Reports

Intersectionality highlights that different aspects of individuals’ identities are not independent of each other. Instead, they interact to create unique identities and experiences, which cannot be understood by analysing each identity dimension separately or in isolation from their social and historical contexts. Intersectional approaches in this way question the common classification of individuals into groups (male vs. female, immigrant vs. native etc.), which raises important implications for the policy-making process. In education, analyses with an intersectional lens have the potential to lead to better tailored and more effective policies and interventions related to participation, learning outcomes, students’ attitudes towards the future, identification of needs, and socio-emotional well-being. Consequently, as elaborated in this paper, some countries have adjusted their policies in the areas of governance, resourcing, developing capacity, promoting school-level interventions and monitoring, to account for intersectionality. Gaps and challenges related to intersectional approaches are also highlighted.

The OECD AI Principles call for AI actors to be accountable for the proper functioning of their AI systems in accordance with their role, context, and ability to act. Likewise, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises aim to minimise adverse impacts that may be associated with an enterprise’s operations, products and services. To develop ‘trustworthy’ and ‘responsible’ AI systems, there is a need to identify and manage AI risks. As calls for the development of accountability mechanisms and risk management frameworks continue to grow, interoperability would enhance efficiency and reduce enforcement and compliance costs. This report provides an analysis of the commonalities of AI risk management frameworks. It demonstrates that, while some elements may sometimes differ, all the risk management frameworks analysed follow a similar and sometimes functionally equivalent risk management process.

Skills are vital for building resilient economies and societies. By helping individuals develop a diverse range of skills and empowering them to apply these skills effectively, skills policies play a crucial role in responding to emerging threats, such as environmental degradation and harmful applications of technologies used to collect, generate, and exchange information. This edition of the Skills Outlook highlights the importance of supporting individuals in acquiring a wide range of skills, at varying levels of proficiency, to promote economic and social resilience. Additionally, the report acknowledges the role of attitudes and dispositions in enabling skills development and effective skills use. It also emphasises the need for policy makers to monitor the costs associated with policies aimed at promoting the green and digital transition, and how the transition affects inequalities. Training opportunities that respond to emerging labour market needs and efforts to facilitate their uptake can promote a just and inclusive green and digital transition. In turn, education systems that equip young people not only with skills but attitudes to manage change can ensure that the green and digital transition is sustainable in the longer term.

Amid the millions of refugees forced to flee Ukraine, an estimated 10-17% have previously worked in the education sector. The expertise and qualifications of Ukrainian educators can be harnessed in host countries to provide vital support for Ukrainian students who are navigating unfamiliar educational systems, while also offering them continued career opportunities in their chosen field and supporting the local education system. Drawing insights from recent OECD survey results, this brief provides an overview of the efforts initiated by OECD countries to employ Ukrainian teachers, while identifying the obstacles which persist such as qualifications recognition, training gaps, and language barriers. Measures such as streamlining recruitment processes, fostering flexibility in qualification recognition, and providing tailored training for teachers and assistants can help optimise their potential.

The influx of highly qualified refugees from Ukraine has posed unique challenges for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policies and practices in host countries. Analysing recent survey results, this policy brief provides an overview of the diverse RPL measures countries across the OECD have implemented in order to ensure a swift continuation of learning for Ukrainian refugee students. From extending application deadlines to international cooperation on qualifications information sharing, the policy landscape is evolving rapidly to ensure these highly skilled individuals can be included effectively into new educational environments.

Child empowerment is on the policy agenda of education systems around the world, in particular since the increasing emphasis in policy and research discourse on supporting children’s participation rights. A large body of literature suggests that child participation in making decisions on matters that affect them is not only essential from a child rights perspective, but also that it is associated with several positive outcomes from the individual to societal level. In OECD countries there are many domains in which children can and do actively participate in making decisions, including regarding their education. This paper explores how and where children can participate in decision making, with a focus on policies and practices in OECD education systems. It outlines key considerations for child participation, including barriers that many systems are struggling to overcome.

Teachers’ salaries are widely debated around the world, with divergent views among the actors of education. Salaries have risen very little over the last decade and have even fallen in real terms in almost half of OECD countries between 2015 and 2022. However, salary levels are just one of the many factors contributing to the attractiveness of the profession. In addition to raising salaries, decision makers should also take steps to raise the status of the profession in society, and offer teachers more opportunities for professional development and mobility to ensure that the profession remains intellectually stimulating throughout their careers.

As the global benchmark in educational assessments, PISA results are always hotly anticipated. The eighth round of PISA assessment was originally planned to take place in 2021 but the disruption caused by COVID-19 forced the assessment to be postponed by a year. The first results of PISA 2022 will be unveiled in two volumes on 5 December 2023. The focus of PISA 2022 is mathematics, with an emphasis on mathematics reasoning, to highlight its importance in tackling complex real-life challenges. The first volume examines how student performance in mathematics, reading and science as well as equity in education evolved before and after the pandemic. The second volume of PISA 2022 identifies 'resilient education systems' that maintained or promoted student learning, equity, and well-being amid the pandemic.

Calls for increased monitoring and evaluation of education policies and practices have not, so far, included widespread and consistent assessments of the inclusiveness of education settings. Measuring inclusion in education has proven to be a challenging exercise, due not only to the complexity and different uses of the concept, but also to its holistic nature. Indeed, measuring inclusion implies analysing a variety of policy areas within education systems, while also considering the different roles of the system, the school and the classroom. This paper discusses the application of the input-process-outcome model to the measurement of inclusion in education, and key indicators that can be adopted by education systems and schools to this end. It makes considerations relevant to policy makers when designing indicators to measure inclusion, such as the extent of their application, the constraints related to data disaggregation and the relevance of intersectional approaches to inclusion.

This report analyses the demand for positions that require skills needed to develop or work with AI systems across 14 OECD countries between 2019 and 2022. It finds that, despite rapid growth in the demand for AI skills, AI-related online vacancies comprised less than 1% of all job postings and were predominantly found in sectors such as ICT and Professional Services. Skills related to Machine Learning were the most sought after. The US-focused part of the study reveals a consistent demand for socio-emotional, foundational, and technical skills across all AI employers. However, leading firms – those who posted the most AI jobs – exhibited a higher demand for AI professionals combining technical expertise with leadership, innovation, and problem-solving skills, underscoring the importance of these competencies in the AI field.