Interview with Ina V.S. Mullis on TIMSS 2015 encyclopedia: Education policy and curriculum in mathematics and science, by Ina V.S. Mullis

Abstract

Across the world, requirements for becoming a teacher have become increasingly stringent and more technology is making its way into curricula and instruction. The TIMSS 2015 Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Mathematics and Science draws on data from TIMSS 2015, an education assessment of 60 countries and regions at the fourth and eighth grades directed by Drs. Ina V.S. Mullis and Michael O. Martin. No other publication offers such a comprehensive look at global education: each participating country or region authored a chapter describing its educational system, and students and their parents, teachers, and principals completed questionnaires about the contexts of their learning and teaching. The encyclopedia shows that countries allocate significant instructional time for mathematics and science, national curricular guidelines in those subjects are emerging in preprimary programs, and school systems are investing in digital devices ranging from basic tools to sophisticated systems. The TIMSS 2015 Encyclopedia is a companion to the TIMSS 2015 International Results in Mathematics and Science. TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) spans 20 years of trends, the longest of any international education assessment.