Historically across the OECD, the teaching profession has been largely dominated by women. The share of female teachers has been increasing over the past decade – reaching 68% in 2014 for all levels of education combined. The gender disparity decreases gradually with the level of education, from 97% of women in pre-primary education to 43% in tertiary education.

Since its inaugural edition in 2011 in New York City, the ISTP has become an important forum for open and constructive exchange on effective teacher policies and practices. It assembles governments and teacher organisations from a number of high-performing and rapidly improving school systems, as certified by recent results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

In a rapidly changing world, having a strong knowledge base in their subject area, good classroom management skills and a commitment to helping students learn may no longer be enough to meet the expanding role of teachers.

In countries that performed above the OECD average in science, at least 80% of the students are in schools that invite specialists to conduct teacher training or organise in-service workshops for teachers or where teachers cooperate with each other. This is higher, on average, than what is observed among other countries.

PISA data reveal large disparities in achievement not only across countries, but also within countries across different subgroups of students.

Despite increased funding and many reforms, most education systems are still seeking ways to better prepare their students for a world in which technological change and the digital revolution are changing the way we work, live and relate to one another.

The expectations for teachers are high and rising each day.

Every year in March, education ministers and union leaders of the highest-performing and most rapidly improving education systems (according to PISA) meet to seek ways to improve the status of the teaching profession. Many countries could use such guidance.

Happy schools are places where children feel challenged but competent, where they work hard but enjoy it, where social relationships are rewarding and respectful, and where academic achievement is the product but not the sole objective.

The Dutch education system and the skills of the Dutch population are very strong overall. But there are concerns that too many people in the Netherlands are not developing the “right” skills to succeed or taking sufficient responsibility for maintaining and further developing their skills in adulthood.

New teachers are more likely to feel prepared in the content of their subject field(s), rather than the pedagogy or classroom practice of their subject field(s).

One of the greatest challenge for new teachers, does not come from not knowing what to teach, but from not knowing how to teach what they know and how to manage a classroom in all its strange and exciting complexity.

What makes some of the largest companies in the world successful? According to consultant Simon Sinek in a very popular TedTalk it is because they start with the ‘why’.

24 May 2017: PISA 2015 Results (Volume IV): Students’ Financial Literacy explores students’ experience with and knowledge about money and provides an overall picture of 15-year-olds’ ability to apply their accumulated knowledge and skills to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions.

Two in three 15-year-old students earn money from work activity, and more than one in two hold a bank account.

Why is it that even highly educated migrants to OECD countries are less likely to be employed than native-born adults who are similarly educated, even if the migrants have lived in their host country for several years?

PISA 2015 Results (Volume IV): Students’ Financial Literacy, explores students’ experience with and knowledge about money and provides an overall picture of 15-year-olds’ ability to apply their accumulated knowledge and skills to real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions.

Teachers enter the profession for a variety of reasons. Intrinsic motivations that have to do with the nature of the job and the intangible rewards associated with being an effective teacher play an important role.

The combined effects of policy reforms to attract and/or retain teachers, and financial constraints in the context of the economic downturn in 2008 may explain part of the recent trends in teachers’ salaries: decreases in statutory salaries and smaller salary gaps between levels of education.

Interview with Matthew D’Ancona, political columnist for the Guardian and the New York Times

The transition from school to work can be a difficult period associated with spells of unemployment. Data show that those who leave school early have comparatively low skills and low educational attainment and face the greatest challenges in the labour market compared to their peers who stayed in education longer.

Tertiary qualifications have become the entrance ticket for modern societies. Never before have those with advanced qualifications had the life chances they enjoy today, and never before have those who struggled to acquire a good education paid the price they pay today.

Tertiary enrolment is expanding rapidly, with very strong returns for individuals and taxpayers, but new evidence shows that universities can fail to offer, and individuals fail to pursue, the fields of study that promise the greatest labour-market opportunities, according to a new OECD report.

What happened in school today?” is a question that many parents across the world ask their children when they get home. Many parents also attend school meetings in order to understand how their child’s learning is developing.

Almost all mathematics teachers across participating countries use clear and structured teaching practices, according to both teachers and students. A vast majority of teachers also use student-oriented practices and enhanced learning activities in their classroom.

