Selection and definition of indicators

This international study works from the premise that the institutional contexts of schools play an important role in the explanation of variation in effectiveness between schools. Furthermore, we assume major differences between countries world-wide in the definition of institutional context, more specific concerning the exact difference between the public and private sectors in education. As we have seen in Chapter 1 crucial aspects in this respect seem to be: the financial base of public-private differences, differences in the governance structure in public and private education and the degree of freedom of school choice available. A comparative analysis of education systems in Europe requires clear concepts of the current situation in each country. The definition of indicators, used in the description of education systems in this study, will be addressed in the next section.