Australia's education system in the mirror of other OECD systems

11A

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-14

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0O

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

Seeing your education system in the mirror of OECD

systems

Canberra, 13-14 May 2010

44A

AC

TE

Atla

nta,

Feb

ruar

y 20

, 20

09Is

th

e s

ky t

he

lim

it t

o

edu

cati

on

al im

pro

vem

en

t?

There is nowhere to hideThe yardstick for success is no longer improvement by national

standards but the best practice internationally

AustraliaAustriaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyJapanNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalSlovak RepublicSpainSwedenUnited KingdomUnited States

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

1995Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)

Tertiary-type A graduation rate

A world of change – higher education

Graduate supply

Cost

per

stu

den

t


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

1995Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)



United States

Finland

Graduate supply

Cost

per

stu

den

t

Japan


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2000Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)



Australia

FinlandUnited Kingdom


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2001Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)




0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2002Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)




0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2003Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)




0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2004Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)




0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2005Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)




0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

2006Ex

pend

iture

per

stu

dent

at t

ertia

ry le

vel (

USD

)



United States

Australia

Finland

United Kingdom A

A

A

What about international

students?

1414 E

duca

tion Indic

ato

rs

Pro

gra

mm

e20

09 e

dit

ion o

f Ed

uca

tion a

t a G

lance

Moving targetsFuture supply of college graduates

China EU US -

2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

2006

2010

2015

2020

1515A

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-14

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0O

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

DenmarkSwedenNorway

New ZealandFranceTurkey

GermanyAustralia

SpainAustria

BelgiumFinlandCanada

OECD averageKorea

IrelandHungary

PolandCzech RepublicUnited States

ItalyPortugal

-250,000 -150,000 -50,000 50,000 150,000 250,000 350,000 450,000

7,34218,802

23,30640,036

40,26041,090

48,02448,714

55,69560,51963,414

64,66469,235

82,00785,586

104,410127,691

146,539146,673

169,945173,889

186,307

Direct cost Gross earnings benefits Income tax effect Social contribution effect

Transfers effect Unemployment effect Net present value in USD equivalent

USD equivalentA8.3

Components of the private net present value for a male with higher education

Net present value in

USD equivalent

35K$56K$ 367K$105K$27K$ 26K$ 170K$

1616A

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-14

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EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

TurkeyDenmark

SwedenNorway

SpainKorea

CanadaNew Zealand

FranceAustria

AustraliaPortugal

OECD averageFinlandPoland

GermanyItaly

IrelandHungaryBelgium

United StatesCzech Republic

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000

10,34614,23617,19717,85119,75221,28023,875

28,19336,73037,586

47,36850,27151,95455,61257,221

63,60463,756

74,21994,80496,186100,119

160,834

Public cost and benefits for a male obtaining post-secondary education

Public benefit

s

Public

costs

Net present value, USD equivalent

(numbers in orange show

negative values)

USD equivalent

1717A

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-14

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01

0O

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

yHow the demand for skills has changed

Economy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input (US)

1960 1970 1980 1990 200240

45

50

55

60

65 Routine manual

Nonroutine manual

Routine cognitive

Nonroutine analytic

Nonroutine inter-active

(Levy and Murnane)

Mean t

ask

inp

ut

as

perc

en

tile

s of

the 1

960

task

dis

trib

uti

on

The dilemma of schools:The skills that are easiest to teach and test are also the ones that are easiest to digitise, automate and outsource

