TVETipedia Glossary

Secondary education

Secondary education (ISCED levels 2 and 3).

Secondary education provides learning and educational activities building on primary education and preparing for labour market entry, post-secondary non-tertiary education and tertiary education. Broadly speaking, secondary education aims at learning at an intermediate level of complexity. ISCED distinguishes between lower and upper secondary education.

Source:
UIS, ISCED 2011 (International Standard Classification of Education), 2012
UIS, ISCED 2011 (International Standard Classification of Education), 2012
Access resource, available in English
As national education systems vary in terms of structure and curricular content, it can be difficult to benchmark performance across countries over time or monitor progress towards national and international goals. In order to understand and properly interpret the inputs, processes and outcomes of education systems from a global perspective, it is vital to ensure that data are comparable. This can be done by applying the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), the standard framework used to categorise and report cross-nationally comparable education statistics.

Source:
IBE, Glossary of Curriculum Terminology, 2013
IBE, Glossary of Curriculum Terminology, 2013
Access resource, available in English and Portuguese
The main purpose of the UNESCO IBE Glossary of curriculum-related terminology is not to establish standard universally applicable definitions. Rather, it is intended to be a working reference tool that can be used in a range of activities and help to stimulate reflection among all those involved in curriculum development initiatives.