National goals and performance standards were introduced in Sweden during the 1990s as part of a curriculum reform. The intention was to detect shortcomings among students and provide support to those students who did not reach the passing grade in one (or several) subject/s. Despite this reform, approximately one-fourth of the students do not…

During educational change, managers can contribute positively to the professional's sense of coping ability. The question remains as to whether the managers of lecturers can also influence the perception of lecturers on newly formulated organizational aims. Recently, the changes in many European institutes of higher professional education (HPE)…

We study whether changes in school emphasis on academic success (SEAS) and safe schools (SAFE) may explain the increased science performance in Norway between TIMSS 2007 and 2011. Two-level structural equation modelling (SEM) of merged TIMSS data was used to investigate whether changes in levels of SEAS and SAFE mediate the changes in science…

A prevailing assumption underlying statewide performance-based assessments is that they not only serve as motivators in improving student achievement and learning, they also encourage instructional strategies and techniques in the classroom that are more consistent with reform-oriented educational outcomes. Given these high expectations, more…