International Education Policy

Inernational education policy is developed by organizations like the United Nations.

International education policy is founded in international law, developed by international organizations and its results assessed regularly through testing. The time, energy and money spent discussing education at the international level illustrate the importance countries attach to their children's education.

Right to Education

The right to education was established in 1948 with the United Nations' adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 26 of the UDHR proclaims education to be a universal human right, directs that elementary education should be free and compulsory and establishes parents' right to choose the type of education given to their children.

Organizations

International education policy is developed by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Governmental organizations involved in education include the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), whose "Education for All" campaign goal is to "meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults." A major nongovernmental organization working on education is Education International. Their website describes their mission as to protect "the rights of every teacher and education worker, and every student they educate."

Testing

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) administers five international studies to compare student progress in different countries. The most well-known of these studies is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). At the fourth-grade level, the 2007 TIMMS Mathematics Report named Hong Kong, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Japan as the world's top-performing countries.

References

• United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: Education for All International Coordination
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Education
• Education International
• TIMMS 2007 International Mathematics Report: Executive Summary

Resources

• Boston College: TIMMS and PIRLS International Study Center
• International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement