News Archive

 

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Updated comparative tables

January 2012: The most recent update of the INCA Comparative Tables which provide a readily comparable overview of the detailed descriptions of national education policy in the country archives, contains two revised tables.  The tables covering the curriculum have been reviewed and now reflect the structure and organisation of the curriculum and map subjects taught to the National Curriculum in England.  

Review of the National Curriculum in England: Report on subject breath in international jurisdictions

December 2011: To support the review of the National Curriculum in England, the NFER was commissioned by the Department for Education in the spring of 2011 to produce a report detailing curricular arrangements in a number of high-performing educational jurisdictions.  The principal source of information for this report was the INCA Archive. The review is available from the Department website.

Curriculum specification in seven countries 
July 2011: A National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in Ireland commissioned probe looking at how the curriculum is specified in seven countries has been published.  Information collected in April 2011.  It is available from the Thematic Probe page.  

Home language - curriculum and assessment models
December 2010: A thematic probe, commissioned by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), examines how other countries teach and assess the home language (the official language of instruction in a given country or state) for 11- to 17-year-olds. 

Curriculum Review
November 2010: A thematic probe which examines the review and development of curricula in the INCA countries has been published.  Available on the probes page, it aims to answer questions about the scheduling of curriculum review, coverage and drivers for curriculum review, and the extent to which conistency of the curriculum across phases is a feature of these changes. NB. Data collection was completed in June 2010.

Nature and content of sex and relationships education 
December 2009: Desk research covering the nature and content of sex and relationships education in a selection of INCA and Eurydice Network countries is provided in this INCA Thematic Probe.

 

Other sources of news

International education bulletin: Education in the News
The team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in England, which manages and updates the INCA Archive, also produces a current awareness bulletin of international issues in education.  Published six times each year, Education in the News is available online; a free online subscription is also available via this page.

System summaries
Summaries of the education systems in each of the INCA countries are available. Ideal for study visits, these concise (four-five page) descriptions can be accessed by selecting the country of your choice from the drop-down menu, then 'system summary' from "Select subject/chapter heading".

Current reforms
Information on current educational reforms and debate is included in the 'Context, principles and reforms' sections of the INCA website.  Select the country of your choice from the "Select country" drop-down menu and 'Context, principles and reforms' from "Select subject/chapter heading", then select 'Purposes of education' from the page you are linked to.  Sub-heading 1.2.2 'Special programmes' provides information on aspects of current educational reform and debate which impact on the curriculum, assessment and initial teacher training frameworks.