Education policies should prioritise being responsive and flexible across different areas, including study pathways, school choice, curriculum design and teaching strategies. Flexibility enables schools to tailor their curriculum, create spaces for innovation and address local challenges effectively. Study pathways need to be organised and implemented in a way that responds to the needs of both students and the labour market, with a flexible combination of vocational and academic choices while maintaining consistent quality. Additionally, the teaching practices employed in classrooms significantly impact student learning.
Education equity
Equitable education systems ensure that every student can achieve their educational potential regardless of their personal or social circumstances. Governments need to prioritise equity and inclusion in education and recognise their importance in paving the way for students to have equal chances for success in the future.
Key messages
Most countries explicitly aim to improve access, quality, equity and efficiency in their education systems. However, fulfilling these objectives is a challenge for policy makers. The pursuit of equity and efficiency has often been presented as a trade-off when it comes to the allocation of resources in education. Nevertheless, efficiency and equity can go hand in hand. Drawing from the insights and policies in OECD countries, focusing on four areas can help improve both equity and efficiency: investing in high-quality early childhood education and care, improving teacher quality, reducing educational failure rates, and adapting school networks to changing demand.
Teaching is increasingly carried out in classrooms where students with a diverse range of experiences and needs come together. To create equitable and inclusive environments that support all learners, teachers need to be equipped with a range of competences, knowledge and attitudes. Without adequate learning opportunities, teachers often feel unprepared to address the diverse needs of students. Furthermore, school leaders play an important role in facilitating equitable and inclusive teaching, and are central actors in shaping and driving the effective implementation of practices for equity and inclusion.
Context
Students’ socio-economic status accounts for a significant share of the variation in performance
On average across OECD countries, 15% of the variation in mathematics within each country is associated with socio-economic status. An education system is fairer when this relationship is weaker. In eight countries and economies, socio-economic status accounts for 20% or more of the variation. By contrast, socio-economic status accounts for less than 7% of the variation in 14 countries.
Strength of socio-economic gradient and mathematics performance (2022)
Labour market outcomes for foreign-born adults compared to native-born adults vary across OECD countries
The likelihood of being employed increases with educational attainment, but it increases more steeply for native-born than for foreign-born adults. This is also reflected in higher unemployment rates among foreign-born adults. On average across OECD countries, the unemployment rate was 12% for foreign-born adults without upper secondary attainment, and 10% among their native-born peers.
Unemployment rates of 25-64 year-olds with below upper secondary attainment, by migration status (2020)
