Murthi, MamtaSondergaard, LarsAbu-Ghaida, DinaBodewig, ChristianRutkowski, Jan2012-03-192012-03-1920122012978-0-8213-8096-3https://hdl.handle.net/10986/2368The countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) are currently emerging from the deepest recession suffered by any developing region. Post-crisis conditions are very different from those of preceding years. Financial resources are more limited and more expensive, and export growth is restrained by potentially slower growth in destination countries. Restoring and sustaining growth in this context require reforms that boost competitiveness and increase labor productivity. Such reforms are all the more important given the shrinking of the working-age population in many countries of the region. This book uses a range of different data sources to argue that the skills problem in the ECA region relates more to the quality and relevance of the education provided in ECA countries than to problems of access. A central argument of the book is that ministries of education are constrained in a number of ways from effectively managing their education and training sectors. The three most important and interrelated impediments to improving quality and relevance are the lack of systematic data on key skills-related performance issues (i.e., how much students are learning and whether they are finding jobs after they graduate), the legacy of central planning, and inefficient use of resources. Lack of data on student learning and employment outcomes makes it difficult for education ministries to address the legacy of central planning, which emphasizes centralized management based on inputs. Ministries of education in the region continue to micromanage the sector using detailed norms and regulations. This input-oriented style of management leads to the inefficient use of resources and results in a rigid education sector not the type of flexible sector needed by ECA to create modern, skilled workforces. This book highlights how these constraints manifest themselves and then presents ways of overcoming them, relying on the experience of ECA countries that have successfully addressed them, together with international experience. Recommendations are presented in separate chapters for pre-university, tertiary, and adult education.CC BY 3.0 IGOACADEMIC PERFORMANCEACCREDITATIONADULT EDUCATIONADULT LEARNINGADULT TRAININGADULTSASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTSAVERAGE CLASS SIZEBACKGROUND PAPERSBASIC EDUCATIONBASIC READINGBASIC SKILLSBLOCK GRANTSCLASS SIZECLASS SIZESCLASSROOMCLASSROOMSCOGNITIVE SKILLSCOGNITIVE TASKSCONDITIONS OF TEACHERSCOURSE OFFERINGSCREDIT TRANSFERCURRICULUMDECENTRALIZATIONDECISION MAKINGDIPLOMASEARLY GRADESEDUCATION AUTHORITIESEDUCATION FACILITIESEDUCATION FOR LIFEEDUCATION LEVELEDUCATION MANAGERSEDUCATION MINISTRIESEDUCATION POLICYEDUCATION PROVIDERSEDUCATION REFORMSEDUCATION SECTOREDUCATION SYSTEMEDUCATION SYSTEMSEDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTSEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONSEDUCATIONAL OUTCOMESEDUCATIONAL QUALITYEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT OUTCOMESENROLLMENT RATESEXAMEXAMSFIELDS OF STUDYFORMAL EDUCATIONFORMAL TRAININGGENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATIONGLOBAL KNOWLEDGEGROSS ENROLLMENTGROSS ENROLLMENT RATESHIGHER EDUCATIONHIGHER EDUCATION DEVELOPMENTHIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONSHIGHER LEARNINGHIGHLY SKILLED LABORHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTINDIVIDUAL LEARNINGINSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMYINTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONINTERNATIONAL LITERACYINTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATIONJOB MARKETJOB OPPORTUNITIESKNOWLEDGE ECONOMYLABOR FORCELABOR MARKET NEEDSLABOUR MARKETLEADERSHIPLEARNINGLEARNING ASSESSMENTSLEARNING ENVIRONMENTLEARNING OUTCOMESLEVEL OF EDUCATIONLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLIFELONG LEARNINGLITERACYLITERACY SKILLSLOWER SECONDARY EDUCATIONLOWER SECONDARY LEVELMATHEMATICSMINISTRIES OF EDUCATIONMINISTRY OF EDUCATIONMOBILITYNATIONAL ASSESSMENTNATIONAL ASSESSMENTSNATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKNUMBER OF SCHOOLSNUMBER OF STUDENTSNUMBER OF TEACHERSNUMERACYORGANIZATIONAL CHANGEPARITYPARTICIPATION RATESPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY LEVELPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSESPROBLEM SOLVINGPROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLSPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC SCHOOLQUALITY ASSURANCEQUALITY ASSURANCE AGENCIESQUALITY EDUCATIONQUALITY OF EDUCATIONREADINGREADING LEVELREMEDIAL EDUCATIONRESPONSIVE EDUCATION SYSTEMSRETRAININGRETURNS TO EDUCATIONSCHOOL CLASSESSCHOOL COUNCILSSCHOOL DECISIONSCHOOL DEVELOPMENTSCHOOL OPERATIONSSCHOOL PRINCIPALSSCHOOL SYSTEMSCHOOL SYSTEMSSCHOOLINGSCHOOLSSCIENCE STUDYSECONDARY EDUCATIONSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOLSSECONDARY STUDENTSSKILL LEVELSSKILLED OCCUPATIONSSKILLED WORKERSSTANDARDIZED TESTSSTUDENT ASSESSMENTSTUDENT ASSESSMENTSSTUDENT CHOICESTUDENT COSTSSTUDENT LEARNINGSTUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESSTUDENT-TEACHER RATIOSTUDENT-TEACHER RATIOSTEACHERTEACHER RATIOSTEACHERSTEACHINGTEACHING FORCETECHNICAL COLLEGESTECHNICAL EDUCATIONTECHNICAL SKILLSTERTIARY EDUCATIONTERTIARY EDUCATION SECTORTERTIARY EDUCATION SYSTEMSTERTIARY ENROLLMENTSTERTIARY INSTITUTIONSTERTIARY LEVELTERTIARY SECTORTEST SCORESTRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIESTRAINING PROGRAMSTRAINING SERVICESTUITIONTUITION FEESUNEMPLOYMENT RATEUNEMPLOYMENT RATESUNIVERSITIESUNIVERSITY AUTONOMYUNIVERSITY EDUCATIONUNIVERSITY GRADUATESUNIVERSITY LEVELVOCATIONAL EDUCATIONVOCATIONAL SCHOOLVOCATIONAL SCHOOLSVOCATIONAL SKILLSVOCATIONAL TRAININGWORKERSWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-8096-3