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Recent highlights from IEA in our April 2020 email newsletter.

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.

Findings from the IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018.

Results from ICCS 2016 show that more than two-thirds of the students in the participating Latin American countries reported that they would support a dictatorship as a form of government if it brought order and security, or if it brought economic benefits. This brief looks closer at these findings in order to identify possible explanations and potential policy implications.
Families and formal education have a potential role in instilling democratic values in future citizens, but it is clear that not all depends on schools and families. In failing democratic systems, where informed citizens do not trust their institutions, there is a need to improve transparency, and eradicate corruption in order to promote support for democratic values