Search

Principals (policy makers) have debated the progress in U.S. student performance for a half century or more. Informing these conversations, survey agents have administered seven million psychometrically linked tests in math and reading in 160 waves to national probability samples of selected cohorts born between 1954 and 2007. This study is the first to assess consistency of results by agency. We find results vary by agent, but consistent with Flynn effects, gains are larger in math than reading, except for the most recent period. Non-whites progress at a faster pace. Socio-economically disadvantaged white, black, and Hispanic students make greater progress when tested in elementary school, but that advantage attenuates and reverses itself as students age. We discuss potential moderators.

The aim of this report is threefold. Its first section provides an overall sketch of the situation across Europe and the underlying mechanisms for the differences in European countries. The second section focuses on the heterogeneities within each country. It examines the disparities among students in order to understand which of those correlate with larger learning deficits or worsening mental health. Section 3, considers the findings of the first two sections in order to discuss five policy recommendations for the short and long run.

In this brief, authors Michael Ettlinger, Jordan Hensley, and Julia Vieira analyze how much the governments of different countries spend, and on what, to illuminate the range of fiscal policy options available and provide a basis for determining which approaches work best. They report that the United States ranks twenty-fourth in government spending as a share of GDP out of twenty-nine countries for which recent comparable data are available. The key determinant of where countries rank in overall government spending is the amount spent on social protection. The United States ranks last in spending on social protection as a share of GDP and twenty-second in per capita spending. The United States ranks at or near the top in military, health care, education, and law enforcement spending. Measuring government spending by different methods and including tax expenditures does not appear to significantly alter the conclusion that the United States is a low-tax, low-spending country relative to the other countries examined, particularly when compared to its fellow higher-income countries. [This paper is an evolution of a previous work, "Comparing Public Spending and Priorities Across OECD Countries" (ED606844).]

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational qualifications in early career would be offset by disadvantages later in life. The report explores the functioning of the safety net and the diversion effects across countries, demonstrating how these vary considerably with the specific institutional structure of schooling and work-based training. The results indicate that VET graduates are potentially sacrificing the longer-term gains associated with further education in favour of short-term benefits. [This research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH and including the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

This Report Card offers an assessment of child well-being in the context of sustainable development across 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Specifically, this report seeks to bring the SDG [Sustainable Development Goal] targets for children in high-income countries into meaningful operation (while staying true to the ambitions of the global agenda) and to establish a point of departure for reviewing the SDG framework in these contexts. It focuses on those goals and targets with most direct relevance to the well-being of children in high-income settings. Where appropriate, it adapts the agreed SDG indicator, the better to reflect the problems facing children in such countries. The results therefore highlight the new challenges set by the SDGs.

The present paper discusses the potential of the capability approach in conceptualizing and understanding lifelong learning as an agency process, and explores its capacity to guide empirical studies on lifelong learning. It uses data for 20 countries from the Adult Education Survey (2007; 2011) and focuses on aspirations for lifelong learning. The study results show that there are considerable country differences in the level of people's aspirations. They highlight the fact that, despite the growing emphasis on lifelong learning, the level of aspirations has decreased in half of the European countries. However, this decrease occurs to a greater extent among people who did not participate in lifelong learning, but wanted to participate, than among people who had already participated in some form of education or training in the previous 12 months. [For the complete Volume 14, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568088.]

The academic calendar contains national data on how the academic year is structured (beginning of the academic year, term times, holidays and examination periods). Differences between university and non-university study programmes are also highlighted. The information is available for 38 countries. [For the 2019/20 report, see ED610817.]

On average in OECD countries, private sources account for a significant share of investment in tertiary educational institutions. Private expenditure on tertiary educational institutions increased faster than public expenditure between 2010 and 2016 on average across OECD countries, although this varies from country to country. Participation in tertiary education is not correlated to the funding model in tertiary institutions and high levels of private expenditure at tertiary education are not necessarily associated with lower enrolment. Financial support mechanisms in the form of grants or loans help alleviate the financial burden to households, particularly in countries where private spending on tertiary education is high.

