What role for education?
Education is a major area of spending for OECD countries, but they face tough questions when it comes to allocating these resources: How best to balance spending across people’s lives—from preschool to adult learning? How can the role of education in fuelling economic growth be reconciled with other education goals? And what are the best ways of achieving those goals?

Drawing on the experience of member countries, OECD helps societies answer these questions. The goal is to create education and training systems that contribute to social stability and economic strength, and that provide everybody with the chance to make the most of their innate abilities at every stage of life.

Introducing OECD’s Education Directorate
This section of the website introduces the work of the Education Directorate. It’s divided into four main areas:

Pre-school and school 
- Higher education and adult learning
- Education, the economy and society
- Research and knowledge management

Other resources on this website include this diagram of who does what in the Education Directorate, and this brochure explaining the directorate's work. And there are dedicated sections for the following programmes:
PISA - international student assessment
IMHE - management in higher education
PEB - planning and design of education facilities
CERI - research and innovation in education

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In The News

Many schools collapse due to avoidable errors in design and construction.

Keeping Schools Safe in Earthquakes

How are students faring in science today?

Volume 1 - Analysis: Gives the most comprehensive international picture of science learning today. Volume 2 - Data: Presents the PISA 2006 full data set underlying Volume 1.

PISA 2006 results - Analysis and Data

-- OECD Forum -- 3-4 June 2008 Paris

A multi-stakeholder summit alongside the OECD's annual ministerial meeting.


Summaries and Speeches