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Ensuring Quality Vocational and Higher Education in Lithuania
Following a series of reforms in higher education and vocational education and training (VET), Lithuania identified a need to improve the coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of its external evaluation and quality assurance (QA) systems for both sectors. Drawing on insights from nine comparator systems and OECD-wide data, the report offers recommendations and a proposed roadmap for Lithuania to strengthen the external evaluation and QA systems for higher education and VET as well as build a wider ecosystem for pedagogical enhancement and policies to build supportive framework conditions for quality and relevance. This report was prepared by the OECD as part of the Project "Strengthening the system of evaluation and quality assurance in higher education and vocational education and training in Lithuania”, funded by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument, and produced at the request of, and in close collaboration with, the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, and the European Commission.
Unlocking High-Quality Teaching
In an era of rapid change, it is important to not lose sight of the potential of high-quality teaching and the power of refining teaching practices that have demonstrated impact. This report aims to deepen understanding of the complexities of teaching and its multifaceted nature as a discipline grounded in scientific research, but so too an art requiring creativity and a craft necessitating constant collaborative reflection and improvement.
Focusing on 20 practices that support five key goals of high-quality teaching, this report draws from extensive research to delineate what we know – and what remains to be understood – about each. It also has built on the qualitative insights of more than 150 schools from 40 countries to better understand the complex realities of implementing these practices in day-to-day teaching.
Achieving high-quality teaching is not a solitary pursuit; it also depends on the school environment, and the report explores how school leaders can enable high-quality teaching.
Constructing Scenarios for the Future of Teaching in Wales
Modernisation of Higher Education Institutions Procedure in Bulgaria: Interim Evaluation and Lessons for Educational Programming
Higher education institutions in Bulgaria, like those elsewhere, are adapting to digital transformation, innovative teaching methods, and creating the conditions for inter-institutional collaboration. The Modernisation of Higher Education Institutions procedure was designed to support this shift. Funded through the European Social Fund (ESF), it aimed to expand digital learning, update higher education programmes, and strengthen their connection with the labour market.
This evaluation assesses the initiative’s achievements and implementation, examining its design, project selection, and execution within the broader higher education policy landscape in Bulgaria. It finds that the procedure made progress in expanding digital learning, fostering inter-university cooperation, and equipping educators with new skills. However, more structural changes – such as embedding competency-based education and ensuring the long-term sustainability of joint programmes – proved more challenging to achieve.
While statutory and funding constraints posed some obstacles to effective implementation, the initiative was able to lay the groundwork for long-term improvements in Bulgaria’s higher education system, offering valuable insights for shaping future higher education reforms.
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Bulgaria's Equal Access to School Education in Times of Crisis Project: Final Evaluation
What Shapes Pathways and Transitions?: A Comparative Perspective on Learners’ Trajectories through Upper Secondary Education in Wales
Amidst a context of ongoing educational reforms, Wales is striving to support strong pathways and smooth transitions for upper secondary learners. This report was commissioned to support Wales’ ambitions for implementing the Curriculum for Wales and developing a cohesive, learner-centered upper secondary education system. The report explores how, internationally, countries organise upper secondary education, including the design of curricula and qualifications, and how these shape learner pathways and transitions. Drawing on insights from eight comparison systems and OECD-wide data, the report highlights policy pointers for Wales to support progression in learners’ pathways and to enable transitions to further and higher education – and the world beyond – for all learners.
Everybody Cares About Using Education Research Sometimes: Perspectives of Knowledge Intermediaries
Building on the insights of the first two publications in the Strengthening the Impact of Education Research series, this third and final report shifts the focus from policy makers to the field, exploring the pivotal role of knowledge intermediaries. These organisations facilitate engagement with research among policy makers and practitioners, supporting evidence-informed decision making and practices in education. Drawing on new data from 288 such organisations across 34 countries, the report delves into the ways these intermediaries bridge the gap between education research, policy and practice. It highlights their efforts to disseminate evidence, foster collaboration, and build capacity for research use, while also identifying gaps in skills and infrastructure that demonstrate the need for further professionalisation of knowledge mobilisation. By offering actionable insights for policy makers, practitioners, researchers and intermediaries, this report emphasises the importance of co-ordination, evaluative thinking, and system-level strategies to maximise the impact of education research. It serves as a valuable resource for those seeking to understand and enhance the landscape of knowledge mobilisation, ensuring that education systems are better equipped to integrate evidence into policy and practice.
