The Education Policy Outlook, the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy, is a collaborative effort between OECD countries and economies, the OECD Secretariat, and invited organisations, as well as all actors working within participating education systems, to help students achieve their potential.
This report was prepared by the Education Policy Outlook Team (Diana Toledo Figueroa [Project Leader], Sophia de Berardinis, and Emily Qing). Hugo Marques de Sousa also contributed during the preparatory stages of this work with data analysis and drafting. It was prepared under the responsibility of Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division, Lucia Dellagnelo, Deputy Director for Education and Skills, and Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the OECD Secretary-General. Ameline Besin provided editorial and administrative support, with communications input from Sasha Ramirez-Hughes, Joanne Caddy, Duncan Crawford, Rachel Linden, Anna Wahlgren, and Della Shin.
The preparation of this report was possible thanks to the work undertaken by the Education Policy Outlook (EPO) in its three strands of work – comparative and thematic analysis, country-based work (mainly through the preparation of country policy profiles) and policy dialogue. These act as building blocks to develop, strengthen, and mobilise international knowledge of education policy. The OECD Secretariat is thankful to its EPO National Coordinators and key actors’ representative bodies at the OECD – including the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) and Business at OECD (BIAC) – for their valuable input during the project’s activities, which have informed the preparation of this publication.
Grounded on extensive research and data analysis, the EPO comparative reports provide evidence-based insights into international education policy. From 2023, the Education Policy Outlook also supports countries to follow up on the goals established by the 2022 Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education. As part of this support, this report continues the Education Policy Outlook’s work on responsiveness and resilience since 2020 and provides insights relevant to education actors in 2025 based on priority areas of the Framework of Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy. The report presents insights from international comparative analysis of relevant and promising policy efforts adopted by participating countries in recent years to support lifelong learning.
The report also builds on responses from 35 education systems to the Education Policy Outlook (2025) National Questionnaire for Comparative Policy Analysis: Nurturing Engaged and Resilient Lifelong Learners in a World of Digital Transformation, collected mainly between June and August 2025 and additional evidence. The education systems participating in this study are: Austria; Belgium (Flemish, French, German-speaking Community); Brazil; Bulgaria; Chile; China; Costa Rica; Croatia; Czechia; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Iceland; Japan; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Mexico; the Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Peru; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; Sweden; Thailand; Türkiye; United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland) and the United States. Information for other education systems was collected through other Education Policy Outlook activities. In total, over 230 policies were retained and analysed.
This report was launched at the Education Policy Reform Dialogues 2025: Nurturing Engaged and Resilient Lifelong Learners in a World of Digital Transformation, co-hosted with the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth of Luxembourg in Luxembourg on 28-29 November 2025. The Education Policy Reform Dialogues, organised annually since 2018, are the leading OECD forum on education policy. Outcomes of the discussions inform the future work of the OECD on education and skills, including the Education Policy Outlook.