Are You a Secondary Education Expert?

Overview of Secondary Education

• Secondary education is the final phase of basic education, with lower (or junior) secondary education being level 2 and upper (or senior) secondary education being level 3 on the International Standard Classification of Education scale.

• Secondary education is typically compulsory until the age of 16 in most countries, but some countries extend this to 19.

• The 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) outlines seven levels of education, with levels 1 and 2 forming basic education and levels 2-4 being classified as secondary education.

• The start of lower secondary education marks the transition from a single-class-teacher to subject specialists and aims to complete the delivery of basic skills and lay the foundations for lifelong learning.

• Upper secondary education is voluntary and aims to offer a varied educational focus according to the student's interests and future direction.

• The rights to secondary education were codified after 1945, and some countries are moving towards mandatory and free secondary education for all youth under 19.

• The terminology for secondary schools varies by country and can include academies, colleges, high schools, and vocational schools.

• The provision of secondary education has a long history, with formal secondary education being traced back to the Athenian educational reforms of 320BC, and the church being the main provider of secondary education in classical and medieval times.

• The industrial revolution led to the state accepting responsibility for basic education of the poor, and universal education became a priority in the 19th and 20th centuries.

• The United Nations has been committed to education for all since its founding in 1947, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that primary education should be free and compulsory while different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, should be available and accessible to every child.The Importance of Secondary Education

• Secondary education is considered the main delivery system of basic education.

• The assumption is that secondary education is responsible for basic knowledge and life skills training for youth.

• The Dakar Framework for Action 2010 goals focus on ensuring access to and completion of free and compulsory primary education of good quality for all children, particularly girls, and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education.

• The Revised European Social Charter guarantees secondary education.

• Human Rights Watch called for secondary education to be accessible to all free of charge and compulsory through the end of lower-secondary school.

• UNESCO believes that secondary-level education systems need to impart a broad repertoire of life skills, including key competencies, non-occupation-specific practical capabilities, ICT, the ability to learn independently, work in teams, entrepreneurship, and civic responsibility.

• The organization suggests a shared foundational learning period and flexibility in academic and vocational streams, with equal recognition for accreditation in both.

• Secondary-level education policy should be continuously reviewed.

• Secondary schools play an important role in youth's socialization, development, and forming their ideas and approach to justice, democracy, and human rights.

• Education systems that promote education for justice strengthen the relationship between learners and public institutions, empowering young people to become champions of peace and justice.

• Career and Life Planning Education (CLPE) activities and Development Education take place in different countries' secondary schools.

• The PISA assesses the scholastic performance of a representative sample of 5000 fifteen-year-olds from each country.