Multilevel Analysis of the PISA Data: Insights for Policy and Practice

Multilevel analysis can help to get deeper insights into factors that may have impact on schooling outcomes assessed in PISA. In this book, multilevel analysis is applied by linking student performance to the structure and processes of both the family and the school, the two major social contexts that exert powerful influence on young people. Essential/important policy issues including parental involvement, school decentralization, and medium of instruction are examined, and the possible relationship between these policies and student’s achievement in light of the evidence collected in the first three cycles of the PISA study is explored. Besides, appreciating how researchers have used multilevel analysis in a variety of ways would be an effective path to learn it. The analysis in this book will add significantly to the storehouse of knowledge about the application of multilevel analysis in assessing the quality and equality of education in East Asian societies. The findings thereof would also serve as useful references for researchers, policymakers, school administrators, and teachers.