1818A

AC

TE

Atla

nta,

Feb

ruar

y 20

, 20

09Is

th

e s

ky t

he

lim

it t

o

edu

cati

on

al im

pro

vem

en

t?OECD’s PISA assessment of the

knowledge and skills of 15-year-oldsCoverage of world economy 77%81%83%85%86%87%

1919A

nd

rea

s S

chle

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er

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13

-14

Ma

y 2

01

0O

EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

yStrengths and weaknesses in math

The real world The mathematical World

A real situation

A model of reality A mathematical model

Mathematical results

Real results

Understanding, structuring and simplifying the situation

Making the problem amenable to mathematical

treatment

Interpreting the mathematical results

Using relevant mathematical content to solve the problem

Validating the results

2020A

nd

rea

s S

chle

ich

er

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nb

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a,

13

-14

Ma

y 2

01

0O

EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

yAverage performanceof 15-year-olds in science – extrapolate and apply

High science performance

Low science performance

… 18 countries perform below this line

I srael

I talyPortugal Greece

Russian Federation

LuxembourgSlovak Republic,Spain,Iceland Latvia

Croatia

Sweden

DenmarkFrancePoland

Hungary

AustriaBelgiumIreland

Czech Republic SwitzerlandMacao- ChinaGermanyUnited Kingdom

Korea

J apanAustralia

Slovenia

NetherlandsLiechtenstein

New ZealandChinese Taipei

Hong Kong- China

Finland

CanadaEstonia

United States LithuaniaNorway

445

465

485

505

525

545

565

616

2626A

nd

rea

s S

chle

ich

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13

-14

Ma

y 2

01

0O

EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

Age 19

Age 21

Age 21

048

121620

Level 2Level 3

Level 4Level 5

Increased likelihood of postsec. particip. at age 19/21 associated with PISA reading proficiency at age 15

(Canada)after accounting for school engagement, gender, mother

tongue, place of residence, parental, education and family income (reference group PISA Level 1)

Odds ratioCollege entry

School marks at age 15

PISA performance at age

15

2828A

nd

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chle

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-14

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Str

ateg

y

France=495

- 35 - 25 - 15 - 5 5 15 25 35

Overall science score

I dentifying scientific issues

Explaining phenomena scientifically

Using scientific evidence

Knowledge about science

Earth and space

Living systems

Physical systems

Strengths and weaknesses of countries in science relative to their overall performance

France

OECD (2007), PISA 2006 – Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World, Figure 2.13

Science competencies

Science knowledge

2929A

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-14

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D S

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Str

ateg

y

France=495 Czech Republic=512

- 35 - 25 - 15 - 5 5 15 25 35






Earth and space

Living systems

Physical systems


Czech Republic


Scientific competencies

Scientific knowledge

3030A

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s S

chle

ich

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13

-14

Ma

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01

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

France=495 Australia=526

- 35 - 25 - 15 - 5 5 15 25 35






Earth and space

Living systems

Physical systems


Australia


Scientific competencies

Scientific knowledge

4040P

ISA

OE

CD

Pro

gram

me

for

Inte

rnat

iona

l Stu

dent

Ass

essm

ent

Brie

fing

of C

ounc

il

14 N

ovem

ber

2007

How to get thereSome policy levers that emerge from

international comparisons

4141A

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13

-14

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D S

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Str

ateg

yMoney matters - but other things do too

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000 100000400

425

450

475

500

525

550

575

495

410

488

f(x) = 0.000612701270434404 x + 462.612736410929R² = 0.190354458948511

Scienceperformance

Cumulative expenditure (US$ converted using PPPs)

