With all the economic turmoil of the past several years, have you ever wished you could buy an insurance policy to protect against the effects of a global recession? Well, such an insurance policy already exists – and it’s called higher education. During the first two years of the global...

Few would dispute that having a higher education is more important than ever to help people build positive economic futures and strengthen the knowledge economies of countries. Yet as the second issue of the OECD’s new brief series Education Indicators in Focus explains, OECD countries have...

Investing in higher (tertiary) education is one of the more significant decisions a person can take. In some countries, the direct costs of higher education can be large, often requiring a significant investment of an individual’s personal funds, either in up-front payments or loan repayments...

<ul> <li> Across OECD countries, the median age students first graduated from university fell by 6 months between 2005 and 2011. </li> <li>The median age of first graduation ranges from around 22 in Belgium and the United Kingdom to over 27 in Iceland and Israel. </li> <li>The percentage of part-time students has...</li></ul>

<UL> <LI>In some countries, an increasing number of young people are neither in employment, nor in education or training (NEET). A high proportion of NEETs is an indicator of a difficult transition between school and work. </LI> <LI>Higher educational attainment eases the transition into employment. </LI> <LI>Demographic...</li></li></li></ul>

<ul> <li>In an economically uncertain world, countries must balance the need for austerity with the need to invest in building a high-quality workforce. </li> <li>There is only a weak relationship between spending per student and tertiary attainment rates – the same level of spending can produce very different...</li></ul>

<UL> <LI>In OECD countries, the average class size at the lower secondary level is 23 students, but there are significant differences between countries, ranging from over 32 in Japan and Korea to 19 or below in Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.</LI> <LI>Class size, together with...</li></li></ul>

<ul> <li> Many countries have implemented reforms to develop and support doctoral studies and postdoctoral research, stressing the crucial role of doctorate students and degree holders in terms of economic growth, innovation and scientific research. </li> <li> The number of advanced research qualifications being...</li></ul>

<ul> <li> Students in OECD countries are expected to receive a total of 7 751 hours of instruction on average during their primary and lower secondary education – the bulk of that time is compulsory. </li> <li>In general, the higher the level of education, the greater the number of instruction hours a year. </li>...</li></ul>

<ul> <li>One-third of the population of OECD countries hold an upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) qualification as their highest educational attainment, and it is estimated that nearly half will graduate from a VET programme in their lifetime. </li> <li>Keeping up with technology...</li></ul>