presentation by richard yelland, oecd head of policy advice and implementation division

BETTER SCHOOLS FOR BETTER LIVESRichard YellandOECD Directorate for Education and Skills

Podgorica, Montenegro 8 July 2014

• OECD’s role and how we work

– Collection of comparative data and production of indicators

– Benchmarking

– Best practice

– Peer learning

– Policy analysis

– Advice and assistance

Improving the quality of education

3 PISA in brief

• Over half a million students…– representing 28 million 15-year-olds in 65 countries/economies

… took an internationally agreed 2-hour test…– Goes beyond testing whether students can

reproduce what they were taught…

… to assess students’ capacity to extrapolate from what they know and creatively apply their knowledge in novel situations

– Mathematics, reading, science, problem-solving, financial literacy

– Total of 390 minutes of assessment material

… and responded to questions on…– their personal background, their schools

and their engagement with learning and school

• Parents, principals and system leaders provided data on…– school policies, practices, resources and institutional factors that

help explain performance differences .

4 The structure of the PISA assessment

2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015

Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading

Mathematics Maths Maths Maths Maths Maths

Science Science Science Science Science Science

Problem Solving

Digital Reading

Problem Solving, Financial literacy,

Digital Math, Digital reading

Collaborative Problem Solving,

Financial literacy,

Change in performance between PISA 2003 and 2012

Indonesia

Thailand

Russian Fed.

United States

Latvia

Spain

NorwayLuxembourg

Ireland

Austria

SwitzerlandJapan

Liechtenstein

Korea

Brazil

Tunisia

Mexico

Uruguay

Turkey

Greece

Italy

Portugal

Hungary

Poland

Slovak Republic

OECD average

Germany

Sweden

France

Denmark

Iceland

Czech Republic

New ZealandAustralia

Macao-China

Belgium

Canada

Netherlands

Finland

Hong Kong-China

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

350 400 450 500 550 600

Ave

rag

e a

nn

ua

l m

ath

em

ati

cs

sc

ore

ch

an

ge

Average mathematics performance in PISA 2003

Imp

rovin

g p

erfo

rma

nc

eD

ete

riora

ting

pe

rform

an

ce

PISA 2003 performance below the OECD averagePISA 2003 performance

above the OECD average

Fig I.2.185

• Education at a Glance– Published annually: a compendium of

statistics and indicators on a wide range of topics

• The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)– First results in 2013

• TALIS – the Teaching and Learning International Survey– www.oecd.org/talis

It’s not just about PISA…

http://www.oecd.org/talis

The Survey of Adult Skills

Mean mathematics performance, by school location,

after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.388 TALIS in Brief

…representing more than 4 million teachers in 34 countries…

Over 100 thousand randomly selected lower secondary

teachers and their school leaders from over 6500 schools

…took an internationally-agreed survey about the working

conditions and learning environments in their schools…

…responding to questions about their background, their teaching

practices, support and development, their relationships with

colleagues and students and the leadership in their schools

Mean mathematics performance, by school location, after acc

ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.399 Participating countries

*Note: TALIS only runs in a sub-national entity of the following countries: Belgium (Flemish Community), Canada (Alberta), United Arab Emirates

(Abu Dhabi) and United Kingdom (England) . This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any

territory covered by this map.

TALIS 2008 & 2013

Developing Teaching

as a profession

Recruit top candidates into the profession

Support teachers in continued

development of practice

Retain and recognise effective teachers –path for growth

Improve the societal

view of teaching as

a profession


ounting for socio-economic status1010 TALIS seeks to help with …


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31111 Gender and age distribution of teachers

Percentage of female teachers in lower secondary and their age

Sin

gapo

re

Abu D

hab

i (U

AE

)

Ma

laysia

Bra

zil

Engla

nd

(U

K)

Alb

ert

a (

Can

ada

)

Pola

nd

Fla

nde

rs (

Belg

ium

)

