account for Differences in Performance between TIMSS and PISA? – the Case of Mathematics and Science in England
	Marit Kjærnsli (University of Oslo, Norway): Science Performance: The Nordic Countries from an International Perspective
	Liz Twist (NFER, UK): An uncomfortable dilemma – performance on international surveys and national assessments: the case of PIRLS 2001 and 2006 in England
CLOSING SESSION
	Marinus Rouw (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands) Research impact on policy: the need for brokerage
	Anders HingelRound table discussions