This report offers an initial overview of the available information regarding the circumstances, nature and outcomes of the education of schoolchildren during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns of March-April 2020. Its purpose is primarily descriptive: it presents information from high quality quantitative studies on the experience of learning during this period in order to ground the examination and discussion of these issues in empirical examples. Information is presented on three interrelated topics: the nature of the educational experience during the period of lockdowns and school closures; the home environment in which education took place for the vast majority of schoolchildren; the effects on the mental health and learning outcomes for children during this period. The data come primarily from 5 countries (France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States) with additional information on some aspects for 6 additional countries (Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Finland, Italy and the Netherlands).

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What knowledge do teachers need for 21st century teaching? Today, teachers have an important role in guiding and shaping students’ use of digital tools and optimising the educational benefits of their digital experiences. They are also agents of inclusive, equitable education and ambassadors of embracing diversity as an enriching element of our societies. To fulfil these roles teachers need to be experts of teaching and learning, and base their practice on a specialised and updated body of knowledge. However, there is a great need for a better understanding of the knowledge and skills that teaching in the 21st century requires. This is the ambition for the next cycle of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and its new Teacher Knowledge Survey (TKS) assessment module.

Studying teaching as a knowledge profession across education systems is as challenging as it is important. This publication aims to contribute to this challenging endeavour by summarising the state-of-art on teacher knowledge and its measurement across systems. It discusses cutting-edge methodologies and designs and outlines implications for research as well as policies and practices for strengthening knowledge-based and evidence-informed practices in schools.

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Digital technologies are increasingly present in young children’s lives. How can early education systems get the best out of digitalisation while minimising its risks? This is especially urgent as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our reliance on digital tools – tools that enabled young children to continue learning when early education centres and primary schools closed down. It is in this context that the OECD conducted a policy survey covering 34 countries and jurisdictions. It investigates how digital technologies were used to provide distance education for young children in 2020, which challenges arose and what policy changes are in the pipeline for early education.

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Developing, promoting and maintaining a good professional teaching workforce from primary to upper secondary education is a policy imperative for education systems around the world. The data drawn from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) can help policy makers and education practitioners design policies and practices that enhance teaching across education levels. This report presents TALIS 2018 findings for countries and economies that took part in the primary and upper secondary education survey. It focuses on the following research questions: What are the levels of teachers’ and school leaders’ professionalism in primary and upper secondary education? What are some of the educational challenges unique to each education level? What are the factors that could explain differences in the levels of professionalism across education levels? The findings offer a broader view of teachers and school principals across all levels of compulsory education and the similarities and differences in the issues they face. The report also offers policy reflections on these findings.

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Education at a Glance is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of partner economies. More than 100 charts and tables in this publication – as well as links to much more available on the educational database – provide key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools.
The 2021 edition includes a focus on equity, investigating how progress through education and the associated learning and labour market outcomes are impacted by dimensions such as gender, socio-economic status, country of birth and regional location. A specific chapter is dedicated to Target 4.5 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equity in education, providing an assessment of where OECD and partner countries stand in providing equal access to quality education at all levels. Two new indicators on the mechanisms and formulas used to allocate public funding to schools and on teacher attrition rate complement this year's edition.

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Over the last few years, social and emotional skills have been rising on the education policy agenda and in the public debate. Policy makers and education practitioners are seeking ways to complement the focus on academic learning, with attention to social and emotional skill development. Social and emotional skills are a subset of an individual’s abilities, attributes and characteristics important for individual success and social functioning. Together, they encompass a comprehensive set of skills essential for students to be able to succeed at school, at work and fully participate in society as active citizens.
The OECD's Survey of Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) is one of the first international efforts to collect data from students, parents and teachers on the social and emotional skills of students at ages 10 and 15. This first report describes students' social and emotional skills and how they relate to individual, family, and school characteristics. It also examines broader policy and socio-economic contexts related to these skills, and sheds light on ways to help education leaders and policy makers monitor and foster students’ social and emotional skills.

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Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have clear aspirations to strengthen civic participation and increase prosperity for all. A highly skilled and knowledgeable population is critical to achieving these goals, which makes creating and maintaining high quality and equitable education systems a vital part of regional development efforts. Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that learning outcomes in the region have generally improved, but that the improvement has not been equitable. While countries in the region are producing some of the top performing students in the world, many other students are being left behind.
This report jointly developed by OECD and UNICEF, analyses PISA data in detail to identify the strengths, challenges and unique features of education systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Drawing upon a rich knowledge base of education policy and practice in the region, it makes recommendations about how systems in the region can provide an excellent education for all students. This report will be of interest to regional policy-makers as well as individuals who wish to learn more about education in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine).

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In light of recent education reforms, Brazil is currently considering a series of changes to the purpose and design of its Basic Education Assessment System (Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica, SAEB), which has been a critical source of information about student learning outcomes for the past 30 years. To inform these discussions, the OECD was invited to review a set of policy proposals for reforming the current SAEB so that it more closely aligns with Brazil's new learning standards and provides data to support a range of education actors - from the classroom to the ministry - in their efforts to raise educational performance and reduce inequalities. The findings from this OECD Review are set out in this policy perspective.

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The Welsh Government asked the OECD to undertake a targeted diagnostic study of Wales' system for teachers' Continuing Professional Learning (CPL). Drawing on findings from interviews with Welsh stakeholders and schools, as well as document review, the study team identified strengths and weaknesses of the continuing professional learning system in Wales, as well as opportunities and threats going forward, which are presented in this policy perspective.

