Abstract
The work is based on Pisa 2009 International Assessment Study. Two counties were selected: a developed country, Estonia and a developing country, Azerbaijan. The following Datum was used for statistical analysis: students average scores in reading (162 schools, 4 600 students from Azerbaijan; 17 schools, 4 923 students from Estonia). The work is based on mixed type research. The main goal is to determine the effect of different independent variables related to school, student, and household, on students’ achievements in reading in developed and developing countries. Three research questions were developed:1) To what extent are student background variables associated with reading scores in each country?2) To what extent are family-related variables associated with reading scores in each country?3) To what extent are school-related variables associated with reading scores in each country (variables were analyzed separately: organizational; instructional; and teacher-related)?As with other research studies this research may have some limitations regarding research model, data analyses, and interpretations. For data analyses ttest and General Linear Model – Univariate statistics were applied. General Findings:Estonia: Most of the teachers apply modern teaching methods; students’ attitude towards reading activities, teacher, and school are positive. Parental involvement has a positive effect on students’ achievements in reading. Azerbaijan: The majority of the teachers do not apply modern teaching methods; students’ attitudes towards reading activities are not deemed positive; students have negative attitudes towards school and teachers.The research showed that different factors work differently in developed and developing countries cases.
Highlights
1.1 Introduce the ProblemA students’ achievement in reading is one of the key contributing factors in determining his/her success in other subject areas and in the formation of well-informed citizen (Cawalti, 1991). Trilling (2009) assumes that a person to fulfill their obligations and be successful in 21st century job market requires having a proper education
As the head of general education department head Dr Irene Käosaar mentions in the interview that the Estonian government, with immense help of European Union, has exerted a lot of effort to move from the Soviet style of education to a more modern one
The study looks at set of independent variables that could explain the results of Azerbaijani and Estonian ninth graders in the reading test
Summary
A students’ achievement in reading is one of the key contributing factors in determining his/her success in other subject areas and in the formation of well-informed citizen (Cawalti, 1991). Trilling (2009) assumes that a person to fulfill their obligations and be successful in 21st century job market requires having a proper education. Azerbaijani ninth graders failed to compete with their peers representing 65 different countries and/or economies They were placed right at the bottom of the table in reading (64th place).Another widespread challenge this type of study addresses is that most of, if not all, international assessments are focused on a small selective group of counties performance (The Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, Hon-Kong, Singapore, Canada, The United States of America, Germany and other European Union countries). For this reason, the analyses of the results derived from the international assessments mostly reflect the tendencies of developing counties education systems and has little to do with tendencies of developed counties education systems. The student test results of the developing counties are not analyzed, education policy and decision makers develop programs and set the policy directions based on the developed counties education models (Riddel, 1997)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
