The U.S. Department of Education's international activities help to ensure that policy makers and educators have access to information on educational programs and practices around the world, and to share U.S. educational expertise with colleagues abroad.

We participate in international activities in the following educational areas:

Assessments and Indicators  

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)'s International Activities Program supports data collection and joint studies among 29 countries through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and among 21 countries through Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The OECD publishes indicators of school system characteristics and performance in "Education at a Glance" and "Education Policy Analysis," In addition to acting as a liaison to international statistical organizations, NCES compiles and analyzes international education data. The work includes assessments such as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, International Adult Literacy Survey and the Program for International Student Achievement (PISA). U.S. participation in international assessments helps improve our understanding of our own education system in relation to other systems around the world.

Civics and Economic Education  

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)
The Department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) manages civics and economic grant programs focusing on teacher training and curriculum development to foster democratic principles and market economies in other countries.

Early Childhood Education  

The Department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) manages U.S. participation in a review of national policies toward early childhood education and care. The review is conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and review results of the national policies of the twelve participating countries cover provision for children from birth to compulsory school can be viewed at www.oecd.org/els/ecec/index.htm

Educational Technology  

Office of Educational Technology
The Department's Office of Educational Technology works to promote international classroom-to-classroom linkages via technology and to identify and share best practices in the use of technology in education. The office's website describes the Department's involvement in International Educational Technology.

Migrant Education  

US-Mexico Migrant Binational Education Program
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Migrant Education disseminates information on various programs available to U.S. state education agencies, including the teacher exchange program, free Mexican textbook distribution program, adult education program, and transfer documents program to maintain records of students' school and immunization records. These programs support the overall improvement of educational services for children of Mexican descent who migrate for temporary seasonal work between the two countries.

Postsecondary Education  

Office of Postsecondary Education
The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) includes the International Education and Graduate Programs Service, which supports initiatives to strengthen and improve undergraduate and graduate instruction in foreign languages, area studies, and international business, and provides support to national centers for the teaching of less commonly taught languages.

The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) provides funding for innovative international projects from the field in such areas as on-line foreign language learning and web-based clearinghouses for international issues. In addition, FIPSE provides, together with the European Commission, Human Resource Development Canada, Mexican Education Department (SEP) and Brazilian Ministry of Education, financial support to consortia of U.S. and foreign postsecondary education institutions in Europe, North America, and Brazil to develop joint programs that facilitate student mobility and exchange.

Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs (OSFAP)
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs (OSFAP) provides financial aid to U.S. students attending postsecondary institutions, including some who are studying at foreign universities. In a recent year, about 13,000 students used the Federal Family Education Loan to study abroad. The foreign schools team evaluates institutions abroad for participation in these programs.

School Reform  

US-UK Conference on "Turning Around Low Performing Schools"
On October 4-6, 2000, the U.S. Department of Education and the UK Department for Education and Employment sponsored a policy dialogue in Washington to discuss the issue of "turning around low performing schools." The US-UK dialogue had two primary purposes: to promote a fruitful exchange of ideas about effective policy initiatives and strategies that support the school improvement process in low-performing schools, and to identify opportunities for ongoing dialogue. This is a key topic in education for both countries.

School-to-Work Transitions  

Best Practices in School-to-Work Transition
The Department has participated in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) review of school-to-work policies and practices in fourteen countries, including the United States.

As a participating country of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Department prepared and shared, along with 20 other economies, reports on the situation of at-risk youth in their economies and on successful programs or interventions. Reports were then shared at in international conference in Canada held in June 1999.

Second-Language Learning and Bilingual Education  

Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA)
The Department's Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA) administers the Title VII Foreign Language Assistance Program, which helps school districts improve foreign language programs at the elementary/secondary level. OBEMLA also disseminates information on second- language and bilingual education through the website of the National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE).

