ISCED

ISCED stands for the International Standard Classification of Education. It is a framework developed by UNESCO to categorize and compare education systems worldwide. First issued in 1976, it has undergone revisions to reflect changing education landscapes, notably ISCED 1997 and ISCED 2011.

ISCED 2011 defines eight levels of education, from early childhood to doctoral studies: Level 0 early childhood education; Level 1 primary; Level 2 lower secondary; Level 3 upper secondary; Level 4 post-secondary non-tertiary; Level 5 short-cycle tertiary; Level 6 bachelor’s or equivalent; Level 7 master’s or equivalent; Level 8 doctoral or equivalent.

ISCED is used by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and national statistical offices to produce comparable statistics on educational attainment, participation, and financing. It is commonly applied in international reports and comparative studies by organizations such as the OECD and Eurostat.

ISCED-F, the Fields of Education and Training classification, operates alongside ISCED to group programs by subject area. As a statistical framework, ISCED focuses on levels and is not a national curriculum; mappings can be imperfect due to variations in program duration and content across countries.