Basic competence in mathematics: Swedish and English 16 year olds

The transition to mass participation in post-16 education, which had occurred considerably earlier in other European countries, has finally taken place in England. However, high drop-out and failure rates persist, particularly on vocational qualification routes. Our hypothesis is that an important f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative education 1998-11, Vol.34 (3), p.241-259
Main Authors: Wolf, Alison, Steedman, Hilary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abschlussprüfung
Academic achievement
Academic education
Adult education
Age groups
Comparative Education
Compulsory Education
Dropout Research
Educational Assessment
Educational Attainment
Educational research
Educational sciences
England
Foreign Countries
Großbritannien
High School Students
High Schools
Internationaler Vergleich
Kompetenz
Leistung
Leistungsmessung
Leistungsüberprüfung
Low Achievement
Mathematical aptitude
Mathematics
Mathematics Achievement
Mathematics curricula
Mathematics Education
Mathematics tests
Mathematik
Mathematikunterricht
National Competency Tests
Schulerfolg
Schweden
Schüler
Schülerleistung
Secondary Education
Sekundarschule
Students
Sweden
Teenagers
Vocational education
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Summary:The transition to mass participation in post-16 education, which had occurred considerably earlier in other European countries, has finally taken place in England. However, high drop-out and failure rates persist, particularly on vocational qualification routes. Our hypothesis is that an important factor is the lack of basic competence of lower-achieving English students in the key skills - English language and mathematics - required for success in further study. Our research addresses the validity of the argument by investigating whether any significant difference can be detected between the skills of English students entering post- compulsory education and those of students in countries where drop-out and failure rates are low. The country investigated in this study was Sweden ... where some 90% of those enrolling normally obtain an academic or vocational qualification. Some General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) mathematics questions were incorporated into the national test taken by Swedish 16 year olds at the end of compulsory schooling; and significant differences were found in the scores of the lower 40% of the cohort in the two countries. The results are consistent with the hypothesis; and also go beyond previous Swedish- English comparisons, which reflect the general emphasis in international studies on younger age groups (typically 9 and 13 year olds). (DIPF/orig. )
ISSN:0305-0068
1360-0486
DOI:10.1080/03050069828126