Working together to build the culture of learning in the Netherlands

by Andreas Schleicher Director for Education and Skills, OECDThe Dutch are known for making a virtue of necessity. Now is a time when their reputation will be put to the test.The Netherlands’ economy and society are being transformed by technological change, increased economic integration, population ageing, increased migration and other pressures. A highly skilled population with the opportunities,...

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Learning in school as a social activity

by Mario PiacentiniAnalyst, OECD Directorate for Education and SkillsWhat do 15-year-old students really need from school and what can school give them for their personal growth? The third volume of PISA 2015 results on students' well-being shows how important it is that education helps them develop not only knowledge and cognitive skills, but also the social and emotional competencies and resilience...

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Country Roads: Education and Rural Life

by Marc FusterConsultant, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills“Country roads, take me home” sang John Denver a while ago and, in fact, improvements in transportation and communication technologies have brought our cities and towns closer together. Some rural regions benefit today from their proximity to social and economic urban centres to attract people and enhance their economic competitiveness....

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Developing an agenda for research and education in Wales

by Hannah von AhlefeldProject Lead, TALIS Initial Teacher Preparation study, OECD Directorate for Education and SkillsIt’s an exciting time in Wales for education. In the wake of a number of high-profile reports by the OECD and leading international experts urging change in teacher education, Wales is implementing a wave of reforms designed to improve delivery of teacher education. There is a...

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Does the world need people who understand problems, or who can solve them?

by Dirk Van DammeHead of the Innovation and Measuring Progress Division, Directorate for Education and Skills The label “21st -century skills” is being increasingly used, and sometimes misused, to indicate that the rapidly changing economic, social and cultural environment of the current century demands a revision of what we think are crucial subjects for the next generations to learn. Examples...

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Building tax systems to foster better skills

by Pascal Saint-AmansDirector, Centre for Tax Policy and AdministrationAndreas SchleicherDirector, OECD Directorate for Education and SkillsInvesting in skills is crucial for fostering inclusive economic growth and creating strong societies. In an increasingly connected world, skills are particularly important for citizens to get the most out of new forms of capital, such as big data and robotics....

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Preparing teachers for change – in and outside of the profession

by Andreas SchleicherDirector, OECD Directorate for Education and SkillsEvery year in March, education ministers and union leaders of the highest-performing and most rapidly improving education systems (according to PISA) meet to seek ways to improve the status of the teaching profession. Many countries could use such guidance. While in Finland teaching has become the most prestigious profession –...

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How to return to the “gold standard” for education

by Andreas SchleicherDirector, OECD Directorate for Education and SkillsResults from our comparative PISA studies have often been disappointing for Sweden; they’ve been disappointing for me too. When I was a university student, I used to look to Sweden as the gold standard for education. It was a country that was providing high-quality and innovative education to children from all social classes,...

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