The idea of connection, deployed in Cowen's historicized perspective on comparative education, is compared with that used by some feminist theorists, Writings on intersectionality, empowerment and solidarity have influenced scholarship on gender and education. The perspective termed "what connects" for work in gender and education is elucidated, drawing out some normative and methodological ideas that constitute its core., The Accountability for Gender Equality in Education (AGEE) project is presented to show aspects of what connects in practice.
Spanish students undertake both the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the national University Entrance Examination (PAU), yet the extent to which these assessments reflect comparable constructs remains uncertain. This study examines the association between PISA outcomes and subsequent PAU performance across Spanish regions, with the aim of assessing the degree of alignment between an international competence-based framework and a high-stakes national examination system. Regional aggregated data from the PISA 2015 and 2018 cycles and the corresponding PAU cohorts of 2017 and 2020 were analysed using correlation and linear regression models, including socioeconomic context as a control variable. The results indicate a robust and consistent relationship between performance in PISA mathematics and achievement in Mathematics II in the PAU, suggesting that the competencies assessed at age 15 retain predictive validity for later academic outcomes in this domain. By contrast, the relationships between PISA reading and science domains and their corresponding PAU subjects are weak or non-significant, pointing to a limited overlap between the constructs measured. These findings reveal a pattern of alignment that is restricted to mathematics and absent in other domains, likely reflecting differences in assessment design, curricular orientation, and evaluation practices. Overall, the study demonstrates that the coherence between PISA and PAU is partial and domain-specific rather than systemic.
We analyze the effects of attendance early childhood education and care (ECEC) on on-track grade progression during the first years of primary schooling. We use a subsidized expansion of the ECEC program as a natural experiment to establish a causal relationship. The results show that students in municipalities that applied for subsidies have a lower probability of grade repetition. These effects are particularly pronounced for boys and children with a migration background.
