WENNER-GREN FOUNDATIONS &

THE ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES EDUCATION COMMITTEE

SYMPOSIUM RESEARCH AND POLICYMAKING IN EDUCATION

STOCKHOLM, 7-10 SEPTEMBER 2016

Education reforms across OECD:

Trends and challenges

1

Beatriz PontSenior Education Policy Analyst, OECD

@beatrizpont

Stockholm, 8 September 2016

2

Education Reforms Across OECD Countries: Trends and Challenges

Presentation focus: How do countries respond to the challenges of education policy making?

Review education reforms adopted across OECD/Sweden

Analyse some of the main challenges

Elements for reform strategies to be effective

OECD countries have done more than 450 reforms in 7 years (2008-2014)

3

US: Funding grants

Chile: Subsidies for disadvantaged

schools

Reforms in school leadership

and teachersAustralia, N. Zealand

Support to students

from specific populations

Japan: Setting national priorities

foreducation

Austria: New middle

school reform

Canada:National

commitment to ECEC

UK: School improvement

Portugal:VET reforms

France/Nordics: Teacher training

reform

With different strategies and options that search for educational improvement …

Italy: School evaluation

reform

UK: Student funding

Finland/Nordic: Curriculum

reform

Mexico: Constitutional

ReformGermany: Investing

in the future

Source: OECD Education Policy Outlook 2015: Making Reforms Happen

Evaluation and assessment

Disadvantaged students and schools

Vocational education and training

System-level policies

Early childhood education and care

Governance and funding

School Improvement

Preparing students for the futureEquity and quality

School leaders

Learning environments

Teachers

Tertiary education Upper secondary

education

Student assessment

System level

School evaluation

System and institution level funding

Stakeholder engagement

Systemic prioritising

Challenge : to select policies that adapt to the context of each education system and reach classrooms and students

Design of reform

Implementation of reform

Stakeholders

Funding

Context

Political changes

Evaluation

Data for improvement

Invest in teachers/SL

Focus on students

Challenge: to develop sustainable reforms that reach classrooms in complex political environments

Equity and QualityPreparing students for the futureSchool ImprovementEvaluation and AssessmtGovernanceFunding

6

Policies that can contribute to improvement (OECD EPO)

Systems: how to drive improvemen

t

Students: Equity with

quality

Schools: focus on

improvement

Source: OECD Education Policy Outlook 2015: Making Reforms Happen

How are OECD countries using different policy options?Trends in education policy OECD 2008-2014

0%

10%

20%

30%

Distribution of policies adopted by policy lever, 2008-2014

Trends in OECD education policy 2008-2014: Teachers and equity

Distribution of policies adopted by policy option, 2008-2014

Disa

dvan

tage

d st

uden

ts

Inve

sting

ear

ly o

n

Syst

em-le

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olic

ies t

hat p

rom

ote

or

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quity

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lity

of se

cond

ary

Qua

lity

of te

rtiar

y

Tran

sition

bet

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n sc

hool

and

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k

Voca

tiona

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catio

n an

d tr

aini

ng

Lear

ning

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ironm

ents

Scho

ol le

ader

ship

Teac

hers

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valu

ation

Stud

ent a

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smen

t

Syst

em e

valu

ation

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ation

prio

rities

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anisa

tion

of d

ecisi

on m

akin

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oces

s

Econ

omic

reso

urce

s in

educ

ation

Use

of r

esou

rces

Equity and Quality Preparing Students for the Future

School Im-provement

Evaluation and Assessment to Im-

prove Student Outcomes

Governance Funding

0%

4%

8%

12%

16%

8.8%6.1%

1.9%

5.5%8.1%

6.8% 8.0% 8.3%

2.8%

13.9%

3.1% 4.3% 4.0%5.4%

2.9% 2.8%

7.3%

9

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Increased likelihood of students in the bottom quarter of the ESCS index scoring in the bottom quarter of the mathematics performance distributionIncreased likelihood of immigrant students scoring in the bottom quarter of the mathematics per-formance distributionRatio

OECD average

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table II.2.4a and Table II.3.4a.

