Browse by: "2015"
Index
Title Index
Year Index
Successful education systems are those that promote leadership at all levels, thereby encouraging teachers and principals, regardless of the formal positions they occupy, to lead innovation in the classroom, the school and the system as a whole. This report summarises evidence from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment that underpins the three themes of the 2015 International Summit on the Teaching Profession: school leadership, teachers’ self-efficacy and innovation in education. It also offers examples from around the world of how some schools are introducing innovative ways of teaching and learning to better equip students with the skills they need to participate fully in 21st-century global economies.
What does redesigning schools and schooling through innovation mean in practice? How might it be brought about? These questions have inspired an influential international reflection on “Innovative Learning Environments” (ILE) led by the OECD. This reflection has already resulted in publications on core design principles and frameworks and on learning leadership. Now the focus extends from exceptional examples towards wider initiatives and system transformation. The report draws as core material on analyses of initiatives specially submitted by some 25 countries, regions and networks. It describes common strengths around a series of Cs: Culture change, Clarifying focus, Capacity creation, Collaboration & Co-operation, Communication technologies & platforms, and Change agents. It suggests that growing innovative learning at scale needs approaches rooted in the complexity of 21st century society and “learning eco-systems”. It argues that a flourishing middle level of change around networks and learning communities provides the platform on which broader transformation can be built.
This report is not a compendium of “best practices” but a succinct analysis presenting original concepts and approaches, illustrated by concrete cases from around the world. It will be especially useful for those designing, researching or engaging in educational change, whether in schools, policy, communities or wider networks.
“The OECD’s ILE work has mobilised and generated profoundly important knowledge about the nature of learning and opened understandings of learning environments within and beyond school. The ILE Framework has already proved to be an invaluable tool for the emerging future of learning leadership and systems development.”
Professor Michael Schratz, Dean, School of Education, University of Innsbruck, Austria; President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI)
“Innovation and creativity are the lifeblood of learning. Schooling Redesigned summarises beautifully one of the OECD's most fascinating projects - an attempt to look at the DNA of innovation in schools. Using a global range of actual examples it describes the conditions that education systems have to create if children and their parents, teachers and communities are to feel confident and optimistic about the future. For teachers, the messages are inspiring. Education systems have to focus on enhancing teachers' capacity and motivation. Standardisation cannot do that. Its messages to the profession and its organisations are profound. Teacher unions are, can and should be at the centre of creating the conditions for innovation.”
John Bangs, Special consultant at Education International; Chair of TUAC’s international group on Education, Training and Employment Policy
Volume II of this series compiles the science-based consensus documents of the OECD Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds from 2009 to 2014. They contain information for use during the regulatory assessment of food/feed products of modern biotechnology, i.e. developed from transgenic crops. Relevant information includes compositional considerations (nutrients, anti-nutrients, toxicants, allergens), use of the plant species as food/feed, key products and components suggested for analysis of new varieties for food use and for feed use, and other elements. These documents should be of value to applicants for commercial uses of novel foods and feeds, regulators and risk assessors in national authorities for their comparative approach, as well as the wider scientific community.
Volume I of this series compiles the science-based consensus documents of the OECD Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds from 2002 to 2008. They contain information for use during the regulatory assessment of food/feed products of modern biotechnology, i.e. developed from transgenic crops. Relevant information includes compositional considerations (nutrients, anti-nutrients, toxicants, allergens), use of the plant species as food/feed, key products and components suggested for analysis of new varieties for food use and for feed use, and other elements. These documents should be of value to applicants for commercial uses of novel foods and feeds, regulators and risk assessors in national authorities for their comparative approach, as well as the wider scientific community.
This STAN: OECD Structural Analysis Statistics 2014 provides analysts and researchers with a comprehensive tool for analysing industrial performance across countries. It includes annual measures of production, value added (at current and constant prices), gross fixed capital formation, number engaged and labour compensation. Data are in national currency for current price data i.e. in Euros for EMU countries; in terms of the current price value in the reference year (usually 2005) for volume data and in number of persons for employment data. Coverage is provided for 15 OECD countries and for multiple sectors, with extended coverage of service sectors according to ISIC Revision 4 classification.
The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool designed for emerging economies to assess SME policy frameworks and monitor progress in policy implementation over time. The Index has been developed by the OECD in partnership with the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2006.
For the Eastern Partner Countries, the assessment framework is structured around the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), providing a wide-range of pro-enterprise measures to guide the design and implementation of SME policies based on good practices promoted by the EU and the OECD. It is applied to the Eastern Partner Countries for the second time since 2012.
The Index identifies strengths and weaknesses in policy design and implementation, allows for comparison across countries and measures convergence towards good practices and relevant policy standards. It aims to support governments in setting targets for SME policy development and to identify strategic priorities to further improve the business environment. It also helps to engage governments in policy dialogue and exchange good practices within the region and with OECD and EU members.
This publication examines the major policy challenges, achievements and next steps for the creation of a more entrepreneurial population and a stronger SME sector in the Russian Federation, which are critical to the country’s economic growth and diversification. Despite less regulatory burdens and more subsidy financing for start-ups, production modernisation, innovation and exporting, framework conditions need to be improved in areas such as the rule of law, commercialising science and improving entrepreneurial skills and education. Gaps in SME and entrepreneurship programmes also need to be filled, such as through new initiatives for high-growth firms and large firm-SME linkages. Strengthening business development services infrastructure and improving access to finance are further important challenges. All these improvements will need to be spread across the regions of the Russian Federation if national objectives for growth and balanced spatial development are to be met.
The IRTAD Road Safety Annual Report 2015 provides an overview for road safety performance for 2013 in 38 countries, with preliminary data for 2014, and detailed reports for each country. It includes tables with cross country comparisons on key safety indicators.