Transforming General Upper Secondary Education in Ukraine: Insights from International Experiences
Ukraine's New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform aims to make schooling engaging and stimulating by focusing on each student's personal development and their acquisition of key competencies. At the upper secondary level, implementing the NUS implies major changes in the country's Academic Lyceums. The OECD has developed this report to provide insights and advice for Ukraine’s reforms based on international evidence and experience. It combines analysis of international data, research, the experiences of country peers and Ukraine’s own recent experiences of implementing reforms. It provides policy options to support Ukraine’s ambitions to transform general upper secondary education in the country.
Reducing Inequalities by Investing in Early Childhood Education and Care
The early years set the foundations for children’s development and learning trajectories in life. Early inequalities can put children on divergent paths, but Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policies can level opportunities from the start, with lasting economic and social benefits. Addressing gaps in participation in ECEC and strengthening its quality and inclusivity represent essential steps to support young children and families and reduce inequalities.
Leveraging insights from recent research, this report discusses the drivers of inequalities in early childhood and the place of ECEC within the landscape of mitigating policies. It develops a policy roadmap for ECEC to better support equity and inclusion.
Trends Shaping Education 2025
Did you ever wonder how rising inequality and polarisation will shape education? Or how advances in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies could transform teaching and learning?
Trends Shaping Education is a triennial report exploring the social, technological, economic, environmental and political forces transforming education systems worldwide. The trends are robust, but the questions raised in this report are suggestive. They are designed to inspire reflection and inform strategic thinking on how global trends might transform education and how education can shape a better future.
The 2025 edition explores a rich array of topics related to the key themes of global conflict and cooperation, work and progress, voices and storytelling, and bodies and minds. It builds on foresight exercises from previous editions, while introducing a range of new futures thinking tools to inspire reflection and action.
Empowered Citizens, Informed Consumers and Skilled Workers: Designing Education and Skills Policies for a Sustainable Future
The challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution have become defining issues of our time. These crises are global in scope, affecting all regions of the planet, with impacts felt across all sectors of society. Facing these daunting challenges requires rethinking how we engage with the environment and, more deeply, how human systems in general operate. Education is at the heart of this transformative effort. It enables individuals to grasp the complexities of environmental systems, understand the interconnectedness of ecological, social, and economic factors, and ultimately take informed and responsible action. This report takes a strategic life-span perspective on education and skills policies for a sustainable future, spanning from primary schooling to higher education and lifelong learning. Drawing on multi-disciplinary insights and examples of policies and practices from around the world, it provides actionable insights and recommendations on the role that education and training systems can play in fostering transformative change and building resilient societies. These recommendations focus on (1) empowering citizens and communities for action, (2) fostering informed consumption and lifestyle choices, and (3) equipping individuals with the skills needed for changing labour markets in response to the greening of economies and societies.
An Evolution of Mathematics Curriculum: Where It Was, Where It Stands and Where It Is Going
The OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 report on mathematics curriculum presents first-of-its-kind comparative data on how countries are adapting curricula to meet the demands of the 21st century. The project’s unique data illustrate a 25-year evolution of mathematics curricula in various countries, looking at content coverage and the integration of essential 21st-century skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and data literacy. The findings show how mathematics as a school discipline – a traditionally “hard-to-change” subject given its foundational and hierarchical nature – is undergoing transformation to meet societal and technological demands. Using a collaborative “co-creation” approach, the report synthesises inputs from a wide range of stakeholders including policy makers, academic experts, school leaders, teachers, NGOs, social partners and, most importantly, students. This broad, inclusive perspective enriches the report with insights on implementation gaps, students’ voice, and promising examples on how to embed future-oriented competencies alongside rigorous content into mathematics curriculum.
Education in the Eastern Partnership: Findings from PISA
The countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) – an initiative between the Member States of the European Union and Eastern European and South Caucasus countries – are navigating significant challenges while striving for sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. Education plays a crucial role in unlocking the potential of digitalisation and the green transition, offering pathways for economic diversification and innovation. This report, developed in co-operation with the European Commission and UNICEF, analyses PISA data for the EaP countries and economies that participated in PISA 2022: Baku (Azerbaijan), Georgia, Moldova, and Ukrainian regions. It identifies the strengths and challenges within these education systems and provides recommendations on how to build more resilient, equitable, and high-performing systems to support economic and social goals. This report will be of particular interest to policymakers and stakeholders dedicated to advancing education across the Eastern Partnership region.
Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023
The 2023 Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), provides a comprehensive overview of adults' literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem solving skills – skills that are fundamental for personal, economic, and societal development. These key information-processing skills provide the foundation for access to employment, higher wages and continuous learning, while enabling individuals to navigate the complexities of their personal and civic lives. A total of 31 countries and economies, mostly OECD members, participated in the 2023 survey. As 27 of these countries also participated in the previous cycle of the Survey of Adult Skills, the data provide valuable insights into how literacy and numeracy skills have evolved over the past decade.
Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023 presents the state of adult skills and their evolution over the last decade and explores the relationship between these skills and economic and social outcomes. It highlights the importance of developing and maintaining skills in today's dynamic world. This report's Reader’s Companion, which describes the design and methodology of the survey and its relationship to other international skills assessments conducted by the OECD, is also available.
Education Policy Outlook 2024: Reshaping Teaching into a Thriving Profession from ABCs to AI
Teacher shortages have intensified across several OECD countries, making this an urgent priority for education systems. Between 2015 and 2022, the share of students whose principals reported shortages rose from 29% to 46.7% on average across the OECD. Simultaneously, rapid technological advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and broader socio-economic shifts, increase the need to support teachers in delivering quality education in evolving contexts. Addressing both the number of teachers and ensuring they possess the skills to meet new educational needs is essential for student success. This report presents a policy roadmap to help education systems balance the supply and demand for quality teaching in these changing times. Drawing on responses from 33 education systems to the Education Policy Outlook National Survey for Comparative Analysis, as well as additional evidence, the report outlines current challenges and key factors in their interplay. It also explores policy responses to attract, retain, and develop teachers, enhancing their teaching practices and professional learning. In doing so, the report aims to support countries in advancing the goals set by the 2022 OECD Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education. This report is part of the Education Policy Outlook series – the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy.
PISA 2022 Results (Volume V): Learning Strategies and Attitudes for Life
The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) does more than assess what students know. PISA examines how they use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges, offering invaluable insights into both the quality and equity of education worldwide. In this final volume of the PISA 2022 initial report, Volume V: Learning Strategies and Attitudes for Life takes a deep dive into one of the most critical aspects of modern education: students' readiness for lifelong learning. This volume explores how education systems prepare students to navigate and thrive in an unpredictable future, focusing on their learning strategies, motivation and self-beliefs. It also delves into the role of socio-economic background, gender and the support students receive from parents and teachers in shaping their readiness for sustained lifelong learning. As education evolves to meet the challenges of tomorrow, this volume provides crucial insights for educators and policy makers who want to foster resilient, self-directed learners who are ready to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Mathematics for Life and Work: A Comparative Perspective on Mathematics to Inform Upper Secondary Reform in England
Engagement and performance in mathematics at the upper secondary level have been the concern of successive governments in England. This report was commissioned as part of the country's policy reflections for transforming how maths is viewed and experienced in England. The report explores outcomes such as the share of students studying maths and performance across countries, and how education systems internationally deliver mathematics in upper secondary. It also examines factors shaping maths education, including the expectations set by curricula, student pathways, cultural perceptions, and the needs of the labour market and higher education.
Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning Across the Globe: Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023
The OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) 2023 represents the largest global initiative to gather comparable data on the development of social and emotional skills - including creativity, empathy, achievement motivation, responsibility and collaboration skills - among 10- and 15-year-old students. The report - Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning Across the Globe - reveals striking disparities both within and between participating countries and subnational entities in how these critical skills are fostered in schools, homes and society. These findings offer insights into the relationship between educational environments and student outcomes, highlighting the urgent need for improvements. Key recommendations focus on enhancing school policies and practices (e.g. teachers’ feedback, training, preparedness and attitudes; teaching of these skills across subjects offline, digitally and remotely; and extra-curricular activities), improving school climates (e.g. student belonging; relationships; and handling of bullying and stress), and advancing gender equality (e.g. challenging stereotypes; and ensuring equitable access to careers and parental support for skill development). This report serves as a vital resource for policymakers and practitioners seeking to improve social-emotional learning worldwide.
Education at a Glance 2024: OECD Indicators
Chart of the month: Results from the 2023 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)
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Education policies: Adult competencies 
Source: PIAAC