This brochure focuses on a selection of indicators from "Education at a Glance," selected for their particular relevance in the current context. Their analysis enables the understanding of countries' response and potential impact from the COVID-19 containment measures. The following topics are discussed: (1) the impact of the crisis on education, including public financing of education in OECD countries and international student mobility; and (2) COVID-19 and educational institutions, including the loss of instructional time delivered in a school setting, measures to continue students' learning during school closure, teachers' preparedness to support digital learning, when and how to reopen schools, class size, a critical parameter for the reopening of schools, and vocational education during the COVID-19 lockdown.

As the data in this new edition of the Innocenti Report Card series show, in the past five years, rising numbers of children and their families have experienced difficulty in satisfying their most basic material and educational needs. Most importantly, the Great Recession is about to trap a generation of educated and capable youth in a limbo of unmet expectations and lasting vulnerability. League Tables, the flagship tool of the Innocenti Report Card series, rank the change, since the onset of the crisis, in the poverty levels of children and the impact of the recession on youth. The Report also explores the effects of the recession on youth seeking to enter or remain in the labour force in the middle of a recession. [Support for this report was provided by the Government of Italy.]

The academic calendar contains national data on how the academic year is structured (beginning of the academic year, term times, holidays and examination periods). Differences between university and non-university study programmes are also highlighted. The information is available for 38 countries. [For the 2018/19 report, see ED593872.]

The recent refugee crisis has put many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries under considerable pressure to accommodate and integrate large numbers of refugees. Refugee students are a particularly vulnerable group due to their forced displacement, but their needs are not always met by education systems, which can hinder the integration potential of these students. This poses considerable challenges as the integration of refugee students in education systems is important for their academic outcomes as well as their social and emotional well-being. The success (or lack of) integration in schools can also affect the future labour market and social integration potential of these children and youth. While there is a growing body of research on the integration of immigrants, policy-relevant research on refugee children and youth from an educational perspective is rather limited, fragmented and case specific. Detailed surveys and research projects focusing on the current wave of refugees that allow for cross-country comparisons are not yet available. Drawing on research from previous refugee waves, the paper examines key needs of refugee students and factors that promote their integration. It proposes a holistic model of integration in education that responds to the learning, social and emotional needs of refugee students. Furthermore, the paper examines what type of policies and practices are in place in OECD countries that support the integration of refugee students. Nonetheless, evaluations of practices and policies are often missing, which makes it difficult to assess whether they are successful. The paper finishes with some policy pointers on how to promote the integration of refugee students.

Good health is a benefit in many domains, such as work, studies or social relationships. Fostering a sound knowledge on healthy habits and the implications of risk-taking behaviours is a key to shaping societies with healthier lifestyles.

This survey follows the Digital Education Action Plan Communication's call to provide more evidence regarding digitisation in education. By surveying head teachers, teachers, students and parents from EU28, Norway, Iceland and Turkey, this survey provides detailed information related to access, use and attitudes towards the use of technology in education. Amongst other results, the study shows that less than 1 out of 5 of students attend schools which have access to high-speed Internet. The results of the survey clearly support the future Connected Europe Facility Programme's aim to support high-speed internet access for schools. Further, the study found that students overall, and female students in particular, rarely engage in coding/programming activities. Activities to strengthen students' coding skills and getting girls more interested in digital therefore need further attention. Furthermore, results show that most teachers engage in ICT training in their own time whereas participation in compulsory ICT trainings is less common. Further findings reveal that only 1 out of 2 students attending secondary schools have parents that feel they know enough about their child's online behaviour. These results support the Commission's Strategy for a Better Internet for Children, which also aims at raising awareness and foster digital literacy among parents. [This study was carried out for the European Commission by Deloitte and Ipsos MORI. For "2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. Objective 2: Model for a 'Highly Equipped and Connected Classroom'. Final Report," see ED607463. For "2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. Technical Report," see ED597773.]