4242A

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-14

Ma

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D S

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Str

ateg

y

Port

ug

al

Sp

ain

Sw

itze

rlan

d

Tu

rkey

Belg

ium

Kore

a

Lu

xem

bou

rg

Germ

an

y

Gre

ece

Jap

an

Au

stra

lia

Un

ited

Kin

gd

om

New

Zeala

nd

Fra

nce

Neth

erl

an

ds

Den

mark

Italy

Au

stri

a

Cze

ch

Rep

ub

lic

Hu

ng

ary

Norw

ay

Icela

nd

Irela

nd

Mexic

o

Fin

lan

d

Sw

ed

en

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Pola

nd

Slo

vak R

ep

ub

lic

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

Salary as % of GDP/capita Instruction time 1/teaching time 1/class sizePort

ug

al

Sp

ain

Sw

itze

rlan

d

Tu

rkey

Belg

ium

Kore

a

Lu

xem

bou

rg

Germ

an

y

Gre

ece

Jap

an

Au

stra

lia

Un

ited

Kin

gd

om

New

Zeala

nd

Fra

nce

Neth

erl

an

ds

Den

mark

Italy

Au

stri

a

Cze

ch

Rep

ub

lic

Hu

ng

ary

Norw

ay

Icela

nd

Irela

nd

Mexic

o

Fin

lan

d

Sw

ed

en

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Pola

nd

Slo

vak R

ep

ub

lic

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

Difference with OECD average

Spending choices on secondary schoolsContribution of various factors to upper secondary teacher compensation costs

per student as a percentage of GDP per capita (2004)

Percentage points

4343A

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s S

chle

ich

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nb

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13

-14

Ma

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y High ambitions and universal

standards

Rigor, focus and coherence

Great systems attract great teachers and

provide access to best practice and quality

professional development

4444A

nd

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chle

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-14

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y 2

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

yChallenge and support

Weak support

Strong support

Lowchallenge

Highchallenge

Strong performance

Systemic improvement

Poor performance

Improvements idiosyncratic

Conflict

Demoralisation

Poor performance

Stagnation

4545A

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-14

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D S

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Str

ateg

y

Human capital

International Best Practice• Principals who are trained,

empowered, accountable and provide instructional leadership

• Attracting, recruiting and providing excellent training for prospective teachers from the top third of the graduate distribution

• Incentives, rules and funding encourage a fair distribution of teaching talent

The past

• Principals who manage ‘a building’, who have little training and preparation and are accountable but not empowered

• Attracting and recruiting teachers from the bottom third of the graduate distribution and offering training which does not relate to real classrooms• The best teachers are in the most advantaged communities

4646A

nd

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s S

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ich

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-14

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y 2

01

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EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

Human capital (cont…)

International Best Practice• Expectations of teachers are

clear; consistent quality, strong professional ethic and excellent professional development focused on classroom practice

• Teachers and the system expect every child to succeed and intervene preventatively to ensure this

The past

• Seniority and tenure matter more than performance; patchy professional development; wide variation in quality

• Wide achievement gaps, just beginning to narrow but systemic and professional barriers to transformation remain in place

4848C

rea

ting

Effe

ctiv

e T

ea

chin

g

an

d L

ea

rnin

g E

nvi

ron

me

nts

O

EC

D T

ea

chin

g a

nd

Le

arn

ing

In

tern

atio

na

l Stu

dy

(TA

LIS

)

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Individual and col-

laborative research

Qualifica-tion pro-grammes

Informal dialogue to

improve teaching

Reading professional

literature

Courses and workshops

Professional develop-

ment net-work

Mentoring and peer

observation

Observation visits to

other schools

Education conferences

and semi-nars

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Chart Title%

Fuente: OCDE. Tablas 3.2 y 3.8

Figure

3.15

Relatively few teachers participate in the kinds of professional development which they find has the largest impact on their work

Comparison of teachers participating in professional development activities and teachers reporting

moderate or high level impact by types of activity

4949C

rea

ting

Effe

ctiv

e T

ea

chin

g

an

d L

ea

rnin

g E

nvi

ron

me

nts

O

EC

D T

ea

chin

g a

nd

Le

arn

ing

In

tern

atio

na

l Stu

dy

(TA

LIS

)

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Impa

ct

Parti

cipa

tion

Individual and col-

laborative research

Qualifica-tion pro-grammes

Informal dialogue to

improve teaching

Reading professional

literature

Courses and workshops

Professional develop-

ment net-work

Mentoring and peer

observation

Observation visits to

other schools

Education conferences

and semi-nars

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

%

Fuente: OCDE. Tablas 3.2 y 3.8

Figure

3.15

Relatively few teachers participate in the kinds of professional development which they find has the largest impact on their work

Comparison of teachers participating in professional development activities and teachers reporting

moderate or high level impact by types of activity

5151A

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-14

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01

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y High ambitions

Access to best practice and quality professional development

Accountability and intervention in

inverse proportion to success

Devolved responsibility,

the school as the centre of action

5252A

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ich

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-14

Ma

y 2

01

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

yLocal responsibility and national

prescription

National prescription

Schools leading reform

Schools todayThe industrial

model, detailed prescription of

what schools do

Schools tomorrow?