New Zealand: Policies to support

Māori/Pasifika populations

(2008-13)

Finland: National Core Curriculum for Instruction Preparing Immigrants

for Basic Education (2009)

France/Portugal:Education Priority Zones

Chile: Law on Preferential

Subsidies (2008)

Austria: New middle

school reform

Germany: National Action Plan on Integration (2011)

ECEC:Poland, Korea, Australia, Italy,

Nordic Countries, Slovenia, United States….

UK England:Pupil premium

Students: options to support students from disadvantaged or diverse backgrounds

Kor

ea

Finl

and

Mex

ico

Alb

erta

(Can

ada)

Flan

ders

(Bel

gium

)

Net

herla

nds

Aus

tralia

Eng

land

(UK

)

Isra

el

Uni

ted

Sta

tes

Chi

le

Ave

rage

Nor

way

Japa

n

Den

mar

k

Pol

and

Icel

and

Est

onia

Bra

zil

Italy

Cze

ch R

epub

lic

Por

tuga

l

Spa

in

Sw

eden

Fran

ce

Slo

vak

Rep

ublic

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Perc

enta

ge o

f tea

cher

s

Percentage of lower secondary teachers who "agree" or "strongly agree" that teaching profession is a valued profession in society, TALIS 2014

Netherlands:Teachers’ Programme

2013-20 (2013)

Australia: Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2010)

Finland: OSAAVA programme

(2010-16)

New Zealand: Teacher standards and Registered

Teacher Criteria (2010-13)

United States: Teacher Quality Partnership

Programme (2012)

France: Reform of teacher training

programmes (2013)Korea:

Evaluation system (2010) Mexico:

Teacher Professional Service (2013)

Institutions: quality of teaching

Students reports of teacher student relations and classrooms conduciveness to learning, PISA 2012

Mex

ico

Port

ugal

Cana

daIc

elan

dU

nite

d St

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ave

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bour

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ece

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way

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riaN

ethe

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lyCz

ech

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blic

Japa

nFr

ance

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ak R

epub

licG

erm

any

Slov

enia

Pola

nd

-0.5

-0.3

-0.1

0.1

0.3

0.5

0.7

Index of teacher-student relations Index of disciplinary climate

Mean index

Japan: Course of Study

UK: Curriculum for Excellence (Scotland), and National

Literacy and Numeracy (Wales, 2013)

Slovenia: Updated curricula

(2012)

Denmark: National Common Objectives (2009)

Finland: Curriculum reform (2014)

Italy: Curriculum guidelines

(2012)

Sweden: New curriculum

(2011)

France: Redistribution of learning time

Institutions: Making the content of learning more relevant

OEC

DGr

eece

100

Port

ugal

100

Neth

erla

nds

99Po

land

99

Fran

ce 9

7Be

lgiu

m 9

7Ge

rman

y 9

6Ca

nada

100

Spai

n 9

9Au

stria

96

Luxe

mbo

urg

95

Slov

ak R

epub

lic ..

.Fi

nlan

d 9

9Sl

oven

ia 9

8M

exic

o 9

9Ja

pan

99

Chile

100

Italy

99

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nd 9

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toni

a 9

9Isr

ael

100

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h Re

publ

ic 9

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w Z

eala

nd 1

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ECD

aver

age

98

Hung

ary

94

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d Ki

ngdo

m .

..Au

stra

lia

100

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nd

100

Unite

d St

ates

9

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rea

95

Turk

ey

97

Swed

en

94

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and

10

0De

nmar

k

99No

rway

9

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

To make decisions about students’ retention or promotion %To monitor the school’s progress from year to yearTo identify aspects of instruction or the curriculum that could be improved

%

→

12

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table IV.5.5. OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table IV.5.6.

Most common uses of student assessments according to school principals (2012)

Australia: NAPLAN Student assessment, My School, My Skills and My University

Chile: National Quality of Education Agency

National Standardised Assessments: Austria; Czech Republic; Denmark; Ireland;

Italy, Spain, Sweden, UK (Wales

Norway: Assessment for Learning (2010)

Institutions: evaluation and assessment focused on outcomes

Central

AustriaCzech RepublicFranceGreeceHungaryIsraelItalyLuxembourgPortugalTurkey

Central with local

DenmarkEstoniaFinlandIcelandJapanKoreaNorwayPolandSlovak RepublicSloveniaSweden

Central with schools

NetherlandsNew Zealand

Shared central agreed with regional

Spain Decentralised

AustraliaCanadaBelgiumGermanySwitzerlandUnited KingdomUnited States

13

Countries define national strategies or general reforms

Systems: steering

Estonia:LLL strategy 2014-2010

Denmark:Denmark that stands together (2011); Folkeskole reform (2013)

Mexico:Pact for Mexico (2012); Constitutional Reform (2012-13)

Canada:Learn Canada 2020 (2008)

14

….Countries are investing in education

Students Targeting policies to specific disadvantaged groups and making VET and tertiary education more relevant to labour market needs.