The 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education has two objectives: 1) Objective 1: Benchmark progress in ICT in Schools - to provide detailed and up-to-date information related to access, use and attitudes towards the use of technology in education by surveying head teachers, teachers, students and parents covering the EU28, Norway, Iceland and Turkey; 2) Objective 2: Model for a 'highly equipped and connected classroom' - to define a conceptual model for a 'highly equipped and connected classroom' (HECC), presenting three scenarios to describe different levels of a HECC and to estimate the overall costs to equip and connect an average EU classroom with advanced components of the HECC model. Two separate reports are published concurrently, focusing on each of the two study objectives of the '2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education'. The current publication relates to the first objective of the study, benchmarking progress in ICT in schools, and covers the detail of the design and implementation of the survey. The first objective of the 2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education therefore benchmarks progress in of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools. The survey was carried out in 31 countries (EU28, Norway, Iceland and Turkey) by conducting interviews with head teachers, teachers, students and parents in three different ISCED levels (ISCED 1: primary schools; ISCED 2: lower secondary schools: ISCED 3: upper secondary schools). A range of different topics were covered, including (a) access to and use of digital technologies, (b) digital activities and confidence of teachers and students in their digital competence, (c) ICT related professional development of teachers, (d) digital home environment of students and (e) schools' digital policies, strategies and opinions. The current study builds upon the European Commission Survey of Schools: ICT in Education 2013. [This study was carried out for the European Commission by Deloitte and Ipsos MORI. For "2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. Objective 1: Benchmark Progress in ICT in Schools. Final Report," see ED607414. For "2nd Survey of Schools: ICT in Education. Objective 2: Model for a 'Highly Equipped and Connected Classroom'. Final Report," see ED607463.]

The academic calendar contains national data on how the academic year is structured (beginning of the academic year, term times, holidays and examination periods). Differences between university and non-university study programmes are also highlighted. The information is available for 38 countries. [For the previous report "The Organisation of the Academic Year in Europe, 2017/18. Eurydice--Facts and Figures," see ED588761.]

This paper looks at the importance of mechanisms that give formal recognition to vocational skills acquired through work-based learning and how such mechanisms might be developed. It describes how skill recognition can benefit individuals, employers and society as a whole, and identifies in which contexts skill recognition has the highest potential to bring benefits. The focus is on three tools that are commonly used to shorten the path to a formal qualification: admission into a programme, reduced programme duration and qualification without a mandatory programme. For each of these tools, this paper sets out country approaches, discusses common challenges that arise in their implementation and advances policy messages to support policy design and implementation.

Rapid technological advances can have an impact on personal, social and professional development. Implications for education include changes in the demand for knowledge and skills as well as expanding possibilities for teaching and learning.

Teachers are the most important school resource. In every country, teachers' salaries and training represent the greatest share of expenditure on education; and this investment in teachers can have significant returns. Research shows that being taught by the best teachers can make a real difference in the learning and life outcomes of otherwise similar students. But not all students are equal when it comes to access to high-quality teaching. In fact, PISA data show that there are inequities in access to experienced and qualified teachers in many countries, and that they are related to the gap in learning outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

Over the past century, technological development and better access to services has resulted in significant improvements to quality of life. Despite this, however, levels of stress, anxiety and depression are rising. Education can play a role in supporting well-being during and beyond schooling. Schools are increasingly concerned not only with students' academic performance but also with students' well-being. Educators refer to this as the need to develop a "whole child" perspective in education, with a balanced focus on cognitive, social, and emotional skills (OECD, 2015b). This is important for a number of reasons: Students with higher levels of well-being tend to have better self-esteem, more satisfaction with their schools and life, and healthier relationships with others (Park, 2004). The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveals a positive relationship between sense of belonging at school, satisfaction with life and academic performance (OECD, 2017).