Building capacity

Finland todayEvery school an effective school

Towards system-wide sustainable reform

5353A

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chle

ich

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Ca

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13

-14

Ma

y 2

01

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EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

yPooled international dataset, effects of selected

school/system factors on science performance after accounting for all other factors in the model

OECD (2007), PISA 2006 – Science Competencies from Tomorrow’s World, Table 6.1a

Gross Net30

20

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Approx. one school year

Sco

re p

oin

t d

iffe

ren

ce in

sci

en

ce

Schools practicing ability grouping (gross and net)

Academically selective schools (gross and net)

but no system-wide effect

School results posted publicly (gross and net)

One additional hour of science learning at

school (gross and net)

One additional hour of out-of-school lessons

(gross and net)

One additional hour of self-study or homework

(gross and net)

School activities to promote science

learning(gross and net)

Schools with greater autonomy (resources)

(gross and net)

Each additional 10% of public funding(gross only)

Schools with more competing schools

(gross only)

School principal’s perception that lack of

qualified teachers hinders instruction

(gross only)

School principal’s positive evaluation of quality of educational

materials(gross only)

Measured effect

Effect after accounting for the socio-economic

background of students, schools and countries

5555A

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-14

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01

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EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

y Strong ambitions

Access to best practice and quality professional development

Accountability

Devolvedresponsibility,

the school as the centre of action

Integrated educational

opportunities

From prescribed forms of teaching and assessment towards personalised learning

5656A

nd

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chle

ich

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nb

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a,

13

-14

Ma

y 2

01

0O

EC

D S

kills

Str

ateg

yDurchschnittliche Schülerleistungen im Bereich Mathematik

Low average performance

Large socio-economic disparities

High average performance

Large socio-economic disparities

Low average performance

High social equity

High average performance

High social equity

Strong socio-economic impact on

student performance

Socially equitable distribution of

learning opportunities

High science performance

Low science performanceTurkey

AustraliaJ apan

Finland

CanadaNew Zealand

Korea

Czech Republic United KingdomAustria

Germany

Netherlands

SwitzerlandI relandBelgium

PolandSwedenHungary

IcelandFrance Denmark

United States SpainLuxembourg NorwaySlovak Republic

I talyGreecePortugal

420

440

460

480

500

520

540

560

580

21222

Early selection and institutional differentiation

High degree of stratification

Low degree of stratification

6

5858A

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13

-14

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D S

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Str

ateg

yOECD Skills Strategy

How do we identify and assess essential skills for strong, sustainable and balanced growth and what are the factors driving the evolution of skill demand?

Is the right mix of skills being taught

and learned and can employers find

workers with the skills they need?

Are skills developed in effective, equitable, efficient and sustainable ways?

How can governments build

strong coalitions with the business sector and social

investors and find sustainable

approaches to who should pay for

what, when, where and how much?

Pillar 1 (EDU and ELS)

Pillar 2(ELS)

Pillar 3(EDU)

Pillar 4(EDU and

LEED)

6363A

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Str

ateg

y PIAAC will…

in each country interview 5000 adults aged 16-65 in their homes and test their skills

collect information on the antecedents, outcomes and contexts of skill development and use

… in order to… provide a comprehensive assessment

of the human capital stock– For high performers, show to what extent they are able to apply their skills

to solve challenging problems requiring mastery of technology – For those with low literacy, show to what extent their problem is with

performing basic reading functions or with understanding and application

show to what extent skills held by individuals are actually used at work and identify the role skills play in improving labour market prospects of at-risk populations

improve understanding of the labour market and social returns to education and training

help governments better understand how education and training systems can nurture these skills .

