Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Summary - Essay Example The article used the annual report that was allegedly published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was just recently made available. As disclosed, the OECD report contained as much as 565 pages and detailed an array of education-related topics relating from early childhood to the pursuit of higher education. The trends were noted to have been gathered, collected, and presented with information from members of OECD member countries such as Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea and the United States (Redden par. 1). Likewise, other relevant education trends were also gathered from specifically mentioned countries which allegedly belong to the Group of 20, but were non-OECD member countries, such as China, Brazil, and India. In discussing the topic on education and the recession, the author noted that the major developments in higher education pertained to the effect of gaining a college degree on the rate of unemployment. As stated, graduates of higher ed ucation were less affected by unemployment, as compared to high school graduates. The statistics that were noted included the following: â€Å"unemployment rates for college degree holders rose from 3.3 to 4.7 percent from 2008 to 2010, compared to an increase of 4.9 to 7.6 percent for those who had only completed secondary education† (Redden par. 2). It could therefore be deduced that for college degree holders, the unemployment rates grew only by as much as 1.4%, as compared to the 2.7% growth rate in unemployment for students who were noted to have only completed secondary education. Likewise, Redden also emphasized that those who pursued higher education and graduated with degrees were lesser prone to be affected by widening wage gaps. It was specifically cited that â€Å"while in 2008 a man with higher education could expect to earn 58 percent more than his counterpart with a secondary degree -- and a woman 54 percent more than her counterpart -- by 2010 these figures h ad increased to 67 and 59 percent, respectively† (Redden par. 3). The wage gap was more prominent for males at 9% gap from 2008 to 2010, as contrasted to the wage gap disclosed for women at only 5% from the same period. The statistics on student mobility was also expounded. Trends on students opting to study in foreign countries were most prominent during the decade where percentage increase of 99% was revealed from the 41,000 in 2000 to 4.1 million in 2010. Likewise, Redden disclosed that more than 52% of these students who travel to other countries were of Asian descent. From among the countries mentioned to be preferred as destinations for educational pursuits, the following were revealed in descending order: †United States (which attracts 17 percent of all international students), the United Kingdom (13 percent), Australia (7 percent), France (6 percent), and Germany (6 percent)† (Redden par. 6). Another interesting fact was that although the United States was the top preferred destination for pursuing higher education by foreign students, the 17% rate was actually a significant decline from a high of 23% in 2000. In discussing the degree attainment and access, Redden focused on presenting findings in terms of percentage of an identified population or age-range (25- to 64-year-olds) attaining higher education; the role and performance of gender, specifically women who pursue