The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Professional development for the cooperative relationship between middle teachers, using national survey data and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data set that was conducted by OECD.
 The paper classifies TALIS countries based on PISA scores, then analyzes the relationship between various professional developments and PISA high score countries, using "classroom observation and feedback" as an indicator of teacher cooperation.
 Our study suggests that there are several types of the age distribution to participate professional developments, such as a country like South Korea , that each age group participated equally, and countries there are disproportionately 0-10 (or 21-)years of experience for the participation. Secondly, professional developments affect on the "classroom observation and feedback" ,but the difference spreads wide range by countries.
 The main factors of those differences are the difference of the days of participation for the "classroom observation and feedback". Especially the Korean frequency is significant.
 Thirdly, mentoring is affecting “classroom observation and feedback” significant every PISA high scored countries and Japan. Forth, unlike PISA high scores countries, "less formal dialogue" is affecting “classroom observation and feedback” in Japan.

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 This article aims at exploring the character of education corresponding to the enlargement and deepening of European integration; specifically, the focus is placed on the fundamental rights protection in the European Union (EU). In addition, the Council of Europe (CoE) is also considered, particularly, the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). As the CoE plays an essential role in human rights protection, and it has kept a close relationship with the EU, both regional international organizations need to be considered.
 The early-stage role of the EU focused on economic integration. During the course of its development and expansion, the necessity to guarantee fundamental rights has gradually recognized and grown to hold a cardinal position. Consequently, the significance of fundamental rights throughout the EU has grown large, resulting in the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2000 – the first catalogue of fundamental rights in the EU –, and its incorporation into the fundamental treaties on the EU through the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, which serves to confer the legally binding-character to the Charter. Moreover, the current EU Treaty provides the accidence of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights.  In parallel, the principles of the prohibition of discrimination and the requirement of equality have been developed in EU law, which was not originally on the basis of the fundamental rights protection but on the necessity to promote the economic integration. Education was initially regarded simply as one domain of the policy to promote integration; however, with the mainstreaming of the fundamental rights protection, such dimension in educational policy has become accentuated.  The development of the principles of human rights protections and the prohibition of discrimination in the EU, which has been influenced by the European Convention on Human Rights, also influences the interpretation of the Convention by the ECtHR. As mentioned above, the EU shall / will accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, it can be considered that the impact of the ECtHR on the EU will grow stronger.  The analysis of the interaction between these two regional organizations in Europe argues the following three points:  (1) Fundamental rights protection holds a central place in the current EU institution;  (2) Educational policy, which was a part of economic integration policy in the early stage of European integration, has assumed the character of fundamental rights protection under the influence of the ECtHR;  (3) The principles of fundamental rights protection and the prohibition of discrimination in EU law have been influenced by the ECtHR, and they will inversely impact the interpretation of the Convention.  Throughout this analysis of the European integration process, this article attempts to provide a point of view to perceive various dimensions of educational policy with a focus on human rights protection.

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 This Paper aims to study both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of Uzbek educational reforms and their problems after the decline of the Soviet Union. Since 1997, elementary and secondary education has been free and compulsory in Uzbekistan. Moreover, educational reform has emphasized upper secondary education, in which academic lyceums and vocational colleges were newly established in place of the previous upper secondary schools. Existing studies usually point out the successful aspects of educational reform.
 However, these reforms brought about not only regional differences between rural and urban areas, but also gender gaps in educational opportunities. This paper analyzes current educational problems, based on official data and my preliminary field research in Uzbekistan in January of 2014.
 First of all, the students in the capital city of Tashkent have more educational opportunities than the other areas. In addition, their opportunities extend beyond the fixed quota indicated by law. At the same time, the gross enrollment rate data reveal that the gender gap is observed only in higher education.
 Second, there are regional differences in educational opportunities between urban and rural areas in the Namangan Province, a rural area in Uzbekistan. Moreover, against conventional views in Namangan, rural people emphasize the importance of education more than urban people.
 In conclusion, two points are highlighted. First, there is a high degree of regional inequalities with regard to educational opportunity in Uzbekistan. Conventional wisdom and existing studies are not useful in solving these inequalities. More studies are needed. Second, the revival of Islam after independence seems to be related to both inter-regional disparities in education and the expansion of gender gaps in education. However, the Uzbek people came to accept Islam in various ways following independence. Thus, to consider Islamic consciousness as a major cause of the nation’s education gaps remains premature. Among the problem of early marriage and childbearing, as described in this study of Namangan Province, further study is needed on educational inequality in Uzbekistan.

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