While the benefits of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to better learning are now widely acknowledged, a widespread and accessible provision for these services also helps support gender equality in the workforce. In particular, the availability, intensity, reliability and affordability of ECEC play an important role in engaging women full time in the labour market. While ECEC has experienced a surge of policy attention over the last decades, wide variations still exist across countries and its costs remains a barrier to accessing paid work for poor families and lone parents, mostly mothers. More efforts are needed to increase the provision and accessibility of free ECEC services, especially for children under the age of 3.

While policy debate is often focused on the whole teaching profession, primary and secondary teachers differ in more ways than one. While all countries require teachers to have at least a bachelor degree to enter the profession in primary or lower secondary education, the structure and content of the programmes vary and are less geared towards practice at secondary than primary level. Primary school teachers spend on average 10% more of their working time teaching, though their class size will be slightly smaller. Finally, primary teachers' salaries are less competitive than their lower secondary peers in more than half of the countries. Improving the attractiveness and effectiveness of the teaching profession can only be addressed by recognising these differences and adapting a differentiated policy to address the challenges of each.

PISA 2015 data show that, on average across OECD countries, as many as three out of four students from the lowest quarter of socio-economic status reach, at best, only the baseline level of proficiency (Level 2) in reading, mathematics or science. While in Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia and Viet Nam, more than 30% of disadvantaged students scored at Level 3 or above in all PISA subjects in 2015, and can thus be considered "academically resilient". Students who perform at Level 3 begin to demonstrate the ability to construct the meaning of a text and form a detailed understanding from multiple independent pieces of information when reading. They can work with proportional relationships and engage in basic interpretation and reasoning when solving mathematics problems; and they can handle unfamiliar topics in science. Such skills are the foundations for success and further learning later in life. PISA data collected over a decade (in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015) show that several countries have been able to increase the share of academically resilient students among those in the bottom quarter of socio-economic status. [This work was supported by a contribution to the PISA programme of work from Vodafone Germany Foundation.]

Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that enables them to play an active role in their communities and prepares them to make the most of lifelong-learning opportunities. Using data from the most recent PISA cycles, this paper explores changes in the share of resilient students over time (2006-2015); highlights the importance of school environments and resources in mitigating the risk of low achievement for disadvantaged students; and identifies school-level factors that are associated with the likelihood of academic resilience among socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses reveal that several countries were able to increase the share of resilient students over time, reflecting improvements in the average performance of students, or a weaker relationship between socio-economic status and performance. In the vast majority of education systems examined, the likelihood of academic resilience among disadvantaged students is lower in schools where students report a negative classroom climate. The paper concludes by exploring school policies and practices that are associated with a positive classroom climate. [This work was supported by a contribution to the PISA programme of work from Vodafone Germany Foundation.]

Across OECD countries, more and more individuals have attained tertiary education and the share of those with less education has declined. Although there are more tertiary-educated individuals than ever before, they still achieve good labour market outcomes. This confirms that labour market demand is generally keeping pace with rising educational attainment. Only in about one-quarter of OECD countries, the employment advantage of tertiary-educated adults over adults with upper-secondary or post-secondary education has declined over the past two decades, which may be a sign that demand for tertiary-educated people is slowing down. Countries also need to address the situation of young men and women who have not completed upper secondary school and who face low employment prospects.

This report focuses on the structure of mainstream education in European countries from preprimary to tertiary level for the 2017/18 school and academic year. Forty-three education systems are included covering 38 countries participating in the EU's Erasmus+ programme (28 Member States, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey). The first section of the report sets out the main organisational models of primary and lower secondary education (ISCED 1-2). The second one provides a guide on how to read the diagrams. The national schematic diagrams are shown in the third section.

The academic calendar contains national data on how the academic year is structured (beginning of the academic year, term times, holidays and examination periods). Differences between university and non-university study programmes are also highlighted. The information is available for 37 countries. [For the previous report "The Organisation of the Academic Year in Europe, 2016/17. Eurydice--Facts and Figures," see ED593874.]