Global Education

America's schoolchildren today are regularly out-tested on math, science, history and English scores by students from around the world. But it's not our students' fault. They haven't been prepared properly by our school systems, which haven't been able to keep up with global changes.

How does Singapore view the importance of a world-class teaching profession? How has its government responded? What progress has been made to date? What are Singapore's next steps to advance the teaching profession in the 21st century?

Here's a powerful challenge to the world of education: Improve the profession of teaching.

The first IB "through school" will open its doors to students in one of the world's leading education systems in August 2012 -- Seoul, South Korea. The school is located in Seoul's new Digital Media City, considered Korea's Silicon Valley.

"Our teachers in Finland are quite autonomous already. They are allowed to choose their methods and they are allowed to be creative."

World Water Day on March 22 is a day on which all global citizens should focus their attention on the importance of fresh water to sustainable development.

I had the opportunity to have a more private "face to face" with the 2012 Face to Face conference participant Dr. Eija Kauppinen on the thinking behind arts education in Finland today and for the future.

In 2009, Sir David Watson received the Times Higher Education Lifetime Achievement Award. I had the opportunity to get Sir David's views on higher education and a life of learning.

"Homogeneity is a conscious choice to ensure effectiveness of the results we are trying to achieve. Please note, the schools are co-ed with a boy:girl ratio of almost 50:50. This is remarkable, given the lack of opportunities and state of girls' education in India."

It is time for governments around the world to take urgent action on behalf of the millions of children in need of a decent primary education. A Global Fund for Education would be a bold step in the right direction.

The International Baccalaureate (the IB) continues to play an important role in changing the lives of students worldwide. Apart from PISA, it is the only test that measures the performance of students against their global peers.

Today, with the help of Kirsten Sivesind, and Principal Bjorn Bolstad, the faculty and students of the Ringstabekk Skole in Barum, a suburb of Oslo, we can gain education insights into how a model Norwegian public school is addressing skills needed in the 21st century.

As part of our on-going Global Search for Education series, we shall be occasionally showcasing quality practices in school and community programs from which we hope schools around the world will learn and take inspiration.

The co-founders of BASIS Schools, Michael and Olga Block, aimed to offer the type of education students receive in the top performing education systems around the world; the type of education that would help American students compete in the global economy.

Given the intense competition to be accepted, is Cambridge, a world-renowned academic institution, seeing an increase in student anxiety and stress?

As the U.S. faces cuts to budgets and programs across its school districts, other countries around the world -- both affluent and not -- are looking t...

If you thought you knew everything about the remarkable transformation of Finland's schools from mediocre to one of the top performing school systems in the world, think again.

Michael Fullan has been working to identify the right drivers for whole system education reform. His paper, "Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform," has stimulated considerable interest from educators around the world.

The education system that will optimize the prospects of success in the global world will be one that develops passion, releases creativity, and deeply challenges its young people.

"On the face of it, the two systems are at least a century apart and may have nothing to learn from each other."