Browse by: "R"

Ireland was one of the first European countries to grasp the economic importance of education. But higher education in Ireland is now at a crossroads, with significant challenges to overcome.  High levels of investment are needed for a major expansion of postgraduate studies and capacity for research, development and innovation. Mechanisms should be established to achieve the right balance between different components of the tertiary education system, which includes universities, institutes of technology and colleges that provide post-secondary level instruction. Further, there is a need to meet the demands of specialisation, competition and complementarities within the system.  This report addresses the full range of higher education issues, offers recommendations for action within the framework of the government’s ambitions for the sector and suggests policy approaches to developing required additional sources of funding.

OECD's 2001 review of Estonia's education system. Reform of education, training and human resource development is an integral part of the transition to a democratic society and market economy. This report finds that Estonia has made progress in all these areas since reform began in 1990. The challenge for the Ministry of Education has been to promote and support changes that meet the needs of the new economy and society as well as the interests of all young people and adults, in the face of a shortage of financial and human resources. This book first gives a brief overview of regional issues and a history of education in Estonia and describes the development of education in the country since the political changes. It then presents an analysis of the entire education system and identifies key directions for the reinforcement of the reforms in light of the challenges encountered by officials, communities, enterprises, educators, parents and students under very dynamic conditions. It concludes with a set of key recommendations of goals of education, learning effectiveness, outcomes and the curriculum, management and governance for flexibility, responsiveness and change, and resources and financing.

Gives a brief overview of regional issues and the history of education in the Dominican Republic and describes the development of education in the country over the past 15 years. It presents an analysis of the education system, identifying key directions for the reinforcement of the reforms in light of the challenges encountered by officials, communities, enterprises, educators, parents and students under very dynamic conditions. It concludes with a set of key recommendations concerning the structure of the system and its labour market relevance; access and equity; financing; governance and management; internationalisation; and research, development and innovation.

The results of PISA 2000, OECD's groundbreaking comparison of the educational outcomes of 15-year-olds, shook the belief of Danes that theirs was the best education system in the world.  In this report, a team of examiners determines why Denmark did worse than expected and recommends a series of steps to better evaluate performance, to overcome the effects of family backgrounds on student outcomes, to better equip school leaders and teachers, and to enhance the flexibility of the agreement governing tasks and hours of school staff.

Reviews of National Policies for Education: Chile covers the entire system of Chilean education from pre-school through tertiary education and lifelong learning for all, and analyses it in terms of its economic, social and political impact. 

This review presents an overview of the S&T sector in Bulgaria and its links to education.  Topics covered include the legislative framework; institutional arrangements for research and teaching; budgeting mechanisms; regional and international co-operation including EU policy initiatives; and the impact of brain drain and ageing on human resources.  Sample case studies and best practices in S&T policy-making are provided to illustrate the analysis.  The final chapter includes a series of recommendations.

This book gives an overview of the Bulgarian education system and describes its development since its development over the past decade. It provides an analysis of the entire education system, and identifies key directions for the reinforcement of the reform process in light of the challenges encountered by officials, communities, enterprises, educators, parents and students under rather difficult conditions.

This review of education policies in Turkey takes place at a critical point in the nation’s history. An improving economy, greater governmental continuity and a more stable social environment, coupled with the extraordinary challenge of Turkey’s candidacy for EU accession, provide an unprecedented opportunity for a new phase of education reform. Over the past decade, Turkey has pursued a striking education reform agenda focused on implementing eight-year basic and compulsory education and increasing the participation of girls at the primary education level. The nation must now complement the drive for increasing enrolments and participation with efforts to improve quality. To reach the levels of education attainment and performance of the most advanced countries in Europe and OECD, Turkey must undertake sustained, multi-year, systemic reforms of its education system.

The stock of laws has been growing steadily over time in countries as a result of governments responding to new and emerging challenges. Yet these and other new laws do not always fit well with existing regulatory frameworks, especially as economies and countries are becoming ever-increasingly more interconnected. The OECD Best Practice Principles for Reviewing the Stock of Regulation offers a practical and flexible framework for countries to follow when reviewing laws. The principles provide assistance to countries in establishing their ex post evaluation regimes, whilst also providing practical guidance about relevant methodologies to adopt. This report is part of a series on “best practice principles” produced under the auspices of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee. As with other reports in the series, it extends and elaborates on principles highlighted in the 2012 Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance.

This publication identifies the main regulatory obstacles of the following transport sectors in Mexico: road transport, railways, ports, border crossing, and airway passengers. The report also offers recommendations to improve the quality of the regulatory framework of these sectors.

