Browse by: "2010"

Using data from PISA 2006, this book analyzes to what extent investments in technology enhance educational outcomes. One of the most striking findings of this study is that the digital divide in education goes beyond the issue of access to technology. A new second form of digital divide has been identified: the one existing between those who have the right competencies to benefit from computer use, and those who do not. These competencies and skills are closely linked to the economic, cultural and social capital of the student.

This finding has important implications for policy and practice. Governments should make an effort to clearly convey the message that computer use matters for the education of young people and do their best to engage teachers and schools in raising the frequency of computer use to a level that becomes relevant. If schools and teachers are really committed to the development of 21st century competencies, such an increase will happen naturally. And only in these circumstances will clear correlations between technology use and educational performance emerge.

Chile has long considered education as a central priority and as key for its economic development. Over the past two decades the country has made great strides to increase the numbers of young people entering tertiary education. In 2008 Chile embarked on a bold initiative to develop its human capital with a scholarship abroad scheme – the Becas Chile Programme – which aims to train 30 000 outstanding students including teachers and technicians in institutions of their choice around the world.

This joint OECD and World Bank report gives an overview of human capital development in Chile; describes features of the Becas Chile Programme; analyses the strategic and operational issues; and recommends ways to maintain and fine-tune the scholarship abroad scheme. This report will be useful for both Chilean education professionals and their international counterparts.

This publication summarises key research findings which can be used to redesign initial and continuing teacher education to help practitioners effectively teach diverse students. It looks at challenges teachers face in OECD countries and presents a range of policies and practices used in various contexts, from countries with long histories of diversity to those with more recent experiences. The key role of evaluation – of teachers, schools and systems – is emphasised. Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge asks how these insights can inspire continuing educational reform for our changing classrooms, with a special focus on key questions for research, policy and practice.

What does the OECD have to say about the state of education today? What are the main OECD messages on early childhood education, teacher policies and tertiary education? What about student performance, educational spending and equity in education? OECD work on these important education topics and others have been brought together in a single accessible source updating the first edition of Education Today which came out in March 2009.

Organised into eight chapters, this report examines early childhood education, schooling, transitions beyond initial education, higher education, adult learning, outcomes and returns, equity, and innovation. The chapters are structured around key findings and policy directions emerging from recent OECD educational analyses. Each entry highlights the main message in a concise and accessible way, with a brief explanation and reference to the original OECD source.

"The large issues that the very conciseness of this book brings into focus might suggest that brevity is an underrated virtue in the educational literature."   -  Paul Temple, Institute of Education, University of London, reviewing in the London Review of Education

Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education.

The 2010 edition of Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ performance. It provides a rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators on systems and represents the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally.

The indicators show who participates in education, how much is spent on it and how education systems operate. They also illustrate a wide range of educational outcomes, comparing, for example, student performance in key subject areas and the impact of education on earnings and on adults’ chances of employment.

New material in this edition includes:

• indicators on school choice and the parent voice in education;
• an indicator on the long-term economic impact of improved learning outcomes;
• an indicator benchmarking labour costs by educational levels across OECD countries;
• a review of trends in educational attainment;
• an update on the human and financial resources invested in education;
• an indicator comparing salaries of teachers to earnings of workers with tertiary education;
• a review of adult participation in education and training.

The integration of the children of immigrants – both those born in the host country (the “second generation”) and those who arrived young enough to be educated in the host country – is of growing policy relevance for OECD countries. This group is entering the labour market in ever larger numbers, and their outcomes are often seen as the benchmark for successful integration policy.

The labour market integration of the children of immigrants is an area where comparative international knowledge is gradually evolving, but still underdeveloped. Recent work by the OECD has shown that the children of immigrants tend to have lower employment outcomes than the children of natives in most countries.

This technical seminar proceedings sheds light on the issues involved in the labour market integration of the children of immigrants, and discusses policy answers and good practices. The seminar was organised jointly by the the EU Commission and the OECD Secretariat in Brussels on 1 and 2 October 2009.

Amsterdam has the characteristics of creativeness, openness and diversity that make it attractive to global talent and a young population. It has strong research universities and excellent transport infrastructure including one of the world’s leading airports. It is the financial capital of the Netherlands and home to many multi-national companies. Amsterdam’s cultural and architectural heritage have ensured that it is better-known globally than many cities twice its size.

However, the Amsterdam metropolitan region still has unfulfilled potential. This report looks at how to encourage effective interaction between the higher education sector and the region, not simply on the transfer of technology and knowledge, but on the mobility and skills of people. It considers how to develop and transform the talents and competences both of the young non-Western minority and of the 30+ age-group.

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of Amsterdam. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

Andalusia is the most populous region in Spain with over 8 million people. Historically a crossroads of three cultures – Hispanic, Jewish and Arabic – it has enjoyed remarkable growth and development over the past decades, but still lags behind the Spanish averages in key socio-economic indicators.

The recent economic crisis has affected Andalusia more than other regions. How can the region and its universities fuel local growth and create jobs and new businesses? How can the Andalusian University System improve students’ learning and employment outcomes? How can the region capitalise on its existing assets and promising clusters?

This publication is part of the series of OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

Berlin is a creative city attracting talent from around the world. The Berlin Senate has made great strides in developing innovation as a pillar of its economy. But challenges remain: there is long-term unemployment, a low absorptive capacity in small and medium-sized enterprises and a large migrant population that lags behind in educational and labour market outcomes.

