Research Databases

Critical Analyses

Finland’s Famous Education System: Unvarnished Insights into Finnish Schooling (2023)

Editors: Martin Thrupp, Piia Seppänen, Jaakko Kauko, Sonja Kosunen

Publisher: Springer (Open Access)

Scope: 466 pages, 28 chapters, 50+ authors

ISBN: 978-981-19-8241-5

Major edited volume offering a critical perspective on the Finnish education system. Questions myths and assumptions about Finnish education. Approaches: sociology of education, education policy, urban studies, policy sociology. Methods: ethnography, case studies, discourse analysis. Theoretical references: Bourdieu, Foucault.

Main themes: Part 1 – Politics, policy, teachers and edu-business (municipal governance, Ministry, OAJ union, quality evaluation, ecological sustainability, teacher education, privatization). Part 2 – Equity, inequality and diversity challenges (social class, gender, sexual and gender diversity, racism in textbooks, Sami education, migrant pupils, bilingualism, religions, inclusion, disengagement).

SEGET Relevance: Essential counterpoint to hagiographic narratives about Finland. Critical approach comparable to analysis of educational ‘myths’ in other national contexts.

International Yearbook Series

World Yearbook of Education 2025: The Teaching Profession in a Globalizing World

Editors: Xavier Dumay, Tore Bernt Sorensen, Lynn Paine

Publisher: Routledge (November 2024)

First volume dedicated to an overview of globalized teacher policies. Analyzes teacher policies and governance of the teaching profession in the context of major societal changes and globalizing processes. Implications for national education systems.

World Yearbook of Education 2024: Digitalisation of Education

Editors: Ben Williamson, Janja Komljenovic, Kalervo Gulson

Publisher: Routledge (March 2025)

Comprehensive global overview of education digitalization. Examines how advanced digital technologies (algorithms, automation, AI) are transforming educational practices, institutions and policy processes. Critical research agenda.

World Yearbook of Education 2023: Racialization and Educational Inequality

Editors: Janelle Scott, Monisha Bajaj

Publisher: Routledge (November 2023)

Intersection of racialization, inequality and education in global perspective.

PISA 2022 – OECD Publications

PISA 2022 Results – 5 Volumes (OECD, 2023-2024)

Volume I: The State of Learning and Equity in Education (December 2023). Record 15-point drop in mathematics, 10 points in reading. Socio-economic equity analysis. Singapore leads, followed by Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea.

Volume II: Learning During – and From – Disruption (December 2023). Education system resilience facing COVID-19. Four ‘resilient’ systems: Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Chinese Taipei.

Volume III: Creative Minds, Creative Schools (June 2024). First PISA assessment of creative thinking (64 countries). Singapore, Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Finland lead.

European findings: Notable decline in Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland. Widening gaps in Estonia, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden. All volumes freely available at oecd-ilibrary.org.

OECD Education Policy Reports

Education Policy Outlook 2024: Reshaping Teaching into a Thriving Profession

Publisher: OECD Publishing (November 2024)

Annual flagship report. 2024 focus: teacher shortages (29% to 46.7% of principals reporting shortages between 2015 and 2022). Policy roadmap to balance quality teacher supply and demand amid technological advances (AI) and socio-economic shifts. Data from 33 education systems (EPO Survey 2024). Subtitle: ‘From ABCs to AI’.

Education Policy Outlook 2023: Empowering All Learners to Go Green

Publisher: OECD Publishing (November 2023)

Environmental sustainability as global megatrend. 90% of participating systems identify sustainability as key 2024 priority. Data from 36 education systems. Three priorities: learner agency, transdisciplinary curricula, digital technologies for equitable access to practical experiences.

European Commission / Eurydice Reports

Education and Training Monitor 2024

Publisher: European Commission, DG EAC (October 2024)

Annual comparative report + 27 country reports + Monitor Toolbox. 2024 focus: learning for sustainability. Chapters: early childhood education and care (ECEC), school education, vocational training, higher education, adult learning. Data on 700,000 displaced Ukrainian children enrolled in EU schools.

Education and Training Monitor 2023

Focus: Teacher shortages and profession attractiveness

Analysis of efforts to make teaching more attractive. Higher education progress, continued reduction in early school leaving. Persistent structural challenges.

The Structure of European Education Systems 2023/2024

Publisher: Eurydice (2023)

National diagrams of education systems (pre-primary to tertiary) for 39 European systems. Map of organizational models: ‘single structured education’, ‘common core curriculum’, ‘differentiated lower secondary’. Comparative reference tool.

Routledge Series – Recent Publications

Entrepreneurship Education in Central and Eastern Europe (2025)

Editors: Katarzyna Żyminkowska, Katarzyna Ożańska-Ponikwia

Series: Routledge Research in International and Comparative Education

Novel approach to entrepreneurship education in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Academic and professional entrepreneurship pedagogies.

Citizen Identity Formation in Jordan (2024)

Author: Patricia K. Kubow

Moving beyond Western philosophical and political frameworks. Arab-Islamic ontologies, pupil voice, gender. Citizen identity formation among Jordanian students and Syrian refugees. Focus: double-shift schools.

Comparative Aims and Cultural Beliefs in Education (2024)

Editors: Gerald W. Fry, Haelim Chun

Challenges common preoccupation with knowledge acquisition and academic achievement by comparing aims and cultural beliefs driving education across countries (Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe).

Online Institutional Resources

UNESCO

Global Report on Teachers 2024

Addressing Teacher Shortages and Transforming the Profession. Global report on teacher shortages and profession transformation. Global data, policy recommendations.

Access: unesdoc.unesco.org

Databases and Portals

OECD Education GPS: gpseducation.oecd.org – Full PISA 2022 data, interactive indicators, customizable comparisons.
Eurydice Eurypedia: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu – National education system descriptions, ongoing reforms, comparative publications.
European School Education Platform: school-education.ec.europa.eu – News, publications, training for European teachers.
Education and Training Monitor Toolbox: Key indicators and sources for tracking progress toward EU-level targets.

Research Databases & Repositories

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center): Comprehensive database of education research — eric.ed.gov
UNESCO IIEP Publications: Educational planning and management resources — iiep.unesco.org
Global Education Monitoring Report: Annual UNESCO report on education worldwide — unesco.org/gem-report

Academic Journals – Recent Issues

European Journal of Teacher Education 48(1) 2025: Special issue on teacher shortages (Portugal, Croatia, STEM, etc.)
Comparative Education Review: Recent articles on post-pandemic transformations, social justice, comparative methodologies.
Journal of Education for Teaching 2025: Special issue from ICET World Assembly 2024 (Portugal) – teacher education quality.
Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2023: Emerald Publishing – State of the field in the 21st century.

Academic Journals with Open Access Multimedia

ECNU Review of Education: Chinese perspectives on global education — journals.sagepub.com/ecnu

Frontiers in Education: Open access research with video abstracts — frontiersin.org/education

Chinese Education & Society: English-language translations of Chinese research — tandfonline.com/toc/mces20