This post is a summary of the book with the title above, published in 2022 at https://www.oecdilibrary.org/docserver/3197152expires=1668108151&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=F52BBCD6E19D0AC509D7732D08CD37B
In the past two decades, the share of young adults with advanced qualifications has risen sharply across OECD countries: 48% of 24-34 year-olds had a tertiary degree in 2021, compared to just 27% in 2000. This is due to the growing need for advanced skills in labour markets and has profound implications for our societies and the future of education. The first half of 2022 was marked by a gradual return to normality thanks to widespread vaccinations. As the focus shifted from crisis management to recovery, evaluating the impact of the pandemic and remediating its consequences became a priority. The pandemic forced countries to adopt solutions for digital teaching and learning to compensate for periods when in-person lessons were limited or not possible at all. Although many of these solutions were implemented as emergency measures, they have proved valuable beyond periods of remote learning. Tertiary attainment is already becoming the norm among young adults in many OECD countries. In 14 OECD countries, more than half of all 25-34 year-olds have a tertiary degree, rising to at least two-thirds in Canada and Korea. The increase in tertiary education has been a nearly universal trend. Countries that started with low tertiary attainment levels in 2000 have experienced strong growth. The share of tertiary-educated 25-34 year-olds quadrupled in Turkey, from 9% in 2000 to 40% in 2021. From 13% to 47% in Portugal and from 11% to 39% in the Slovak Republic. And from 13% in 2011 to 23% in 2021 in Brazil. Young people who did not complete secondary education face a high risk of finding themselves neither employed, nor in formal education. Brazil, Greece and South Africa have the highest share of young people suffering long-term unemployment, at around 5% of more of all 18-24 year-olds. In Argentina, Slovak Republic and Spain the figure is also high, at around 3%. Modern economies depend on a supply of high skilled workers and these workers in turn reap labour-market benefits. Education systems need to respond to the labour-market challenges of today and prepare students for the labour markets of the future. Pathways through education can be diverse, both across countries and within the same country. Compulsory education is usually relatively homogeneous as students progress through primary and secondary education. Periods of compulsory education vary across OECD countries. In some countries, early childhood education and care is compulsory, as early as the age of three. In other countries, education becomes compulsory only from primary education onwards. When compulsory education was first introduced during the late 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, it was often limited to short periods of primary education. Since then, the duration of compulsory education has increased gradually, a trend that has continued up to today. France introduced compulsory pre-primary education starting at 3 years-old in 2019. In 2015, the U.K. raised its school leaving age to 18. Higher education is a core enabler of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. By having a significant impact on students' awareness and contribution to a prosperous society, tertiary education is viewed as a change agent. The share of tertiary students enrolled in private institutions varies dramatically across countries. It is 100% in the U.K., but virtually 0% in Canada, Denmark, and Greece. While a few countries have large majorities of tertiary students in private institutions, the share is between 10% and 30% in most OECD countries. There are important differences between private tertiary institutions. In some countries with high share of students in private institutions, most of private institutions are government dependent. Even though they are organised as private entities,they obtain large shares of their funding through regular government contributions. This is the case in Belgium, Finaland, Israel, and the U.K. Policy makers are increasingly aware of the key role that early childhood education plays in children's cognitive and emotional development, learning and well-being. Teachers play a central role during children's early years, helping them develop in many aspects of their lives: cognitively, socially and emotionally. Women tend to dominate the teaching profession in most levels of education, and the over-representation of women in the workforce is particularly marked in the earlier years of schooling with women making up 96% of teaching staff. The share of women shrinks with each successive level of education, to 83% at primary level, 63% at secondary level and 44% at tertiary level. Parents' needs and expectations regarding accessibility, cost, programme, staff and accountability are all important in assessing the expansion of pre-education programmes. When parents' needs for quality, availability, or affordability are not met by public institutions, some parents may be more inclined to send their children to private institutions. Educational expenditure indicators help to show what, how and where financial resources are directed to education. The investments are made with the well-established idea that expenditure on education enhances labour productivity by improving the skills of the workforce, which might affect economic growth and social development. Students are more likely to cross borders to pursue their studies are they reach more advanced levels of education. Internationally mobile students account for only 5% of bachelor's students, but 14% of master's students and 24% of doctoral students on average in OECD countries. English is the lingua franca of the globalised world, with one in four people using it worldwide. Not surprisingly, English-speaking countries are the most attractive student destinations overall. The top five destination countries are Australia, Canada, Germany, the U.K., the U.S.A. Students from Asia form the largest group of international students enrolled in tertiary education programmes at all levels, totalling 58% of all mobile students in 2020. The number of students in non-tertiary education remained fairly stable on average OECD countries between 2012 and 2019. Most OECd countries spent more per student in 2019 than they did in 2012, with the exception of Greece, Mexico, and Slovenia. Expenditure per student on non-tertiary education increased by at least 4% per year in Colombia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Turkey. Countries invest in education to help foster economic growth, enhance productivity, contribute to personal and social development, and reduce social inequality, among other reasons. In 2019, total public expenditure on primary to tertiary education as a percentage of total government expenditure for all services averaged 10.6% in OECD countries. However, this share varies across countries, ranging from around 7% in Greece and Italy to over 17% in Chile.
