1、中文 5000 字， 2900 单词， 16500 英文字符 Equity and Quality in Education Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools FOREWORD Globalization of the economy, increasingly diverse and interconnected populations, and rapid technological change are posing new and demanding challenges to individuals and societies
2、 alike. School systems are rethinking the knowledge and skills students will need for success and the educational strategies and systems required for all children to achieve them. In both Asia and North America, urban school systems are at the locus of change in policy and practice at once the sites
3、 of the most critical challenges in education and the engines of innovation needed to address them. Therefore, Asia Society organized the Global Cities Education Network, a network of urban school systems in North America and Asia to focus on challenges and opportunities for improvement common to th
4、em, and to virtually all city education systems. A critical element of high-performing school systems is that they not only benchmark the practices of other countries, but they systematically adapt and implement these practices within their own cultural and political contexts. The Global Cities Educ
5、ation Network is intended as a mechanism for educators and decision-makers in Asia and North America to collaboratively dream, design, and deliver internationally informed solutions to common challenges with which education systems are currently grappling. The Network engages in cycles of in-depth i
6、nquiry, planning, and action to address specific topics related to the themes of transforming learning and achieving equity. Each cycle involves knowledge sharing and problem solving, including at Global Cities Education Network Symposia and the production of research and knowledge products such as
7、case studies, background papers, and meeting reports. The overarching goal is to develop practical wisdom from the research and experience of the worlds leading experts which reflects proven or promising efforts in Network cities, that can be used to enhance the effectiveness of Network and city sch
8、ool systems world-wide. This report presents the key recommendations of the OECD publication Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools (2012a), which maps out policy levers that can help build high quality and equitable education systems, with a particular focus
9、on North American and Asian-Pacific countries. It has been prepared by the OECD Education Directorate with support from the Asia Society as a Background Report for the first Asia Society Global Cities Network Symposium, Hong Kong, May 10-12, 2012. Asia Society is grateful for OECDs leadership in int
10、ernational benchmarking and for our ongoing partnership. We would like to thank the sponsors of the Global Cities Education Network including: JPMorgan Chase Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Pearson Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation. We hope that this series of reports provides
11、 knowledge and experience useful to cities in Asia, North America, and elsewhere eager to create the conditions that will promote success for all students in todays interconnected world. 1. EQUITY IN EDUCATION: A KEY CHALLENGE The highest performing education systems are those that combine quality w
12、ith equity. Equity in education means that personal or social circumstances such as gender, ethnic origin or family background, are not obstacles to achieving educational potential (definition of fairness) and that all individuals reach at least a basic minimum level of skills (definition of inclusi
13、on). In these education systems, the vast majority of students have the opportunity to attain high level skills, regardless of their own personal and socio-economic circumstances. Within the Asia-Pacific region, for example, Korea, Shanghai-China and Japan are examples of Asian education systems tha
14、t have climbed the ladder to the top in both quality and equity indicators. In North America, Canada is among such countries as well. The United States is above the OECD mean in reading performance but below the mean with regard to equity. Yet, even in high performing systems a significant number of
15、 students fail to obtain a minimum level of education,jeopardizing their own future and the progress of their society. The degree of inclusion of an education system can be measured by the percentage of low performers and individuals who do not attain upper secondary education (OECD, 2012a). In PISA
16、 2009, 19% of 15-year-old students scored below Level 2 in reading across OECD countries, which signals that almost one out of five youngsters across OECD countries lacks basic literacy skills, and in some countries this proportion even exceeded 25% (See Figure 1.3). It is very likely that those lac
17、king basic skills at this age will either drop out from the education system and not finish upper secondary school, entering the workforce with low skills and unprepared, or will continue studying but struggling more than their peers and needing additional (and more expensive) support. Indeed, the p
18、ercentage of 25-34 years-olds that have not attained upper secondary education reaches almost 20% of young people across OECD countries (See Figure 1.2), although it varies markedly, from 3% in Korea to 62% in Turkey (OECD, 2011a). Students background has a significant impact on their academic achie
19、vement in many countries, and often, low socio-economic background and low performance converge in specific population groups. The increased likelihood of disadvantaged students to perform below level 2 can be interpreted as an indicator of fairness of an education system (OECD, 2012a). For example,
20、 in Korea, the few students that do not achieve basic skills are often disadvantaged students. In this country, students from low socio-economic status are almost 3.5 times more likely to be low performers than their peers with a high status (See Figure 1.3). Reducing school failure pays off for bot
21、h society and individual and contributes to economic growth and social development. The economic and social costs of school failure and dropout are high, whereas investing early in education (Heckman, 2011) and up until upper secondary education completion is efficient. Individuals with at least upp
22、er secondary education have better employment and healthier lifestyle prospects, resulting in greater contributions to public investment through higher taxes. More educated people contribute to sustainable economies, and are less dependent on public aid and less vulnerable to economic downturns whic
23、h in turn contribute to more equitable societies (OECD, 2011b). Education is a central element of OECD countries growth strategies. To be effective in the long run, improvements in education need to enable all students to have access to quality education early, to stay in the system until at least t
24、he end of upper secondary education, and to obtain the skills and knowledge they will need for effective social and labour market integration. This can be done with two parallel strategies: By designing education systems that are conducive to equity: More specifically, some systemic practices, such as early tracking, repetition, certain school choice schemes or low quality vocational education and training tend to amplify social and economic disadvantages and are conducive to school failure. Section 2 reviews system level practices that hinder equity and
