Classifying Educational Programmes

Discusses the methodology for using the 1997 revision of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97) in international data collection.

This operational manual is designed to assist in the classification and mapping of national education systems according to ISCED 2011.

This handbook aims to facilitate a greater understanding of the OECD statistics and indicators produced and so allow for their more effective use in policy analysis.

The structure of education systems varies widely between countries. In order to produce internationally comparable education statistics and indicators, it is necessary to have a framework to collect and report data on education programmes with a similar level of educational content. UNESCO's International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) is the reference classification for organising education programmes and related qualifications by education levels and fields. The basic concepts and definitions of ISCED are intended to be internationally valid and comprehensive of the full range of education systems. ISCED 2011 is the second major revision of this classification (initially developed in the 1970s and first revised in 1997). It was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in November 2011. Prepared jointly by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the OECD and Eurostat, this operational manual provides guidelines and explanatory notes for the interpretation of the revised classification, by each education level. It also includes country examples of programmes and qualifications that have been classified to ISCED 2011. This manual will be useful for national statisticians collecting and reporting data on education to international organisations, as well as for policymakers and researchers interested in better understanding of these data.

The book consists of five parts and a concluding chapter. Part 1 covers general problems and presents solutions for the harmonisation of data from different national and/or cultural contexts. In the second part EUROSTAT and ESOMAR present their established standard instruments. Tested instruments each covering one variable (i.e. occupation, education) are presented in the third part. The fourth part again includes suggested tools for the harmonisation of single variables for which standardised instruments are not yet available (i.e. age, religion, ethnicity, household, family, income). The last part presents selected empirical analyses demonstrating the use and fruitfulness of instruments presented before. This book is mainly written for two groups. First, researchers and practitioners involved in comparative research in Europe. Second, researchers working with data of the statistical offices of European countries and data from institutions of the European Union.

An instrument suitable for assembling, compiling, and presenting statistics within individual countries and internationally.

For well over two decades, the OECD has developed and published a broad range of comparative indicators published yearly in the flagship publication Education at a Glance.