Institutions Institutions: Investing in improving the teaching profession and curriculum as well as developing more system evaluation & student assessments.

Systems System: Setting policy priorities with concrete objectives or using funding strategically.

Isra

elTu

rkey

Mex

ico

Port

ugal

Italy

Pola

ndCh

ileG

erm

any

Kore

aG

reec

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itzer

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stria

Uni

ted

King

dom

OEC

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vera

ge 2

003

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way

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and

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gary

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and

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ralia

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2

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athe

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cs p

erfo

rman

ce

15

Chile: Subsidies for disadvantaged

schools

Australia, N. ZealandSupport to students

from specific populations +

Japan: national priorities foreducation

Spain: LOCME

Canada:National

agreement andcommitment to

ECEC

Portugal:School

networks;

France/Nordics: Teacher training

reform

Annualised change in mathematics 15 year olds, PISA 2003-2012Mathematics score-point difference associated with one calendar year

Italy: School Evaluation; curriculum

UK: School improv; tudent funding

Finland/Nordic: Curriculum

reform; ;teachers

Mexico: Constitutional

Reform

Germany: common standards;

investing in the future

US: Common core

Yet, do reforms reach the classroom?

Are countries adopting coherent educational change strategies ?

Coherence

Hargreaves & Shirley 4 Way: National vision,

prof. collaboration, engagement

Hattie: Politics of collaborative expertise and

student progression

Fullan: Right drivers direction,

collaboration, deep learning,

account.

Focusing on countries’ reforms, 2008-2014

Grand TotalUK

Australia

Portugal

Slovenia

New Zealand

Turkey

Germany

France

Belgium

Canada

Finland

Netherla

ndsSpain

Austria

Ireland

Japan

Norway

Italy

Czech Rep

Denmark

Poland

Estonia

HungaryKorea

SwedenChile

Greece

Iceland

Mexico Lu

x

Slovak Rep US0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Governance Funding School Improvement Evaluation Assessment Preparing Students for Future Equity and Quality

18

Messy reality of education reform

Policy making strategies Drowned by multiple reforms and programmes. Overlap of policies. Wide range of reform approaches. Vision not clearly stated in many countries (or through curriculum or assessments). Often tied to political changes. Visible. Unclear implementation strategies.

Policies: Invest in core areas. School /classroom focus: Countries appear to opt for equity strategies for disadvantaged or school improvement; Teacher policy a clear priority; Curriculum reform for XXI cent; Not investing enough in school leadership .

Evaluation Only 10% report evaluation of policy or impact.

Australian reforms 2008-2014 (07,10, 13)

2008Smarter Schools National Partnership for Low Socio-economic Status School CommunitiesClosing the Gap: Indigenous Early Childhood DevelopmentNational Assessment Program – Literacy and NumeracyNational Partnership Agreements (Smart Schools)Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians2009National Partnership on Youth Attainment and TransitionsVET targetsNational targets for higher educationAustralian Early Development IndexNational Education AgreementInvesting in Early Years – National Early Childhood Development StrategyNational Agreement for Skills and Workforce DevelopmentNational Partnership on Improving Teacher quality2010National Professional Standards for TeachersAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action PlanHigher Education Participation and Partnerships ProgrammeMy School website, My Skills and My University websiteReview of Funding for Schooling Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership

2011Australian Professional Standards for PrincipalsAustralian Qualifications FrameworkSkills Quality AuthorityTertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency2012The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care (NQF)National Foundation Skills Strategy for AdultsAdvancing Quality in Higher EducationThe Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency My University websiteNational Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform2013National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education (replaced National Partnership on Early Childhood Education - 2008)Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education ProgrammesAustralian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders Australian Teacher Performance and Development FrameworkNew Colombo PlanEducation Act2014Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory GroupUpholding-Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching measuresStudents First

