International approaches to secondary education : Étude portant sur les approches adoptées dans différents pays du monde pour l'éducation au palier secondaire

These countries were chosen for three reasons: 1. Most had scored in the top 10 in the Programme for International Assessment (PISA) 2000, 2003 and 2006 (see Table 1); 2. The diversity of educational systems; and 3. The US provides the bulk of the literature on educational change. [...] Yet the Canadian political and institutional culture is quite different from that of the United States, and an acceptable policy in one is not necessarily so in the other. [...] The Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) is in charge of creating and implementing the core curricula, which has been formulated in collaboration with municipalities and schools, researchers, education authorities, teachers, teacher education departments, and so forth. [...] The members of the council are experienced teachers, researchers and others with expertise in the field. [...] The school year in the US is generally 175-185 days in length, and in Canada, 190-200 days in length.