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In September 2004, the OECD convened a meeting with a small group of experts to discuss a joint project proposal by OECD CERI and INES Network B entitled Measuring the Social Outcomes of Learning. The proposal was well received by the CERI Governing Board and a formal invitation requesting financial support was sent to OECD member countries in December 2004. To date, 11 countries have provided financial contribution and a number of other countries have shown interest by offering their assistance such as providing access to, and information on, experts and research materials relevant to SOL. Sponsoring countries within the OECD include: Austria, Belgium (Flemish), Canada, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom (England and Scotland) and the United States.
In March 2005, the OECD convened an expert advisory panel to review a more detailed research plan for the SOL project. Advisory persons present at the meeting included: Dan Andersson, John Bynner, Richard Desjardins, Marco Mira D’Ercole, Leon Feinstein, Simon Field, Tom Healy, Jean-Luc Heller, Lisa Hudson, Alistair Nolan, Claude Sauvageot, Tom Schuller and Gregory Wurzburg.
In short, the SOL project is designed to inform economic and social policy that relates to education and lifelong learning.
The aims are to:
• Synthesize what is known about the social outcomes of learning.
• Develop coherent models for understanding better these complex links, and their implications for policy.
• Add to the empirical knowledge base of SOL.
• Propose ways to measure the relationships in a way that is valuable for both policy makers and researchers.
The SOL project will initially focus its efforts on two domain areas:
• Health (physical and mental) outcomes.
• Civic and social engagement outcomes.
Additionally, two cross-cutting themes will be considered in the first phase:
• Intergenerational effects of learning via the family and home environment.
• Distributional effects of learning: how different social groups benefit from education.
Possible future domains include crime, life satisfaction, environment, consumerism and cultural activity.
CERI is currently in the process of commissioning task work that will implement the proposed research plan. Our intention is to recruit a small number of experts over the coming months who will contribute to the project. We expect experts for the SOL domain health outcomes and the SOL cross cutting themes of intergenerational effects of learning and distributional effects of learning will be in place by June 2005, and have advanced outlines of their proposed work available for review and discussion. In contrast, it may take longer to find expert(s) for the SOL domain civic and social engagement outcomes (CSE).
Timetable
The following provides a detailed tentative schedule of activities planned for the first phase of the SOL project, which was initially planned for two years, from January 2005 to December 2006:
Schedule for deliverables
• First set of expert papers (synthetic reviews and empirical assessments for Health and CSE domains), December 2005.
• Data catalogue (compilation of data sources), December 2005.
• Edited volume containing first set of expert papers, April 2006.
• Second set of expert papers (indicator feasibility analysis based on first set of expert papers and data catalogue), March 2006.
• Framework report (synthesis of expert papers for Health and CSE domains), December 2006.
Schedule for task work
• Commission expert papers for synthetic reviews and empirical assessments in Health and CSE domains, May-December 2005
• Commission expert papers for indicator feasibility analysis, November 2005-March 2006.
• Commission synthesis of first set of expert papers into Part I of Framework Report, January 2006-March 2006.
• Commission synthesis of second set of expert papers into Part II of Framework Report, April 2006-June 2006.
Schedule for meetings (provisional, to be updated)
• Briefing and presentation of SOL project to Network B, Helsinki, 23 May 2005
• Expert meeting, London, 13 June 2005
• Briefing of SOL project to Network B, October 2005
• Meeting of country representatives, late 2005/early 2006.
• Project advisory group meeting to review expert papers, January 2006.
• Expert panel meeting to review Framework Report, June 2006.
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