Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

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241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2005-10September 26, 2005

Thematic Research Report

Literacy as a System Quality Standard: Scope, Evidence and Reporting Requirements

An interpretive study of public obligations, literacy constructs, assessment evidence and accountable national reporting

Literacy is both an outcome of education and a continuing capability through which children, young people and adults participate in learning, work, family and civic life. The Dakar Framework makes literacy an explicit international commitment, including a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy levels by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. The United Nations Literacy Decade places literacy within Education for All and calls for policy, capacity, participation, resources, research and monitoring.

Research category: Standards Interpretation
Report archetype: Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope: Global

ICEQC-R-2005-09September 20, 2005

Thematic Research Report

Qualifications Frameworks and Learning Outcomes following the Bergen Ministerial Conference

An interpretive study of cycles, descriptors, credits, recognition and the public meaning of higher education qualifications

The Bergen Ministerial Conference of May 2005 marks a significant development in the construction of the European Higher Education Area. Ministers adopted an overarching framework for qualifications comprising three cycles, with provision for a short cycle within or linked to the first cycle, generic descriptors for the outcomes expected at the completion of each cycle, and typical credit ranges for the first two cycles. They committed themselves to developing national frameworks compatible with that overarching structure and to beginning implementation within a stated policy timetable.

Research category: Standards Interpretation
Report archetype: Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope: European Higher Education Area

ICEQC-R-2005-06July 15, 2005

Thematic Research Report

Defining Minimum Evidence for Educational Quality in Expanding Systems

An interpretive framework for demonstrating access, educational provision, equity and learning while participation grows

Rapid expansion of education is a public achievement only when new participation becomes sustained access to an educational service of acceptable quality. Enrolment records can show that places were taken. They cannot show, without additional evidence, that schools opened, teachers were available, required instruction occurred, learners remained, exclusion was reduced or learning improved. The interpretive problem addressed in this report is therefore precise: what is the minimum evidence needed before a system can make a defined claim about educational quality while participation expands?

Research category: Standards Interpretation
Report archetype: Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope: Global