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The higher education experience was markedly different than usual for those enrolling during the pandemic. Higher education institutions of all kinds found their instructional methods profoundly disrupted by the closure of their physical campuses, and the crisis exposed the urgent need for policy makers and institutional leaders to adjust their established educational and policy models. The OECD has collected comparative statistics across a number of education systems to track developments throughout the pandemic, including the impact on the higher education sector. This report presents the results of this data collection and what it means for the future of higher education.

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What progress has Brazil’s education system made over the last decade and what key policy steps could be taken to address persistent challenges? Three new reports offer OECD insights in response to these questions. Education in Brazil: An International Perspective explores the main challenges of quality and equity, benchmarking Brazil’s education system with OECD and a set of comparator emerging economies across a comprehensive set of indicators. Education Policy Outlook: Brazil – with a focus on National and Subnational Policies and Education Policy Outlook: Brazil – with a focus on International Policies provide a
synthesised analysis of the current context. The former analyses the evolution of ongoing and emerging policy efforts in Brazil, including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter offers relevant international policy examples that may serve as inspiration for policy makers in Brazil. Together, the three reports provide a comprehensive view of the state of Brazil’s education system, from early childhood education and care to higher education. They offer both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective of strengths, challenges and priorities going forward, as well as clear pointers for action.

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Widespread school closures made headlines across the world during the pandemic, with over 1 billion of students experiencing disruptions to their schooling. The vocational education and training (VET) sector has faced particular challenges during the crisis, most notably the fact that the digital learning environments that most education institutions had to rely on during closures don’t work as well for practice-oriented learning - a core component of VET instruction - as they do for academic learning. The OECD has collected comparative statistics and policy information across a number of education systems to track developments throughout the pandemic, including the impact on the vocational education and training sector. This report presents the results of this analysis and where the VET sector finds itself in these difficult times.

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Children’s learning, development and well-being are directly influenced by their daily interactions with other children, adults, their families and the environment. This interactive process is known as “process quality”, and leads to a key question – which policies set the best conditions for children to experience high-quality interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings? This report discusses five main policy levers and their effect on process quality, focusing particularly on curriculum and pedagogy, and workforce development. It presents indicators covering 26 countries and jurisdictions, 56 different curriculum frameworks, and more than 120 different types of ECEC settings.

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Students in Scotland (United Kingdom) engage in learning through Curriculum for Excellence, which aims to provide them with a holistic, coherent, and future-oriented approach to learning between the ages of 3 and 18. Curriculum for Excellence offers an inspiring and widely supported philosophy of education. Schools design their own curriculum based on a common framework which allows for effective curricular practices. In 2020, Scotland invited the OECD to assess the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence in primary and secondary schools to understand how school curricula have been designed and implemented in recent years. This report analyses the progress made with Curriculum for Excellence since 2015, building upon several months of observations in Scotland, the existing literature and experiences from other OECD countries. The OECD analysis and recommendations aim to support Scotland as it further enhances Curriculum for Excellence to achieve its potential for the present and future of its learners. Just as Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence was among the pioneers of 21st century learning, its most recent developments hold valuable lessons for other education systems and their own curriculum policies.

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How might digital technology and notably smart technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI), learning analytics, robotics, and others transform education? This book explores such question. It focuses on how smart technologies currently change education in the classroom and the management of educational organisations and systems. The book delves into beneficial uses of smart technologies such as learning personalisation, supporting students with special learning needs, and blockchain diploma credentialing. It also considers challenges and areas for further research. The findings offer pathways for teachers, policy makers, and educational institutions to digitalise education while optimising equity and inclusivity.

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On 25 May, Costa Rica formally became a member of the OECD, the 38th country to do so in the Organisation’s 60-year history. To celebrate the occasion, we are pleased to provide you with access to the OECD’s substantial resources focusing on Costa Rica, including:

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For the first time, the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 project conducted comprehensive curriculum analyses through the co-creation of new knowledge with a wide range of stakeholders including policy makers, academic experts, school leaders, teachers, NGOs, other social partners and, most importantly, students. This report is one of six presenting the first-ever comparative analyses on curriculum, summarising existing literature, listing challenges and strategies countries reported, and suggesting lessons learned from unintended consequences countries experienced with their curriculum reforms.
Major trends in curriculum innovations towards a "21st century curriculum" have emerged as four types: digital curriculum, personalised curriculum, cross-curricular competencies and content-based curriculum, and flexible curriculum. While these innovations hold the promise to enhance student learning and well-being, and to make learning more relevant for their social and future life, countries and schools also face the complex realities of equity gaps among students. This report takes a pragmatic look at equality, equity and inclusion in curriculum. It examines how curriculum can be adapted to meet specific needs of diverse learners, particularly vulnerable students. It also features a range of strategies which countries use to design curriculum, so that no student will be left behind.

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The Flemish Government asked the OECD to undertake a targeted diagnostic study of the Flemish system for teachers’ Continuing Professional Learning (CPL). Drawing on findings from interviews with Flemish stakeholders and schools, as well as document review, the study team identified strengths and weaknesses of the continuing professional learning system in the Flemish Community of Belgium, as well as opportunities and threats in going forward, which are presented in this policy perspective.

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