The Education Policy Outlook, the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy, is a collaborative effort between OECD countries and economies, the OECD Secretariat, and invited organisations, as well as all actors working within participating education systems, to help students achieve their potential.
This report was prepared by members of the Education Policy Outlook Team (Diana Toledo Figueroa [Project Leader], Jonathan James [external consultant], Christa Rawkins and Christopher Olivares). It was prepared under the responsibility of Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division, and Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the OECD Secretary-General. Stephen Flynn provided editorial and communications support, with valued input from Cassandra Davis, Rachel Linden, Sophie Limoges, and Alison Burke. Anthony Mann and Hannah Kitchen also provided comments, and Mustafa Saygin also contributed, during the finalisation of this report. Ameline Besin provided administrative support for the co-ordination of the launch event.
The preparation of this report was possible thanks to the work undertaken by the Education Policy Outlook (EPO) in its three strands of work—comparative and thematic analysis, country-based work (mainly through the preparation of country policy profiles) and policy dialogue. These act as building blocks to develop, strengthen, and mobilise international knowledge of education policy. The OECD Secretariat is thankful to its EPO National Coordinators and key actors’ representative bodies at the OECD—including the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) and Business at OECD (BIAC)—for their valuable input during the activities of the Education Policy Outlook, which have informed the preparation of this publication.
This report draws on the Framework for Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy, developed by the Education Policy Outlook. In November 2021, the OECD launched this framework through its Education Policy Outlook: Shaping Responsive and Resilient Education in a Changing World. This framework benefits from an international knowledge base developed both before and during the pandemic through comparative reports, country-based analysis, and policy dialogue in over 40 education systems. From March 2020, in the context of the global pandemic, the Education Policy Outlook started integrating the topic of resilience into its ongoing research on how education systems can become more dynamic and responsive. It combined desk-based research and policy dialogue to develop the report Lessons for Education from COVID-19: A Policy Maker’s Handbook for More Resilient Systems, which was published in December 2020. The Handbook provided a valuable springboard towards the development of this framework.
Building on this Framework, the current report looks at emerging global megatrends and shorter-term disruptions to highlight policy processes of significance to policy makers in 2023. Focusing on implications for education and training pathways across the life course, the report therefore investigates how education systems can enhance the relevance of their education systems, how they can ease transitions throughout learners’ pathways, and how they can nurture learners’ aspirations.
This report was launched at the Education Policy Reform Dialogues 2022: Transforming Pathways for Lifelong Learners, co-hosted with the Department of Education of Ireland in the city of Dublin on 21-22 November 2022. The Education Policy Reform Dialogues, organised annually since 2018, are the leading OECD forum on education policy. Outcomes of the discussions inform the future work of the OECD on education and skills, including the Education Policy Outlook.