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This brief paper notes that access to university has increased widely in recent decades. At the same time, new programs have been created to meet changes in the professions. The pool of applicants has also widened to include many more international and older students, further increasing entry rates. Key indications are that: more than 23 million students across the OECD and G20 countries will start their first university level course in 2013; the new generation of students will be particularly diverse, with more adults and international students than ever; and entry rates have increased over the last decades but unequal access to university still persists, with entry rates reflecting the background of the students. The recommendation is that tertiary institutions not only have to meet the growing demand for university education by expanding the number of places they offer, they also have to adapt programs and teaching methods to match the changing needs of a more diverse generation of students.

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During the early 1990s, the Finnish government began a strategy to develop Finland into a knowledge society. A key component of this strategy was to raise the knowledge and skill levels of the Finnish population by doubling higher education enrolments by the end of the 20th century. To assist this goal, a new sector of higher education was created with a different content, degree structure, and governance from universities - the 'Ammattikorkeakoulut' (AMK) or polytechnics. This publication reports on a review of the AMK sector undertaken for the OECD by an independent group of experts. The review is based on a background report prepared by Finnish authorities and material collected by the expert team during their visit to Finland. The review finds that the sector is distinct, highly regarded, and currently enrols three-fifths of students entering higher education. The report raises issues associated with fees, governance and accountability in higher education, and examines strategies for internationalisation of higher education. Advice is offered on how the new system could be further strengthened. The review suggests that the knowledge society strategy is well on the way to fruition. The publication contains the background report and the examiners’ report. Show less

Vocational education and training (VET) can play a central role in preparing young people for work, developing adults' skills and responding to the labour market needs of the economy. However, VET has been neglected in the past and marginalised in policy discussions, often overshadowed by the increasing emphasis on general academic education. Nevertheless, more recently, an increasing number of countries are recognising that high quality vocational education and training have a major contribution to make to economic competitiveness. This paper makes the following key points: (1) in 2012, in more than one-third of OECD countries, over half of all upper secondary students participated in pre-vocational or vocational programmes but less than 30 per cent of those students were exposed to work-based learning; (2) countries with well-established and high-quality vocational and apprenticeship programmes have improved youth employment opportunities; however, in many OECD countries, the share of young people who are neither employed, nor in education or training (NEET) is still higher for graduates from upper secondary VET than from upper secondary general programmes; and (3) students who enter vocational programmes are less likely to graduate than those who are enrolled in general programmes; moreover, they are nearly five times less likely to enrol in further education than graduates from general secondary schools with similar proficiency in literacy.

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The number of students enrolled in tertiary education outside their country of citizenship has sharply increased over the last decades, reflecting the expansion of tertiary education systems worldwide and the globalisation of economies and societies. This paper makes the following points in relation to this trend: (1) between 2000 and 2011, the number of international students has more than doubled; today, almost 4.5 million tertiary students are enrolled outside their country of citizenship; (2) the largest numbers of international students are from China, India and Korea, with Asian students accounting for 53 per cent of all students studying abroad worldwide; (3) new players have emerged on the international education market in the past decades, such as Australia, New Zealand, Spain, the Russian Federation and, more recently, Korea; by contrast, the share of international students in some of the most attractive countries - Germany and the United States, for instance - has declined; and (4) as countries increasingly benefit from student mobility, the competition to attract and retain students has diversified the map of destinations over the past decade.

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While tertiary education is expanding rapidly, how post-secondary vocational education and training (PSV) contributes to this expansion is rarely taken into account. This brief article examines this contribution across OECD countries. PSV is often seen as a second choice. Post-secondary vocational education and training institutions are not included in the global rankings of universities which attract the best students. However, this type of education is here to stay. In many countries post-secondary vocational education and training is booming as demonstrated by the number of enrolled students and PSV graduates in high skill jobs.

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This review of higher education policy in Mexico was undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1994, before Mexico became a member. Higher education in Mexico has witnessed an impressive expansion and its number of enrolments compares with many other OECD countries. A central policy issue is whether higher education provision now meets the needs of society and serves further economic development. The team of OECD experts found that these structures, designed at a time when participation was much more restricted, are now too rigid and complex. The review has led to a number of recommendations on quantitative priorities; equity; quality and relevance; differentiation and flexibility; staff development; and the steering and governance of the system and institutions. Show less

This paper is part of a series of briefs that highlight specific indicators in OECD's Education at a Glance that are of particular interest to policy makers and practitioners. Both the admission process and criteria for admission affect tertiary enrolment. Centralised admission systems can make the admission process more efficient, but can limit the number of applications and offers made to applicants; minimum performance requirements or tuition fees are barriers to tertiary studies, even if adjustments are made for specific groups or for equity reasons. This snapshot of tertiary education admission systems enables a better analysis of the implications of these different policies across different settings and so helping provide a clearer understanding of what matters for outcomes.

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Indigenous peoples are diverse, within and across nations. However, the Indigenous peoples have experienced colonisation processes that have undermined Indigenous young people's access to their identity, language and culture. At the same time, Indigenous children have not generally had access to the same quality of education that other children in their country have had access to. These two forces in combination have undermined the educational opportunities and outcomes of successive generations of Indigenous children and young people, at times with catastrophic effect. The six Canadian provinces and territories that participated in this study, along with New Zealand and Queensland (Australia), are actively seeking to better meet the educational needs and aspirations of Indigenous students and their families.

The report seeks to identify promising strategies, policies, programmes and practices that support improved learning outcomes for Indigenous students and to build an empirical evidence base on Indigenous students in education. The study investigates four areas in Indigenous education: well-being, participation, engagement and achievement in education. These outcomes are inter-connected and mutually reinforcing, and each is essential for the success of every student.

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The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a survey of the knowledge and skills of 15 year olds that was first carried out in 2000 and repeated every three years to measure the changes that take place over time. This document summarises the results of PISA 2003, focusing on Australia's results and how the Australian students performed in comparison with students from other countries. It shows how well prepared Australian students are to meet the challenges of the future, whether they have the ability to analyse, reason and communicate their ideas effectively, and whether they have the capacity to continue learning throughout life. Overall, Australian students performed consistently well in the four assessment domains: mathematics, reading, scientific literacy and problem solving. Key messages for Australia from PISA 2003 include: in relation to socioeconomic background, students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have a distinct advantage; in relation to Indigenous students, a very small proportion of students performed well in mathematical literacy; and in relation to gender differences, while there was no overall gender differences apparent in mathematical performance, males tended to be over-represented at the upper levels of achievement.

The full report is indexed at TD/TNC 93.855. Show less

This publication summarises the OECD's compendium of education statistics, 'Education at a glance'. It provides data on key topics in education including: (1) education levels and student numbers: how far adults have studied, and how early childhood education affects student performance later on; (2) higher education and work: the number of young people who graduate from tertiary education, and the ease with which they enter the world of work; (3) economic and social benefits of education: how education affects people's job prospects and its impact on incomes; (4) paying for education: the share of public spending on education and the role of private spending; and (5) the school environment: the number of hours that teachers work, and the variations in class size.

Each indicator is presented on a two-page spread. The left-hand page explains the significance of the indicator, discusses the main findings, examines key trends and provides a roadmap for finding out more in the OECD education databases and in other OECD education publications. The right-hand page contains clearly presented charts and tables, accompanied by dynamic hyperlinks (StatLinks) that direct readers to the corresponding data.

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