Constantinos Papanastasiou

TIMSS Study, National Findings and Consequences in Cyprus

Shortlink: https://www.waxmann.com/artikelART100169

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Abstract

The public educational system of Cyprus is highly centralized and the Ministry of Education formu-lates the intended curriculum for all subjects. In general expenditure on all levels of education are sat-isfactory, although there are demands for more. The University of Cyprus, as a research institution, has a leading role on local and international research projects. The results for students in mathematics and science of the 4th and 8th grade and in the literacy study (TIMSS) in the final year of secondary school are not encouraging for Cyprus. Cyprus was one of the last among the countries that partici-pated in the TIMSS study. But the results for students in mathematics who took advanced courses were very encouraging. Only one country had statistically higher achievements than the pupils from Cyprus. In the case of advanced courses in physics, it seems that the students from Cyprus did fairly well. Only four out of 16 countries had statistically higher achievements. The mean achievement of pupils who selected advanced courses is far higher than achievement of the 4th and 8th graders, and the mean achievement of pupils in the literacy courses is far lower than achievement of the 4th and 8th graders. It seems that the Ministry of Education is taking the necessary measures to lift the image of the educational system.

APA citation
Papanastasiou C. (2002). TIMSS Study, National Findings and Consequences in Cyprus . Tertium Comparationis, 8(1), . https://www.waxmann.com/artikelART100169