Irish reforms 2008-2014 (07,11)Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools: Action Plan for Educational Inclusion (DEIS) 2005Traveller Education Strategy 2006Survey on Lifeskills in Primary (2009) and Post-Primary Schools (2012) 2009Project Maths 2010Intercultural Education Strategy 2010Springboard programme 2011Professional development for teachers and school leaders 2011Initial Teacher Education Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers 2011Higher education reforms 2011National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-20 2011

Increase in reading instruction 2011National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 2011ICT Action Plan 2012Standardised assessment in literacy and numeracy 2012School Self Evaluation: Guidelines for Primary Schools 2012School Self-Evaluation: Guidelines for Post-Primary Schools 2012Investing in education infrastructure 2012Third Level Bursary Scheme – scholarship scheme 2012Action Plan for Jobs 2012Procedures for Induction and Procedures and Criteria for Probation 2013Education and Training Boards Act 2013SOLAS – New National Education and Training Authority 2013Framework for Junior Cycle 2014

21

Sweden: 2011 reforms

New grading scale

Upper secondary

reform

National testsSupport for minority language learning

Training schools Teacher education reform

Selected reforms to shift decline in performance

Curriculum reform

But no consistency and coherence in reform efforts

Challenges

1. Need to raise expectations of student performance and develop

learning environments that are conducive to learning for all

students and address high variability across system

2. Build the capacity of the teaching profession to improve teaching and

learning

3. Strenghten accountability and gear evaluation and assessment

arrangements to focus on continuous improvement

4. Steer policy and focus on improvement to adapt to current

governance structure.

Strengths

1. Public commitment to education and to equity is high

2. Recognition of the need for change and general support for recent reforms (e.g. curriculum)

3. Efforts to develop teachers underway (ITE, i.e. first teachers

and first subject teachers)

4. Emerging assessment and evaluation culture

5. Decentralisation and autonomy can lead to

examples of local good practice

Swedish system strengths and challenges

OECD

• Establish conditions that promote quality w/ equity across schools

• Build capacity for teaching and learning through a long term hr strategy

• Strengthen school evaluation

• Monitoring framework

• Steer policy (objectives) and accountability focused on improvements

Equity and quality

Schools: the education profession

Evaluation and

assessment

Steering and account-

ability

23

Sweden: policy options for improvement

Coherence

24

24

Norway

Wales

Sweden

Reality of policy making/reform

Mexico

Time…changes in government…need for results….highly political…need more capacity…uncertain…ever

changing….complex implementation strategies…need to be adapted to context

Design of reform: coherence

Stakeholder engagement

Long term investment

Favorable edu environment

Political context

Evaluation

Data for improvement

Invest in teachers/SL

Focus on students

Elements of education reform: a balancing act that goes beyond evidence base policy making

To conclude

Thank you! @beatrizpont Beatriz.pont@oecd.org

http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/Improving-Schools-in-Sweden.pdf

http://www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm

Set high expectations for all students building on the existing curriculum.

Consolidate support to disadvantaged groups.

Review school funding to ensure quality learning opportunities for all students.

Revise school choice arrangements to ensure quality with equity.

Policy actions:

Recommendation 1: Promote quality with equity

Policy actions:

Recommendation 2: Build a high quality teaching profession

Create a publicly-funded National Institute of Teacher and School Leader Quality.

Review the number and quality of existing teacher education providers.

Improve the attractiveness of the teaching and school leadership profession.

Policy actions:

Recommendation 3: Steer policy and accountability focused on improvement

Together with key stakeholders define a set of ambitious education priorities.

Develop a comprehensive national school improvement strategy.

Strengthen school self-evaluation and planning through an agreed set of indicators.

Strengthen the School Inspectorate to help shift a culture of administrative compliance to responsibility for improvement.

Issues for further research…

Link between education and adult skills. PIAAC data shows high adult literacy skills.

Beyond basic literacy and numeracy: Strong skills in civic engagement and citizenship and in english as a foreign language.

Link to economic growth and competitiveness: will it remain highly competitive despite educational decline?

Use of ICT: among most connected and innovative societies – strong gap with schools use of ICT.