The report assesses the enforcement of the Republic of Kazakhstan's law on access to information with a focus on the practices of the Kazakhstan Commission on Access to Information. It benchmarks the Commission’s mandate and functions against those of similar access-to-information oversight bodies in OECD countries. The report compares the legal nature and the institutional structure of these institutions, focusing on the availability and effectiveness of appeal mechanisms. It proposes ways to align the Commission with similar bodies in OECD countries by adopting good practices or revising current legislation.

This report presents the OECD's assessment of recent developments in Israel in the area of labour market and social policy. It focuses on recent trends in poverty and employment outcomes and policy development to improve employment opportunities, especially for the Arab and Haredi communities.

International regulatory co-operation (IRC) provides an opportunity for countries to consider the impacts of their regulations beyond their borders, to expand the evidence for decision-making, to learn from the experience of their peers and to develop concerted approaches to challenges that transcend borders. This review documents the context of IRC policies and practices in the United Kingdom. It covers both the UK’s unilateral efforts to embed international considerations in domestic rulemaking and its bilateral, regional and multilateral co-operative efforts on regulatory matters. In addition, the review provides a snapshot of IRC in practice in the United Kingdom with four case studies on financial services, nuclear energy, medical and healthcare products and product safety. At a time when IRC is an increasingly essential, yet largely untapped, tool for addressing transboundary policy challenges, this review offers valuable lessons to countries within the OECD and beyond.

International regulatory co-operation (IRC) represents an important opportunity for countries, and in particular domestic regulators, to consider the impacts of their regulations beyond their borders, expand the evidence for decision-making, learn from the experience of their peers, and develop concerted approaches to challenges that transcend borders. This report provides the first OECD assessment of a country’s IRC framework and practices. Mexico’s active efforts to embrace globalisation are reflected in many aspects of its domestic policies, practices and institutions. On one hand, it has undertaken unilateral efforts to embed international considerations in its domestic rule-making through regulatory improvement disciplines and with the consideration of international standards in the drafting of technical regulations. On the other hand, the Mexican government and individual regulators also engage extensively in co-operative efforts on regulatory matters, at the bilateral, regional and multilateral level. Based on the overview of Mexico’s practices and comparison with other OECD countries, the review recommends three areas for improvement: designing a horizontal government-wide strategy for IRC, enhancing information about the tools and benefits of IRC, and offering the necessary tools to support systematic implementation of IRC.

Spent nuclear fuel contains minor actinides (MAs) such as neptunium, americium and curium, which require careful management. This becomes even more important when mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is being used on a large scale since more MAs will accumulate in the spent fuel. One way to manage these MAs is to transmute them in nuclear reactors, including in light water reactors, fast reactors or accelerator-driven subcritical systems. The transmutation of MAs, however, is not straightforward, as the loading of MAs generally affects physics parameters, such as coolant void, Doppler and burn-up reactivity. This report focuses on nuclear data requirements for minor actinide management, the review of existing integral data and the determination of required experimental work, the identification of bottlenecks and possible solutions, and the recommendation of an action programme for international co-operation.

The Review of Inclusive Education in Portugal provides, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion in education in Portugal, current policy initiatives, and possible future approaches. The report serves three purposes: i) to provide insights and advice to Portuguese education authorities; ii) to help other countries understand the Portuguese approach to inclusive education; and iii) to provide input for comparative analyses of the OECD Strength through Diversity project. The scope for the analysis in this report covers primary (including 1^st and 2^nd cycle of basic education) and secondary education (including 3^rd cycle of basic education and upper secondary). The analysis in the report focuses on the following areas: i) governance and financing of inclusive education; ii) capacity building; iii) school-level interventions and iv) monitoring and evaluation. This report will be of interest in Portugal and other countries looking to improve the equity and inclusion in their education systems.

This report aims to provide G7 agricultural policy makers with insights to better understand the design, objectives and mechanisms of national and regional, voluntary and mandatory due diligence-related measures. The report creates a fact-based selective inventory for policy makers to identify common elements across the measures with a view to strengthening, where possible, coherence of G7 policy responses to promote responsible business conduct in agricultural supply chains. The inventory also aims to help companies understand different national and regional standards by highlighting synergies and, where applicable discrepancies, to enable and support effective implementation.

This publication describes major developments affecting fisheries in OECD countries, including changes in government policies, trade, and fisheries and aquaculture production. Summary statistics are included for each country.