About IEA

Recent highlights from IEA in our July 2020 email newsletter.

Tolerance is necessary for the functioning of mature democracies where social cohesion is strong. Results from IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 show that, on average, European young people tend to be tolerant, but their attitudes towards equal rights for immigrants vary widely within and across European educational systems. In each of the ICCS 2016 European educational systems, young people with higher levels of civic knowledge tend to be more tolerant, while, in contrast, young people with low levels of civic knowledge tend to be less tolerant. Grade eight ICCS 2016 data indicate that in each of the 14 European educational systems, civic knowledge shows the strongest association with tolerance toward immigrants relative to the impact of individual background variables.

Provides a comprehensive account of the conceptual, methodological, and analytical implementation of the study.

Trend results from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) show a decline from 2001 through 2016 in most countries in fourth graders’ and their parents’ reading attitudes, as measured by students like reading and parents like reading scale scores. Average students like reading scale scores, as reported by the students themselves, decreased between 2001 and 2016 in 13 of the 18 countries that participated in all cycles of PIRLS. Educators and educational policymakers should take notice of these falling trends in reading attitudes. Current curricula may need to be reevaluated to support the development of positive attitudes toward reading. Given that the results show the decline in reading attitudes involves not just students but also parents, policymakers should consider widespread campaigns and programs to promote positive attitudes toward reading among adults and families.