US-Mexico Cooperation
The Government of Mexico has agreements with numerous U.S. states. One of the most active programs includes the educational exchange of teachers, through which U.S. teachers take summer courses in Mexico to learn more about the cultural background of some of their students and Mexican teachers spend time in U.S. classrooms to assist our teachers in serving recent immigrants. The Department's relationship with Mexico's Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) facilitates and supports these activities.

US-Spain Plan of Cooperation
Through agreements between the Government of Spain and more than 30 U.S. states and districts, teachers from Spain assist in US classrooms on a temporary basis and teachers from the U.S. spend summers in Spain to improve their language skills and learn about Spanish history and culture. The Department sponsors an annual meeting for administrators of language programs to discuss and share methods of instruction.

Special Education and Rehabilitation Services  

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) compares best practices in serving the disabled and shares information with Ireland, Brazil, Mexico and the member countries of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation Development (OECD). Partner countries have participated in meetings co-sponsored by OSERS and the OECD, such as the 1996 International Congress on Serving Children with Disabilities in the Community.

OSERS also works with other agencies to raise awareness on access for disabled people abroad, and is participating in a research project on rehabilitation for indigenous disabled persons in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Through its National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) OSERS has funded a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for Landmine Survivors, since 1989. The initial regions of focus were Central America and the Balkans. NIDRR also supports the Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange (CIRRIE) which facilitates the sharing of information and expertise in rehabilitation research between the U.S. and other countries.

Teacher Development  

Teacher Exchanges
Although the U.S. Department of Education does not directly administer teacher exchange programs, it occasionally cooperates with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and foreign ministries of education in the initial design and implementation of such programs. Teacher exchange programs provide U.S. and foreign participants with the opportunity to engage in professional development, learn about best practices abroad, improve foreign language skills, and deepen their understanding of the cultural context of instruction. In some cases, foreign teachers are temporarily placed in U.S. classrooms to serve as resources for bilingual and second language instruction. Examples of teacher exchange programs include the USAID-funded U.S.-Egypt Master Teacher Exchange Program, the U.S.-Brazil Teacher Exchange Program and the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Teacher Studies
Through the APEC Education Network, 12 APEC members, including the United States, undertook a review of teacher preparation policies and practices, and focused a follow-up study on teacher induction practices in 1997, with case studies of induction in Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. Highlights from the studies are available on the web at www.apec.edu.tw

Vocational and Adult Education  

Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)
The Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) works with Germany, the European Union, and the member countries of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) to share best practices in the area of vocational and adult education.

OVAE's Community College Liaison Office (CCLO) works with the Stanley Foundation in Muscatine, Iowa to introduce U.S. community colleges and their communities to the importance of global education and international partnerships. The CCLO also assists both individual colleges and community college international consortia, such as the Association of International/Intercultural Education (ACIIE) and Community Colleges for International Development (CCID) to form partnerships and collaborative arrangements with parallel institutions and governments in many countries. Collaboration between the CCLO and foreign embassies facilitates the exchange of ideas and information on the profiles of youth and adult learners.

U.S. - Denmark Agreement
On Thursday, November 16, 2000, Secretary Riley and Danish Education Minister Margrethe Vestager signed an "Understanding" on cooperation in vocational and technical education between the United States and Denmark. Denmark recently won the Bertelsmann prize for outstanding vocational-technical education. The agreement encourages exchange of information on the development of effective vocational-technical education and training programs; faculty and student exchanges; and the development of institutional partnerships between Danish technical and business colleges and U.S. community colleges, as well as education-business partnerships. Several U.S.- and Denmark-based businesses, as well as U.S. community colleges, have expressed interest in forming such partnerships. Those U.S. institutions interested in participating in this cooperation should contact Ronald Castaldi, Vocational-Tech Education Division Director, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, by e-mail at Ronald.Castaldi@ed.gov.

Other  

U.S.-Brazil Partnership for Education

National Library of Education
The National Library of Education promotes international education through the U.S. Network for Educational Information (USNEI), a joint initiative of government agencies and educational institutions. The USNEI website provides information on U.S. and foreign education systems and information for U.S. residents interested in going abroad to study, conduct research, or teach.