6464A

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D S

kills

Str

ateg

y

Reasonable potential for policy

High potential policy impact

…

Low feasibility/costly High feasibility

Money pits

Must haves

Low-hanging fruits

Quick wins

Adult competencies and their as well as

economic and social outcomes

Equity and intergenerational mobility

What levels of skills do individuals and countries demonstrate, and how

do these relate to educational attainment?

How well do education and training systems deliver in generating the required

competenciesImproving the labour-market prospects of those at

risk

aggregate individual

x

Capitalising on technology-rich environments

Ageing and skills

The competitive advantages of OECD countries in the global competition for jobs

• Where does initial education leave us in terms of skill supply with their different forms of organisation of the education and training system?

• Has the rapid growth in educational attainment translated into better foundation skills?

• How do the results compare to those observed in earlier schooling (PISA)? How do people gain and lose skills as they grow older?

• How will changes in the age structure of populations and aspects such as educational attainment feed through to the future talent pool?

• How well can adults solve problems in technology-rich environments? How does this relate to the incidence and intensity of using information technology in and outside work

• What can we learn about the impact of age on skills and skill utilisation, how has this changed over recent decades and the policy levers associated with this (separating biological effects of aging from differences in the experiences of cohorts over time)?

• To what extent can and do skills play a role in levelling the playing field, both in terms of providing high quality education to all and giving access to higher education to those who are able and motivated to continue their schooling, irrespective of their social background?

• Further analysis on intergenerational mobility will also be possible with the JRA measurement of what people do in their jobs

• Description of the population with low skills, or special population groups such as immigrants, and interrelationships with labour-market outcomes.

• What is the role of skills in explaining differences in labour-market outcomes between immigrant and native-born workers? Do skill differences depend on where human capital was acquired? Do immigrants receive different returns to these skills than observationally similar native-born workers?

• Is education or skills mismatch mostly confined to youth early on in their professional careers and subsequently diminishes? Is mismatch important and does it translate into large earnings penalties? Have education and training systems in OECD countries shown sufficient adaptability in the face of changing skill demands or are skills mismatches endemic? How do task-based learning (JRA) and job-related training relate to the length of the working life? (but keep in mind that labour-market outcomes and training are snapshots in time whereas the measured skills are accumulated over the lifespan)

• Labour force skills and the price of these skills are crucial to understand in the perspective of increasing global competition for jobs higher up in the skill hierarchy. PIAAC can tell us more about which cognitive and non-cognitive skills are important in particular.

• PIAAC can provide systematic insights into the risks and rewards for skills in the labour market, for individuals and economies, as well as for specific subgroups such as immigrants

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A Skills Strategy for OECD countries An integrated work programme on skills across

the entire organisation A regularly published OECD Skills Outlook that,

with a combination of comparative analysis and country studies, will:

Trace the development of skills, through their utilisation in labour markets, how they feed into better jobs, higher productivity, and ultimately better economic and social outcomes

Customise policy insights from comparative analysis and peer learning so that they are useful in national policy contexts

Provide a catalyst for policy discourse on national skill strategies

Contribute to building strategic partnerships for successful policy implementation .

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yThe old bureaucratic system The modern enabling system

Hit and miss Universal high standards

Uniformity Embracing diversity

Provision Outcomes

Bureaucratic look-up Devolved – look outwards

Talk equity Deliver equity

Prescription Informed profession

Conformity Ingenious

Curriculum-centred Learner-centred

Interactive Participative

Individualised Community-centred

Delivered wisdom User-generated wisdom

Management Leadership

Public vs private Public with private

Culture as obstacle Culture as capital

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Thank you !