Teaching and learning lie at the heart of what it means to be human. While animals teach and learn from each other through direct demonstration, observation and experience, humans are unique in their ability to convey vast quantities of information and impart skills across time and space.

Anyone flying into Abu Dhabi or Dubai is amazed how the United Arab Emirates has been able to transform its oil and gas into shiny buildings and a bustling economy. But more recently, the country is discovering that far greater wealth than all the oil and gas together lies hidden among its people.

Although girls and boys perform similarly in the PISA science assessment at age 15, girls are less likely than boys to envision a career in science and engineering, even in countries where they outperform them.

The Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning (ITEL) Teacher Knowledge Survey is the first international study to explore the nature, function and development of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge, i.e. what teachers know about teaching and learning.

Taken as a whole, the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) present a mixed picture for Korea and Singapore. As their economies have grown, these two countries’ education systems have seen fast and impressive improvements; both now rank among PISA’s top performers.

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (otherwise known as TALIS) is a survey conducted every five years that asks teachers and school leaders from around the world about the working conditions and the learning environment in their schools.

In 2015, 193 countries committed to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, a shared vision of humanity that provides the missing piece of the globalisation puzzle. The extent to which that vision becomes a reality will in no small way depend on what is happening in today’s classrooms. Indeed, it is educators who hold the key to ensuring that the SDGs become a real social contract with citizens.

Across OECD countries, more and more individuals have attained tertiary education and the share of those with less education has declined. Although there are more tertiary-educated individuals than ever before, they still achieve good labour market outcomes.

Looking – literally – at how teachers around the world teach can be a game changer to improve education. The evidence is clear that teachers are what makes the greatest difference to learning, outside students’ own backgrounds. It is widely recognised that the quality of an education system is only as good as the quality of its teachers. Yet we know relatively little about what makes a good and effective teacher.

While teachers can make a great difference to student outcomes, we know little about how they teach and what makes “good” teaching. The TALIS Video Study is a new OECD project that aims at understanding what teaching practices are used, how they are interrelated, and which ones are most related to students’ cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes.

This new publication sets forward the PISA framework for global competence developed by the OECD, which aligns closely with the definition developed by the Center for Global Education at Asia Society.

Getting your first chance as an actor is tough. Salman Khan once revealed the hilarious story behind how he happened to get his first film Biwi Ho To Aisi.

In this particular snap, Izabel can be seen showing off her incredible figure in a two-piece bikini while taking a shower in public.

Whether it's off-screen or on-screen mothers don't have it easy. It's taken Bollywood a long time to get their idea of a mom right, so on this mother's day let's look at some of the actresses who gave 'mother' a whole new dimension.

What was the reaction of the Bachchan family when Abhishek Bachchan decided to take a two-year-long break from films?

The accident took place when the labourers were travelling from Telangana's Hyderabad city to Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

A Karnataka farmer had posted a video about 100 tonnes of cabbage ready to be harvested and needed buyers. An activist and agri-tech entrepreneur came to immediate rescue of the farmer in dire need.

Scaler Academy is an ed-tech platform that has been helping working professionals and college graduates navigate the changing software technology landscape by training them on skills that are sought after by top tech employers

After the success of song 'Pyar Karona', Salman Khan has shared the teaser of his new song 'Tera Bina' with Jacqueline Fernandez.

Delhi-NCR witnessed a sudden change of weather when the region was hit by a dust storm followed by rain after a sunny morning on Sunday, May 10.

The Institute for Competitiveness India, the National Skill Development Corporation India and the OECD LEED Programme in collaboration with the ILO are joining forces to discuss local skills strategies for job-rich and inclusive growth in India.

This comprehensive review of compact city policies will provide food for thought for national, sub-national and municipal governments as they seek to address their economic and environmental challenges through the development and implementation of spatial strategies.

This seminar was part of a three-year programme of cooperation between the European Commission and the OECD LEED Programme to monitor and report on entrepreneurial activity in Europe and related public policies and actions.

In Latin American and Caribbean countries the population is growing faster than the world average, intensifying land use and increasing urbanisation. The region is also prone to the negative impact of climate change and natural disasters, putting further pressure on natural resources.

This workshop is to discuss the policy relevance of inequalities in the access to services in regions and cities, including the institutional and territorial organization for service delivery.