Me

xic

o

Fra

nce

Ro

man

ia

Ko

rea

Isra

el

Port

ug

al

Ave

rage

Serb

ia

Ch

ile

Cro

atia

Japa

n

Icela

nd

Slo

vak R

epub

lic

Fin

land

No

rwa

y

Spain

Czech R

epu

blic

De

nm

ark

Ne

therl

and

s

Austr

alia

Sw

ede

n

La

tvia

Bulg

aria

Esto

nia

Ita

ly

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Under 30 years 30-49 years 50-59 years 60 years or more Female


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31212 TALIS in Brief

For a majority of TALIS countries,

Few countries attract

the most experienced

teachers……to the most challenging

schools.


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31313 Gender and age distribution of principals

Percentage of female principals in lower secondary education and their age

Ro

man

ia

Bra

zil

Spain

Serb

ia

Isra

el

Alb

ert

a (

Can

ada

)

Fla

nde

rs (

Belg

ium

)

Sin

gapo

re

Slo

vak R

epub

lic

Abu D

hab

i (U

AE

)

Me

xic

o

Cro

atia

Fin

land

Ave

rage

Engla

nd

(U

K)

Icela

nd

Ch

ile

Ne

therl

and

s

Pola

nd

Czech R

epu

blic

Esto

nia

Port

ug

al

Austr

alia

Bulg

aria

Sw

ede

n

La

tvia

De

nm

ark

No

rwa

y

Fra

nce

Ita

ly

Ma

laysia

Japa

n

Kore

a

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Under 40 years 40-49 years 50-59 years 60 years or more Female


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31414 Impact of professional development

…the professional development

in which they have participated

has had a positive impact on

their teaching.

Regardless of the

content, over 3/4 of

teachers report that…


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31515 Teachers and feedback

On average across TALIS countries,

...and only one in 5 receive

feedback from

three sources.

Just above half of the teachers

report receiving feedback on

their teaching from

one or two sources

Percentage of lower secondary teachers who report using the following methods of assessing student

learning "frequently" or "in all or nearly all lessons"


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31616 Reported use of methods of assessing student learning

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

LatviaJapan

Korea

Finland

Slovak Republic

Czech Republic

Romania

Estonia

Poland

Netherlands

Serbia

Iceland

Bulgaria

Italy

Sweden

DenmarkFlandersBrazil

Malaysia

Israel

Chile

Croatia

United States

Alberta(Canada)

Spain

Singapore

Mexico

France

Norway

Australia

Portugal

England (UK)Abu Dhabi

Develop and administer ownassessment

Administer a standardised test

Provide written feedback onstudent work in addition to amark, i.e. Numeric score orletter grade

Observe students whenworking on particular tasks andprovide immediate feedback


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31717

Countries where teachers believe their profession is valued

show higher levels of student achievement

Relationship between lower secondary teachers' views on the value of their profession in society and the country’s

share of top mathematics performers in PISA 2012

Australia

Brazil

Bulgaria

Chile

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

EstoniaFinland

France

IcelandIsrael

Italy

Japan

Korea

Latvia

Mexico

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Singapore

Slovak Republic

SpainSweden

Alberta (Canada)

England (UK)

Flanders (Belgium)

United States

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Share

of

math

em

atics

top p

erf

orm

ers

Percentage of teachers who agree that teaching is valued in society

R2 = 0.24 r= 0.49


ounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31818 Drivers of job satisfaction

The more frequently that

teachers report participating

in collaborative practices

with their colleagues,

the higher their level of

self-efficacy.

The same is true

for job satisfaction.

• Education has to manage a constant tension between quality control and innovation

• We need to be sure that all schools achieve minimum standards and that is achieved through evaluation and assessment

• But we also need to be sure that systems have scope to change and develop

Quality and innovation

“The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire

Practice” OECD Publications, Sept. 2010, 338pp.