The report outlines the most recent safety data in IRTAD countries, including detailed analysis by road user, age group and type of road. It describes the crash data collection process in IRTAD countries, the road safety strategies and targets in place and information on recent trends in speeding, drink-driving and other aspects of road user behaviour.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been in use since the 1950s as ingredients or intermediates of surfactants and surface protectors for assorted industrial and consumer applications. Some of the unique physicochemical properties of PFASs that popularised their widespread use are also associated with environmental and human health concerns. For example, within the past decade, several long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids have been recognised as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. Many have been detected globally in the environment, biota, food items, and in humans. This has led to efforts toward the development of risk reduction approaches, with the goal to reduce the global impact of these chemicals on the environment and health and to support a global transition toward safer alternatives.
Spent nuclear fuel contains minor actinides (MAs) such as neptunium, americium and curium, which require careful management. This becomes even more important when mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is being used on a large scale since more MAs will accumulate in the spent fuel. One way to manage these MAs is to transmute them in nuclear reactors, including in light water reactors, fast reactors or accelerator-driven subcritical systems. The transmutation of MAs, however, is not straightforward, as the loading of MAs generally affects physics parameters, such as coolant void, Doppler and burn-up reactivity. This report focuses on nuclear data requirements for minor actinide management, the review of existing integral data and the determination of required experimental work, the identification of bottlenecks and possible solutions, and the recommendation of an action programme for international co-operation.
The Revenue Statistics in Latin America publication is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, the OECD Development Centre, the Inter American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Inter-American Development bank (IDB). It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for a number of Latin American and Caribbean economies, the majority of which are not OECD member countries. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Latin American countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Latin American economies and between OECD and Latin American economies.
Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries is jointly undertaken by the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the OECD Development Centre. It compiles comparable tax revenue statistics for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea and Japan. The model is the OECD Revenue Statistics database which is a fundamental reference, backed by a well-established methodology, for OECD member countries. Extending the OECD methodology to Asian countries enables comparisons about tax levels and tax structures on a consistent basis, both among Asian economies and between OECD and Asian economies. A special feature in this edition provides country profiles on recent tax administration and related reforms in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Data on government sector receipts, and on taxes in particular, are basic inputs to most structural economic descriptions and economic analyses and are increasingly used in economic comparisons. This annual publication gives a conceptual framework to define which government receipts should be regarded as taxes. It presents a unique set of detailed and internationally comparable tax data in a common format for all OECD countries from 1965 onwards.
Renewables Information provides a comprehensive review of historical and current market trends in OECD countries, including 2014 provisional data. It provides an overview of the development of renewables and waste in the world over the 1990 to 2013 period. A greater focus is given to the OECD countries with a review of electricity generation and capacity from renewable and waste energy sources, including detailed tables. However, an overview of developments in the world and OECD renewable and waste market is also presented. The publication encompasses energy indicators, generating capacity, electricity and heat production from renewable and waste sources, as well as production and consumption of renewables and waste.
Renewables Information is one of a series of annual IEA statistical publications on major energy sources; other reports are Coal Information, Electricity Information, Natural Gas Information and Oil Information.
This volume collects expert papers on: the trends and challenges of regulatory policy today; regulatory impact assessment; stakeholder engagement; and ex-post evaluation. These papers provide background material for the 2015 edition of the OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook. They summarise the knowledge to date on these topics and underline progress made by countries in establishing the conditions for good regulation as well as the remaining challenges.
This review takes stock of the development and implementation of regulatory reform at a critical juncture for Lithuania. Confronted with the challenge of supporting growth and competitiveness, Lithuania has embarked upon an ambitious reform programme that addresses not only the development of new regulations but also the inspection and enforcement processes that support the effective implementation of these regulations with the least administrative burden for citizens and businesses. This is relatively rare among OECD members and the review assesses this comprehensive reform programme with a special focus on inspection and enforcement. First in its kind, the review benchmarks Lithuania's reforms against the OECD Best Practice Principles on Regulatory Enforcement and Inspection. The review identifies practical recommendations for strengthening regulatory effectiveness and support growth and competitiveness.
Presented to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in September 2015, this report examines the investment regulations of insurance companies and pension funds, and in particular quantitative investment limits on portfolio allocations.
The Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory (RK&M) across Generations initiative was launched by the Nuclear Energy Agency in 2011 to foster international reflection and progress towards this goal and to meet increasing demands by waste management specialists and other interested parties for viable and shared strategies. The RK&M initiative is now in its second phase, which is to last until 2017. Phase I culminated on 15‑17 September 2014 with the organisation of an international conference and debate on "Constructing Memory" held in Verdun, France.
The conference was attended by approximately 200 participants from 17 countries and 3 international organisations. Participants included specialists from the radioactive waste management area and beyond, academics in the fields of archaeology, communications, cultural heritage, geography and history, as well as artists, archivists, representatives from local heritage societies and from communities that could host a radioactive waste repository.
Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel, and it can bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment. Yet most policy measures target farm systems, inputs and practices and agricultural infrastructure (driving forces) rather than the provision of agri-environmental public goods (environmental outcomes).
This report analyses how a handful of OECD countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States) defines agri-environmental public goods and sets agri-environmental targets and reference levels, and the policies they implement for targeting certain agri-environmental public goods.
A growing body of evidence from economic studies shows areas where appropriate policies can generate health and other benefits at an affordable cost, sometimes reducing health expenditure and helping to redress health inequalities at the same time. The evidence is especially strong for policies to curb tobacco smoking and harmful alcohol use, while gaps still exist in the evidence base on tackling unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity, as well as environmental exposures and road accidents. The book underscores the importance of taking a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in addressing the rising tide of non-communicable diseases.