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EDUCATION

Italian pupils ‘make rapid progress’ in maths

Italian pupils might still fall slightly behind the OECD average when it comes to maths grades, but they have made "the most rapid progress" since 2003 compared to their counterparts, according to the latest global education ranking by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Italian pupils 'make rapid progress' in maths
Photo: WandaDechant/Flickr

Among the 510,000 15-year-olds surveyed across 65 countries, the average score in maths was 494, with Italy achieving 485 points in 2012 – an improvement of 20 points since 2003, the PISA 2012 Result in Focus report found.

The biggest improvement was made between 2006 and 2009.

“Italy is one of the countries that has registered the most rapid progress in maths compared to other countries that have participated in the PISA data between 2003 and today,” the report said.

Boys outperformed girls in maths by 18 points – “a bigger divide than seen in other OECD countries”, the report observed.

The PISA test also looks at reading comprehension. This year, the OECD average came out at 496, with Italian students not far off with 490.

In natural sciences, the OECD average was calculated at 501 points this year, with Italian teens scoring 494.

Meanwhile, the number of foreign students in Italy rose by five percent between 2003 and 2012, making up 7.5 percent of today’s student population against the OECD average of 12 percent.

Top of the list was Shanghai, whose students placed highest across all three areas. The four Asian Tigers – Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taipei – were not far behind, with regional neighbours Macao and Japan also performing well. 

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EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

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