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Impressive progress has been made in raising participation in early childhood education as well as tertiary educational attainment over the past 30 years. However, the inflow of poorly educated youth into the labour market is unusually heavy for a high-income country, largely on account of high drop-out rates in lower secondary education which, in turn, reflect one of the highest grade repetition rates in the OECD. The supply of workers with intermediate vocational skills is surprisingly low, despite the high return, in terms of labour market outcomes that these skills offer, even if they have recently deteriorated. There is room to raise learning outcomes up to the end of compulsory school, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), although, owing to a compressed distribution of such outcomes, the share of poorly performing pupils is not unusually large. While significant reforms have been undertaken to address these problems, more measures are needed to reduce grade repetition and raise education outcomes, by improving accountability of schools and school staff, as well as by raising school autonomy further than has already occurred. Vocational training needs to become more attractive. In tertiary education, few Spanish universities have attained a high level of international standing, and scope remains to improve the contribution tertiary attainment can make to gains in economic welfare, notably by reforming funding arrangements.

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Economic and cultural globalisation has ushered in a new era in higher education. Higher education was always more internationally open than most sectors because of its immersion in knowledge, which never showed much respect for juridical boundaries. In global knowledge economies, higher education institutions are more important than ever as mediums for a wide range of cross-border relationships and continuous global flows of people, information, knowledge, technologies, products and financial capital. Even as they share in the reinvention of the world around them, higher education institutions, and the policies that produce and support them, are also being reinvented. For the first time in history every research university is part of a single world-wide network and the world leaders in the field have an unprecedented global visibility and power. Research is more internationalised than before and the mobility of doctoral students and faculty has increased. The specifically global element in academic labour markets has gained weight, especially since the advent of global university rankings. This working paper explores the issues for national policy and for individual institutions. Part one provides an overview of globalisation and higher education and the global responses of national systems and individual institutions of higher education. Part two is focused on certain areas of policy with a strong multilateral dimension: Europeanisation, institutional rankings and typologies and cross-border mobility.

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Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, most higher education institutions across the OECD decided to close their campuses. As a result, teaching and assessment activities have been conducted from a distance, generally online. Based on the literature and on the experiences of the international network of higher education institutions participating in the project on Fostering and Assessing Creativity and Critical Thinking of the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), this brief outlines possible short-term and long-term solutions for organising student examinations on line in the context of campus closures and social distancing measures. This policy brief explores the following questions: What are the challenges and solutions to designing and conducting end-of-term examinations on line following campus closures? What new forms of examinations could replace or supplement the mainstream methods in the future?

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Reform of education, training and human resource development is an integral part of the transition to a democratic society and a market economy. This book gives a brief overview of regional issues and the history of post-secondary education in Kazakhstan and describes the development of higher and tertiary education in the country since the transition began. It presents an analysis of the education system, identifying key directions for the reinforcement of the reforms in light of the challenges encountered by officials, communities, enterprises, educators, parents and students under very dynamic conditions. It concludes with a set of key recommendations concerning the structure of the system and its labour market relevance; access and equity; financing; governance and management; internationalisation; and research, development and innovation.

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Catalonia is the main contributor to Spain's economy. For a long time it has led strategic investment in research and development in Spain and developed highly successful programmes to attract talent. The region also has a unique identity with its own language and a distinct cultural heritage. Catalonia is now feeling the effects of the economic crisis. How can it prepare for the post-crisis economy with the help of the university system? How can it balance attracting expertise from abroad with nurturing talent among its diverse population? How can it unleash the potential of universities to contribute to local and regional development? This publication is part of the series of OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

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Outside the Netherlands Rotterdam is best known for its port - once the busiest in the world, and still the busiest in Europe. But the docks have moved steadily downstream and the centre of Rotterdam is very different from what it was even 50 years ago. A young and dynamic city, Rotterdam is one of the few in Europe where the average age of the population is decreasing. It is ethnically and culturally diverse and has high potential for attracting the 'creative class'. The Rotterdam region is home to two leading research universities and several other innovative higher education institutions. This report looks at how to encourage growth in the Rotterdam region, through the transfer of technology and knowledge, and through realising the potential of its people. This publication is part of the series of OECD reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities, other higher education institutions and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

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This analytical report is part of the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC) initiative, which seeks to bring together policymakers and practitioners to advance understanding of the competencies that can trigger and shape innovation for the digital and green transitions. The report provides analysis and case studies examining how traditional higher education programmes, like bachelor's degrees, can effectively cultivate competencies crucial for green and digital innovation.

