International comparability of reference unit costs of education services: when harmonizing methodology is not enough (PECUNIA project)

Figures & data

Table 1. Education services and service descriptions selected for reference unit cost calculation.

Service name	Service description
Education services provided in a special education school (either primary or secondary)	Education services provided in the special education school, as a day care facility, for students with mental or physical disabilities
Educational therapy provided in primary schools	Additional educational support provided at a regular primary school to students with learning difficulties (often referred to as remedial teaching)
Educational therapy provided in secondary schools	Additional educational support provided at a regular secondary school to students with learning difficulties (often referred to as remedial teaching)

Table 2. Reference unit costs of education services provided in a special education school (2019 EURO).

Country	Reference unit cost (EUR 2019)	Measurement unit	Input data	Representativeness	Cost components included
Austria	188.85	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs, investments, overhead costs
Germany	99.54	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs, overhead costs, additional budget from the federal governments allocated to schools to support education of students with special needs
Hungary	64.02	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs, other direct costs, overhead costs
The Netherlands	54.99^1	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Average expenditure per student excluding the cost of housing
	124.53^2	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Average expenditure per student excluding the cost of housing
The United Kingdom	73.12	School day per student	Secondary data	Local authority	Local authority special education needs funding

¹education services provided in a primary special education school²education services provided in a secondary special education school

Table 3. Reference unit costs of educational therapy provided in a primary school (2019 EURO).

Country	Reference unit cost (EUR 2019)	Measurement unit	Input data	Representativeness	Cost components included
Austria	7.73	Contact per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs
Germany	34.56	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs, overhead costs, additional budget from the federal governments allocated to schools to support education of students with special needs
Hungary	4.51^1	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Expenditure on teachers’ salaries, expenditure on other salaries, material costs, investment, renovation, other expenditure
The Netherlands	25.42^1	Contact per student	Primary data	Regional	Staff costs, costs for purchasing equipment
The United Kingdom	23.99	School day per student	Secondary data	Local authority	Local authority special education needs funding

¹The RUCs for educational therapy provided in primary and secondary schools are the same.

Table 4. Reference unit costs of educational therapy provided in a secondary school (2019 EURO).

Country	Reference unit cost (EUR)	Measurement unit	Input data	Representativeness	Cost components included
Austria	5.82	Contact per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs
Germany	14.64	Contact per student	Secondary data	National	Staff costs, overhead costs, additional budget from the federal governments allocated to schools to support education of students with special needs
Hungary	4.51^1	School day per student	Secondary data	National	Expenditure on teachers’ salaries, expenditure on other salaries, material costs, investment, renovation, other expenditure
The Netherlands	25.42^1	Contact per student	Primary data	Regional	Staff costs, costs for purchasing equipment
The United Kingdom	13.36	School day per student	Secondary data	Local authority	Local authority special education needs funding

¹The RUCs for educational therapy provided in primary and secondary schools are the same.