Regent Student Learns from the International
Educational Experience
Regent University Graduate School of Education student, Donna Ivery Little, was among a select group of policy analysts, policy makers and academics who received an honorable invitation from Paul E. Peterson, Harvard University Director, Program on Education Policy and Governance to attend a conference entitled ‘Lessons from the International Experience: Lifting U.S. Students to World Class Levels of Performance’. The conference was held at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts from August 17th – 19th, 2011.
The select group had a unique opportunity to observe insightful presentations, meet with panelists, and discuss strategies for implementing reform in communities across the U.S. The conference was limited to approximately 100 participants who are actively engaged in the analysis and implementation of education reform policies across the United States.
Recent studies have raised public awareness of the increasingly problematic condition of math and science instruction within the United States relative to other nations across the world. To translate knowledge about what works internationally into an action agenda within the United States, the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University convened a conference to explore the sources of international differences in student performance in math and science.
The conference brought together leading policymakers and academics from the United States and countries such as China, Finland, Korea, India, Canada and others to discuss ways in which the United States can learn from education systems around the world and what works best within the United States. Speakers focused on four crucial themes for reform in both international and domestic contexts: school choice and autonomy, rigorous standards and examinations for accountability, the use of digital technology for learning, and teacher training and recruitment.
The speakers included:
Tony Bennett, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indiana
Christopher Cerf, Commissioner of Education, New Jersey
Jacob Foster, Massachusetts Department of Education
Jason Glass, Iowa Department of Education
Gwang-Jo Kim, Former Minister of Education of Korea, Head of UNESCO in Thailand
Avis Glaze, Edu-quest International Inc., Canada
Erik Hanushek, Hoover Institution of Stanford University
Jari Matti Juhani Lavonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Angus McBeath, Former Superintendent, Edmonton Public Schools, Alberta
Mona Mourshed, Head of Education Practice, McKinsey & Co.
Susan Patrick, International Association for K-12 Online Learning
Shantanu Prakash, Educomp Solutions Ltd., India
Fernando Reimers, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Gerard Robinson, (Former COE Virginia), Commissioner of Education, Florida
Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the U.S. President for Education
Shengchang Tang, Principal, Shanghai High School, Shanghai, China
Andreas Schleicher, Head of Indicators and Analysis, Education Division, OECD
Martin West, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Julie Young, Florida Virtual Schools
To read the latest on each state’s international standing in math and reading, log on to:
Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG11-03_GloballyChallenged.pdf
United States Schools Fail International Competition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti0Y7CUW9Qs&feature=player_embedded#!
Education Next