It highlights four key action areas: (1) tracking and assessing competencies: enhancing the capacity of higher education systems to track demand for and supply of competencies that support innovation, through improving anticipation and assessment methods; (2) curriculum development: updating educational programmes and curricula to ensure they target the necessary knowledge and skills for green and digital innovation, encompassing relevant transversal and discipline-specific competencies; (3) boosting student engagement: increasing interest and motivation to develop competencies that contribute to innovation, which may involve improving incentives and greater attention to designing engaging learning experiences; and (4) enhancing partnerships with the private sector: strengthening partnerships with innovative businesses and industries to align higher education provision with their human capital needs.

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The Paso del Norte Region is the largest metropolitan area on the US-Mexican border, with Ciudad Juárez as a major manufacturing centre. However, the economic performance on both sides of the border region is below the OECD average. The long-term competitiveness of the region is under a threat due to ongoing violence, brain drain and environmental degradation. The ability to fuel local growth by cultivating relevant skills is the best guarantee that Paso del Norte will thrive in future. A globally competitive region needs to have a highly skilled workforce and knowledge-based economy. To break out of the low skill/low wage economy, Paso del Norte needs to improve educational attainment levels on both sides of the border. It will also need to foster new business formation and provide jobs and entrepreneurial skills to higher education graduates. How can Paso del Norte capitalise on the ongoing cross-border initiatives to create a more comprehensive approach to regional development? How can the universities use challenge-driven research to transform social, environmental and health-related challenges into assets and opportunities? This publication explores a range of helpful policy measures and institutional reforms to mobilise higher education for regional development. It is part of the series of the OECD Reviews of Higher Education in Regional and City Development. These reviews help mobilise higher education institutions [HEIs] for economic, social and cultural development of cities and regions. They analyse how the higher education system impacts upon regional and local development and bring together universities and other HEIs and public and private agencies to identify strategic goals and to work towards them.

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The main purpose of the OECD's 'Thematic review of tertiary education' is to provide policy makers with information and analysis to assist them in formulating and implementing policies to achieve national social and economic objectives through tertiary education. Its key objectives are to: synthesise research-based evidence on the impact of tertiary education policies and disseminate this knowledge among participating countries; identify innovative and successful policy initiatives and practices; facilitate exchanges of lessons and experiences among countries; and identify future policy options. The review, which involved 24 countries (Australia, Belgium - Flemish Community, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), 'examines how the organisation, management and delivery of tertiary education can help countries achieve their economic and social objectives'. As part of the review, each of the participating countries was asked to prepare a country background report. This document is the country background report for Sweden. Its contents are: Executive summary; The national context of tertiary education; Overall description of the tertiary education system; The tertiary education system and the labour market; The regional role of tertiary education; The role of tertiary education in research and innovation; Achieving equity in and through tertiary education; Resourcing the tertiary education system; Planning, governing and regulating the system; Assuring and improving the quality of tertiary education; Internationalisation; Concluding discussion.

Documents from this thematic review are indexed from TD/TNC 89.551 to TD/TNC 89.585. Show less

The mobility of students, professors, knowledge and even values has been part of higher education for centuries, but it has recently grown at an unprecedented pace. This presents many new opportunities among which are increased access to higher education, strategic alliances between countries and regions, as well as the expansion of human resource and institutional capacity. Parallel to these opportunities are an equal number of challenges: a potential increase in low quality or rogue providers, a lack of recognition of foreign qualifications by domestic employers or education institutions, along with elitism and the tensions it creates. This book casts light on these opportunities and challenges, especially for developing countries willing to leverage cross-border higher education as a tool for development. It discusses the concept of capacity building through cross-border education, emphasising the critical role of quality assurance and trade negotiations.

Published abstract.

The chapters are as follows: Executive summary; Cross-border tertiary education: an introduction / Jane Knight; Developing capacity through cross-border tertiary education / Stephan Vincent-Lancrin; Building capacity in quality assurance: the challenge of context / Richard R. Hopper; Developing capacity in tertiary education through trade liberalisation and GATS / Massimo Geloso-Grosso; Annex - Guidelines for quality provision in cross-border higher education. Show less