How can Berlin’s higher education institutions capitalise on their long tradition of professionally relevant learning and research to transform social, economic and environmental challenges into assets and opportunities? What incentives are needed to improve higher education institutions´ regional and local orientation?

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for Berlin’s development. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

The Bío Bío Region has pioneered regional development in Chile. It has a high concentration of higher education and research activity. Its universities and other higher education institutions have made significant progress in widening access to education. But challenges remain: the Bío Bío Region continues to suffer from brain drain as well as higher than average unemployment and poverty rates.

How can the Bío Bío Region promote new business formation and the development of the existing small and medium-sized companies? What incentives are needed to improve higher education institutions’ regional and local orientation? How can higher education institutions move from knowledge generation towards knowledge transfer?

This joint OECD and World Bank review explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of the Bío Bío Region. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

The Paso del Norte Region is the largest metropolitan area on the US-Mexican border, with Ciudad Juárez as a major manufacturing centre. However, the economic performance on both sides of the border region is below the OECD average. The long-term competitiveness of the region is under threat due to ongoing violence, brain drain and environmental degradation.

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for regional development. It is part of the series of the OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and brings together universities, other higher education institutions, and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

Outside the Netherlands Rotterdam is best known for its port – once the busiest in the world, and still the busiest in Europe. But the docks have moved steadily downstream and the centre of Rotterdam is very different from what it was even 50 years ago.

A young and dynamic city, Rotterdam is one of the few in Europe where the average age of the population is decreasing. It is ethnically and culturally diverse and has high potential for attracting the “creative class”.

The Rotterdam region is home to two leading research universities and several other innovative higher education institutions. This report looks at how to encourage growth in the Rotterdam region, through the transfer of technology and knowledge, and through realising the potential of its people.

This publication is part of the series of OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

With a population of over 7 million Veracruz is the third most populous state in Mexico. Veracruz features a traditional and resource-based economy, low skilled population and high poverty rates.

How can Veracruz transform itself from a lagging and under-performing region into a centre of knowledge and innovation? How can the universities improve the relevance and quality of their teaching and research? How can the pathways between technological institutes and universities be improved? How can Veracruz capitalise on the ongoing university social service programmes to create a more comprehensive approach to regional development? 

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of Veracruz

The State of Victoria is a knowledge-intensive centre for Australia: educational services are Victoria’s strongest export worth more than AUD 5 billion, surpassing tourism and automotive sectors. Victoria is a magnet for immigration, and the international student enrolment represents over 30% of the total for Australia.
 
The higher education system in Australia is moving to a more competitive phase with the decision that the government funding will follow students wherever they choose to enroll. How can Victoria continue to increase participation in higher education and widen access to lower socio-economic groups? How can its higher education institutions help transform Victoria into an innovative state with knowledge-intensive industries and jobs?

This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for the development of the State of Victoria.

Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010 is a companion publication to the OECD’s flagship compendium of education statistics, Education at a Glance. It provides easily accessible data on key topics in education today, including: education levels and student numbers, economic and social benefits of education, education spending, the school environment (hours of instruction, class size, etc.) and school choice and parent voice.

Each indicator is presented on a two-page spread. The left-hand page explains the significance of the indicator, discusses the main findings, examines key trends and provides readers with a roadmap for finding out more in the OECD education databases and in other OECD education publications. The right-hand page contains clearly presented charts and tables, accompanied by dynamic hyperlinks (StatLinks) that direct readers to the corresponding data in Excel™ format. Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010 is an ideal introduction to the OECD’s unrivalled collection of internationally comparable data on education and learning. 

Today’s global policy climate underlines the importance of better addressing non-economic dimensions of well-being and social progress such as health, social engagement, political interest and crime. Education plays an important role in shaping indicators of progress. However, we understand little about the causal effects, the causal pathways, the role of contexts and the relative impacts that different educational interventions have on social outcomes.

This report addresses challenges in assessing the social outcomes of learning by providing a synthesis of the existing evidence, original data analyses and policy discussions. The report finds that education has the potential to promote health as well as civic and social engagement. Education may reduce inequalities by fostering cognitive, social and emotional skills and promoting healthy lifestyles, participatory practices and norms. These efforts are most likely to be successful when family and community environments are aligned with the efforts made in educational institutions. This calls for ensuring policy coherence across sectors and stages of education.

This report develops comparative knowledge for reforms in teacher and school management policies in the context of an OECD member country: Mexico. Mexico’s education outcomes can be improved by enhancing the effectiveness of its schools. The standards gap between the performance of students in Mexico and other OECD countries can only be reduced if schools become good at what they do. This report looks at key issues and challenges faced by the Mexican education system and provides policy recommendations on school management, leadership and teacher policies. These recommendations have been developed by considering the outcomes, quality and standards of education and schools in Mexico in terms of what is known internationally about effective schools, and by adapting this knowledge to the Mexican context.

The report has two audiences: It aims to support the Mexican government and key actors in the education system to develop long-term vision and policy in the areas of school management, school leadership, social participation, selection and recruitment of teachers, teacher education, professional development, and evaluation policies in Mexico. At the same time, it provides valuable knowledge in education policy development and implementation useful for other OECD member and partner countries that are in the process of reforming their education systems.