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Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education pp 419–424Cite as

International Comparative Studies in Mathematics: An Overview

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There has been a significant increase in international comparative studies (ICS) on achievement in mathematics in the last few decades. Particularly well-known amongst these ICS are those held under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that are briefly described later. This article looks briefly into the following questions: what are ICS? Why are ICS important? What are some issues with ICS? Where are we headed with ICS?

What Are ICS?

The term comparative can be defined as studying things to find out how similar or different they are. In mathematics education there are several “things” that can possibly be compared internationally: students’ achievement, teacher education, mathematics curricula, mathematics education policies and practices, and certainly pedagogical practices. While the “what” to be studied and compared internationally seems...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Jaguthsing Dindyal

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  1. Jaguthsing Dindyal
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Correspondence to Jaguthsing Dindyal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Centre for Mathematics Education, London South Bank University, London, UK

    Stephen Lerman

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Dindyal, J. (2020). International Comparative Studies in Mathematics: An Overview. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_83

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