Education at a glance 2011

If, like me, you find statistics and figures fascinating, you will find this report will give you some useful information and food for thought:

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/2/48631582.pdf

Here’s the official description of the contents:

‘The 2011 edition of Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ performance. It provides a broad array of comparable indicators on education systems and represents the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally.

The indicators show who participates in education, how much is spent on it, and how education systems operate. They also illustrate a wide range of educational outcomes, comparing, for example, student performance in key subjects and the impact of education on earnings and on adults’ chances of employment.’

Chapter A6 looks very interesting.  It examines the issue of whether students who enjoy reading are better readers.  It looks at reading habits in countries around the world and specifically at what students read for enjoyment (eg fiction, comic books, newspapers, magazines, at how much time they spend reading for enjoyment, and at how these factors relate to their performance on PISA reading proficiency tests.

I think it will make interesting reading and I will certainly be looking at the results for Spain, the country where I teach!