Review article
Comparison of the Structure and Efficiency between the Central-European and Scandinavian Model of Education
Nikola Pastuović
; Faculty of Teacher Education of the University in Zagreb
Abstract
The paper deals with comparison between the quality of education of three Central-European
and three Scandinavian countries according to the main indicators of the efficiency
of primary education: national averages in the three types of literacy, degree of individual
differences in relation to the national average and degree of interschool difference in the
average score. The results showed that Scandinavian education is more efficient according
to the all three criteria of efficiency. Scandinavian countries have higher national averages
in all three types of literacy, socioeconomic status of the parents is much less affecting the
individual differences in educational achievements and the interschool differences in the
average score are of a smaller degree.
Higher quality of the Scandinavian model of education can be explained to a great extent
by the differences in the structural characteristics of their educational systems: longer duration
of primary education (two years longer), longer duration of general-education primary
school for all these, in further implementation process, external institutional differentiation
of curriculum and pupils. Basis this analysis, we can conclude that structural characteristics
of the system are not irrelevant for educational efficiency of the system and that the systems
consistent with the Scandinavian model make pupils better prepared for life in the
company of knowledge.
Keywords
structure of educational system; educational efficiency; reading; mathematical and science literacy; interschool differences
Hrčak ID:
93823
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2006.
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