‘Innovative Learning Environments’ 2013

21

Based especially on 40 case studies from 20 countries, (plus 85 self-report notes)

Develops and presents the ILE framework

Extended extracts -innovations are ‘in their own words’, & bring the concepts and principles to life

The Learning Principles – environments

should:

• Make learning central, encourage engagement, and be where learners come to understand themselves as learners

• Ensure that learning is social and often collaborative

• Be highly attuned to learners’ motivations and the importance of emotions

• Be acutely sensitive to individual differences including in prior knowledge

• Be demanding for each learner but without excessive overload

• Use assessments consistent with its aims, with strong emphasis on formative feedback

• Promote horizontal connectedness across activities and subjects, in-and out-of-school

Moreover, all should be present not one or two.

22

Profiling the Pedagogical Knowledge of the Teaching

Profession

Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning

• To investigate the pedagogical knowledge of teachers and the knowledge dynamics in the teaching profession.

• What is pedagogical knowledge?

– The specialised knowledge of teachers for creating effective teaching and learning environments for all students.

Project Objectives

Research Question #1

Science of Learning, including the neurosciences • huge progress in understanding how the human brain

works

The potential of the learning sciences • to inform the pedagogical knowledge of teachers and,

hence, • to improve pedagogical practice is significant.

Does the knowledge base of the teaching profession sufficiently incorporate the latest scientific research on learning?

Policy imperative for the teaching and learning of 21st century skills,

might entail

• a re-skilling of the current teacher workforce and

• upgrading of the knowledge base of the teaching profession.

Does the knowledge base of the teaching profession meet the expectations for teaching and learning 21st century skills?

Research Question #2

• Work in progress

• Analysing what policy makers, practitioners, employers and parents believe about skills; what the evidence tells us; what stakeholders actually do; and the gaps between them

27

The role of social and emotional skills

Conceptualising skills

Which socio-emotional skills matter?

The

evi

de

nce

Social and emotional skills are malleable

The

evi

de

nce

Heckman and Kautz (2014)• Sensitive periods for cognitive skills

tend to be early• Sensitive periods for social and

emotional skills are much longer

CognitiveCognitive

Social & Emotional

Social & Emotional

Time = tTime = t-1

Contexts(learning inputs)

Skills beget skills

• Data, indicators and benchmarking provide evidence for policy makers

• Research and innovation provide ideas

• The role of policy analysis is to turn that into useful advice for specific countries at specific times

32

Policy analysis and advice

Equity and quality

Preparingstudents for the future

Schoolimprovement

Evaluationand

assessment

Outcomes

OECD Education Policy Outlook series

A window into countries’ education systems and their education policy reforms

It aims to provide policy makers, stakeholders and others with information to help them make policy with:

TRENDS: An overview of current reforms and policy options adopted across OECD countries

COUNTRY SNAPSHOTS: Access to individual country analysis: (34)

SPECIAL FOCUS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF REFORMS: Evolving TUAC/BIAC

OECD Education Policy Outlook: Comparative Report

Context:Students,

institutions and system

Context:Selected

indicators

Key issues and goals

Recent policy

responses

Spotlight

OECD Education Policy Outlook: Comparative Report Part 2. Country policy snapshots

• Helping policy makers to help themselves

• Improving access to OECD data and analysis

The Education GPS

http://gpseducation.oecd.org

What you can find on the

Education GPS

Features

• Customised country profiles with latest data

• Diagrams of education systems

• Data analysis, by topic

• Interactive charts and maps

• Statistical reports

• Links to relevant data sources

• Printable documents

• A visual network of education policy and practice

• Key insights and Policy options for a wide range of topics, at a glance or in depth

• Key OECD publications and links

• www.oecd.org/education

• http://gpseducation.oecd.org/

• @RichardJYelland

• [email protected]

Thank you and contact details

http://www.oecd.org/education

http://gpseducation.oecd.org/