Society

What impact do social trends have on education?

As more women go out to work, home life is changing for children and teenagers. Schools are changing too, as more women move into professional life. In pre-primary and primary schools, there are many more women teachers than men. At secondary level, things are more balanced, but the ratio of women to men has grown considerably. And at the top end of the hierarchy, more women are becoming school leaders.

Listen to this interview with Henno Theisens, one of the authors of Trends Shaping Education.

Take a quiz about the trends affecting education today

What impact does education have on society?

Families are smaller than a generation ago, women tend to be older when they have children, and more women do not have children at all. Education is one factor. Higher levels of education tend to go hand in hand with fewer children.

Further reading:

• Can the world be over-educated?
  Has the increasing supply of well-educated labour been matched by the creation of an equivalent number of high-paying jobs?
  OECD Observer article by Barbara Ischinger, OECD Director for Education, Education Directorate
• Human capital: A revolution?
  If we want to build competitive economies, we need a human capital revolution. Education can play a major role.
  OECD Observer article by Brian Keeley, OECD Public Affairs and Communications Directorate