Inclusive, equal and quality education for all – this is how the UN defines the ambitious goal for the nations of this world. The progress made by individual countries in this regard is measured annually by the OECD, most recently in the study “Education at a Glance 2022”. In this study, one focus was on the tertiary sector. Andreas Schleicher, special advisor for education policy at the OECD, explains what this is. We also wanted to know which countries are ahead in education and which are doing particularly badly. Why this is not so easy to answer – we also learned that in our conversation with education expert Andreas Schleicher.
DM: Education at a Glance 2022 focuses on tertiary education. What does tertiary education mean?
Andreas Schleicher: Tertiary education refers to the higher education that students usually enter after 12-13 years of primary and secondary education. Academic education at universities is an important element of tertiary education, but the term also includes advanced vocational and professional education.
Tertiary education is becoming increasingly diverse. In recent years, short-cycle tertiary programmes of two years or less have become popular in some countries. Even shorter microcredential programmes, certifying successful participation in courses focusing on a specific skill, are likely to become important in the near future. The delivery of tertiary education is also changing rapidly. The last decade has seen a surge in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), which make tertiary courses available online to an almost unlimited audience.
DM: What the OECD means by “quality education"? Is it the highest possible school-leaving qualification? A university degree?
Andreas Schleicher: A degree is a narrow measure of the quality of education. The quality of education is determined by the tools it gives a learner to get a good job, lead a fulfilled life and contribute to society. In OECD countries, completion of upper secondary education (i.e. 12-13 years of education) is often considered the minimum requirement for successful participation in the labour market. Direct measures of knowledge and skills, such as OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) provide other benchmarks for the quality of education.
DM: Which countries have excellent tertiary education?
Andreas Schleicher: Excellence in tertiary education has many dimensions. It includes, for example:
- The ability of the system to deliver relevant and advanced skills to large numbers of diverse students
- High completion rates
- A good level of financial resources and efficient use of funds
- Adequate financial support for low-income students
- Good transitions to the labour market
- Resilience and capacity to respond rapidly to changing labour markets
- International mobility of students
Different countries score well on the different dimensions. For example, 85% of bachelor’s students complete their degree within three years of the foreseen duration in the UK, much more than the OECD average of 68%. The Netherlands performs exceptionally well in terms of labour market transitions of tertiary students. Less than 5% of tertiary educated 25-29 year olds are not in education, employment or training, compared to more than a third in Greece. In terms of funding, Chile, Canada and the United States stand out, each allocating more than 2% of their GDP to tertiary education, while five other OECD countries invest less than 1% of their GDP. The Nordic countries stand out for their generous support for students.
DM: Which countries perform poorly?
Andreas Schleicher: All countries have areas for improvement in their tertiary education systems. In many countries, barriers to access and completion of tertiary education prevent students from low socio-economic backgrounds in particular from obtaining tertiary degrees. This leads to low tertiary attainment rates and persistent inequalities in society.
In contrast, other countries have high numbers of tertiary graduates but struggle to create sufficient employment opportunities for them. This may be due to tertiary curricula that are too far removed from labour market needs. Similarly, the fields of study chosen by students are often not those sought by employers. Both problems limit the economic value of tertiary education and negatively affect the employment prospects of graduates.
DM: What conditions must be met for an education system to be particularly effective? Which country has a very good education system?
Andreas Schleicher: An effective education system is equitable, enables individuals to achieve their personal and professional goals in life, and contributes to society by creating economic, social and cultural capital.
To meet these objectives, an education system must offer opportunities for everyone, no matter their background. This starts with high quality early childhood education, which is essential for children from disadvantaged families. Most OECD countries have enrolment rates in early childhood education and care of over 90% for children aged 3-5. However, in many countries enrolment rates for younger children are well below 50%.
Primary and secondary education must build students’ knowledge, skills and competences, including literacy and numeracy, as well as agency, perseverance and resilience. PISA shows the excellent performance of countries such as Singapore and Estonia in some of these dimensions.
An effective education system must also respond to external changes such as digitalisation and automation, and promote lifelong learning with opportunities for up-skilling and re-skilling. The education systems that adapt best to these challenges will be the best education systems of the future.
Interview Marie Wildermann