Publications & Documents

This analytical report was prepared by the OECD Higher Education Policy Team as part of the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC), an action of the European Union’s New European Innovation Agenda, flagship 4 on 'Fostering, attracting and retaining deep tech talent'. EIPC seeks to bring together peers from policy and practice to advance understanding of the competencies that can trigger and shape innovation for the digital and green transitions, and the mechanisms through which higher education can contribute to their development in secondary education (Strand 1), higher education (Strand 2), and adult upskilling and reskilling (Strand 3). This report for EIPC Strand 1 examines how higher education institutions (HEIs) can support the integration of competencies for innovation into secondary school curricula. Drawing on research evidence, practical examples and insights from the EIPC network and a wide range of OECD and EU education systems, it offers six options for consideration by education policy makers on how to strengthen HEIs’ role in supporting effective curriculum development in schools.

As artificial intelligence (AI) expands its scope of applications across society, understanding its impact becomes increasingly critical. The OECD's AI and the Future of Skills (AIFS) project is developing a comprehensive framework for regularly measuring AI capabilities and comparing them to human skills. The resulting AI indicators should help policymakers anticipate AI’s impacts on education and work. This volume describes the second phase of the project: exploring three different approaches to assessing AI. First, the project explored the use of education tests for the assessment by asking computer experts to evaluate AI’s performance on OECD’s tests in reading, mathematics and science. Second, the project extended the rating of AI capabilities to tests used to certify workers for occupations. These tests present complex practical tasks and are potentially useful for understanding the application of AI in the workplace. Third, the project explored measures from direct AI evaluations. It commissioned experts to develop methods for selecting high-quality direct measures, categorising them according to AI capabilities and systematising them into single indicators. The report discusses the advantages and challenges in using these approaches and describes how they will be integrated into developing indicators of AI capabilities.

Education systems around the world are increasingly recognising that social and emotional skills (SES) are essential for students and societies. This paper contributes to the Innovative approaches to measuring social and emotional skills project, which aims to complement self-report measures of SES with more direct assessments. It addresses criticisms of the OECD framework for SES used by the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills and discusses the use of the Big Five model as an underlying structure for organising SES. The paper then examines the teachability of SES through a comprehensive literature review. In addition, it reviews the evidence for the relationship between different SES and key life outcomes. The paper also seeks to reconcile divergent conceptual understandings in the literature by providing a clear definition of SES and highlighting discrepancies in skill definitions. The conclusions of the paper identify gaps in current research, highlight teachable skills with notable predictive value SES relevant for educators and policy makers, and support the development of direct SES assessments.

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.

Module A of the OECD Higher Education Policy Survey (HEPS) 2022 elicited information on policies to promote digitalisation of higher education in OECD member and accession countries. In total, 30 jurisdictions responded, providing comparative information on various areas of digitalisation policy, from regulation and governance to financial and human resources. The survey results provide insight into the role of public authorities in guiding, coordinating and resourcing the digital transformation of higher education institutions. The analysis and comparative tables in this working paper provide insights that can support the development of strategic digitalisation policies.

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.

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.