Strong performers and successful reformers in education : education policy advice for Greece

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many oecd countries in performance on pisa, including countries with the same or lower levels of expenditure per student as well as countries with the same and lower levels of economic development. Salary costs per student are above the oecd average, mostly because Greek teachers have less teaching time and Greece has smaller classes. A smaller percentage of students who enter tertiary education complete a first degree within the statutory study time than in any other country in Europe. To address the challenges, the Greek government has established a bold agenda and sought advice from a task force on the development and implementation of reform proposals that reflect best practices in oecd countries. This report provides the outcomes of the work of the task force. It presents a roadmap for how the reforms can be successfully implemented, with pointers to relevant experience in other countries. As a contribution to the on-going policy discussions in Greece, it recommends specific short-, medium- and long-term actions that can improve efficiency in the country's education system. (Contains 18 boxes, 39 figures, 19 tables and 9 notes.) The future of Greeces well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many OECD countries in performance on PISA, including countries with the same or lower levels of expenditure per student as well as countries with the same and lower levels of economic development. Salary costs per student are above the OECD average, mostly because Greek teachers have less teaching time and Greece has smaller classes. A smaller percentage of students who enter tertiary education complete a first degree within the statutory study time than in any other country in Europe. To address the challenges, the Greek government has established a bold agenda and sought advice from a task force on the development and implementation of reform proposals that reflect best practices in OECD countries. This report provides the outcomes of the work of the task force. It presents a roadmap for how the reforms can be successfully implemented, with pointers to relevant experience in other countries. As a contribution to the on-going policy discussions in Greece, it recommends specific short-, medium- and long-term actions that can improve efficiency in the countrys education system. - back cover The story of Korean education over the past 50 years is one of remarkable growth and achievement. Korea is one of the top performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey and among those with the highest proportion of young people who have completed upper secondary and tertiary education. Korea is continuously exploring ways to improve its education system and has dramatically increased government investment in education over the last decade. Nevertheless, further reforms are needed to spur and sustain improvements. Rapid globalisation and modernisation are also posing new and demanding challenges to equip young people of today and tomorrow with skills relevant to the 21st century. The report ... aims at helping Korea to identify and address education policy challenges in an international perspective. To this end, it examines the Korean education system through the prism of PISA 2009, considers recent policy developments and suggests specific policy options to foster improvements. The report also provice an in-depth analysis of the experience of other high-performing countries. Introduction -- Chapter 1. Improving Efficiency In Primary And Secondary Education -- Development And Use Of Human Resources -- Rationalisation Of The School Network -- Evaluation And Assessment -- Governance And Managment -- Chapter 2. Improving Efficiency In Tertiary Education -- Competitiveness Of Tertiary Education -- Issues Related To Efficiency And Effectiveness -- Current And Proposed Reforms -- Summary Of Recommendations -- References -- Annex A. Comparative Performance Of The Greek School System -- Learning Outcomes -- Equity In The Distribution Of Learning Opportunities -- The Learning Environment In The Classroom And At School -- How Schooling Is Organised: Upper Secondary Level. This Work Is Published On The Responsibility Of The Secretary-general Of The Oecd--t.p. Verso. Corrigenda To Oecd Publications May Be Found Online At: Www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References.